Saber Forum

Anger, fear, hatred. The dark side are they. - Master Yoda

There is IMO a flaw in the Jedi teaching and philosophy. It is not possible, as a human, to free yourself compleatly from emotion. Fear, anger and even hate are normal natural reactions. Part of the human experience.
Fear must be controlled. You must not let it dominate you and guide all your thought processes.
Anger ,must be focused and controlled. You must not let the anger control  you must focus it.
The best way I can describe this, is using competetive shooting. If you are to relaxed, at peace, the Jedi philosophy; you lack the proper strength and focus. So, your shots become inaccurate. Close but no cigar, so to speak.
Now, feel the anger in your heart. You missed? Unbelievable! You did everything by the book! Like you always do! Now. Focus your anger. Feel how it gives you the proper strength and firmness of body and hands. Feel how it makes your eyes sharp and focused on your sight alignment and target. Keeps you focused and sharp, as you squeeze the trigger. Feel the focused anger as you make your shot and the target falls.
Anger is a normal and useful tool when properly controlled and focused. Like all things is life, it must be controlled and used in moderation. Lest we be consumed by it.

Haz and I have been having this argument for a while.

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to..."

He simply finishes the quote and implies "...suffering." I on the other insist that hate leads to WHOOPASS. And I'll prove my point.

Fear, helps keep you safe. I heard it said that almost all known phobias result from the anticipation of pain. Your fears guide your steps away from those things that you perceive will harm you and bring you pain.

Anger is very natural. It is the resultant emotion to failure, and does lead to hate.

Hate is the desire to remove an "obstacle" from you're path to success. But there is a split here, that many do not perceive. You can, as you say, focus your anger and use your hatred to overcome, resulting in what I call "whoopass". The other path is to let hate turn to rage. Rage does not think, and cannot be focused. Rage leads to suffering because it undoes all progress you've already made toward solving the problem.

So I maintain, hate leads to whoopass. Rage leads to suffering.

But Yoda is partially right, they are all powerful negative emotions, regardless of how natural they are. Just as love and joy are powerful positive emotions.

I agree with you 100%  Darth Logos!

Anger is my favorite emotion.  When I say that, some people back away, as if they expect me to attack them.  However, what they don't understand is that anger by itself is NOT dangerous.  It's what you DO with the anger that is important.

For example, I use my anger for weight training.  When I go into the gym, I lift heavy.  I run hard.  I climb until I can't climb anymore.  And I use my anger for that.  When I train others and they tell me they can't do something, I typically respond with, "Yes, you can.  Get mad at it."  Almost every single time, the person finds that yes, they CAN.  You just have to tap into the right emotion that works for you.  For some people, a zen-like calmness will work, but not for me.  I gotta get mad at it to lift it, run it, or climb it.  And I succeed every time. 

I also use my anger to teach myself things.  When someone trips my trigger in a bad way, I pay attention to it.  I feel it.  I ask myself why I feel it and I analyze it.  But I don't dismiss it.  I listen to it and sit with it as long as it takes to understand it and then, I let it go.  I don't force it to leave me before I'm ready, though.  Sometimes, it takes a few seconds.  Sometimes, it can take days or even weeks.  If I feel it, there's a reason, so I ask myself why.

I'm comfortable with "good" anger.  I like how it feels.  It's hot and fiery and full of crackling energy.  My focus is sharp and on point.  I don't use my anger to lash out or hurt others.  If I am experiencing "negative" anger, I deal with it before I speak.  Again, sometimes it's necessary to use your anger to get a point across, but contrary to popular belief, you can speak with anger, but still be kind.  It's all in how you use it.

I'm all about the zen of anger.  ;)

Highly profound words. Point

<fist in open palm>

Yes, very good words Jedi Knox.

Wow!

This is a great topic and I can't wait to see how it the conversation plays out.

I have to agree with Nox as well.  Anger is a great tool.  I spent many years as a Police Officer and I learned how to use my anger to help others.  When certain kinds of cases would come up I would have to focus my anger on how to help the Innocent ones involved.  There were times when my anger would almost get the best of me and I would have to breathe to get control back.  There were times when I wanted to cause as much pain and suffering to the "bad guys" as they caused to their victims.  Some of the best moments was when I got to channel that anger into arresting someone, especially when they decided to resist.  (not talking police brutality here, I'm talking lawful arrests done the right way). 

My anger helped me through many situations...Its sometimes referred to as Righteous Anger or Righteous Indignation.  There is a time and a place for anger, when used appropriately it may even be a life saver.     

KDP

Aha! And there you have it. Righteous anger. Anger is a tool that can be controlled and focused for your benefit. It can lend strength you did not know you had, like Darth Logos said. It can be harnessed to fuel a passion to overcome an obstacle.
Excellent thoughts guys. +1 everybody