Kill the Liver, Kill the Anger

I heard that phrase, Kill the Liver, Kill the Anger, the other day and it struck me as very interesting. Having had several alcoholics in my life over the years, I thought I’d look a bit deeper.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the liver is the organ of anger and, along with the gallbladder, controls the smooth circulation of QI. According to TCM, qi is life force or vital energy. Everything in the world is made up of qi, including the physical body and the feelings a person has. Followers and practitioners of TCM believe that to be balanced in life and free from physical or mental health issues, a person must have balanced qi. 

The actual quote was “The liver is the organ of anger. Kill the liver, kill the anger. Maybe that’s why people drink.”

I think that is more true than many people will admit. 

People say they drink to have fun, celebrate, commiserate, unwind, de-stress. They drink before a meal, during a meal, after a meal – to ‘uplift’ the dining experience, or so I’ve heard.

They have to drink alone. They have to drink with friends. They have to drink in bars, at sporting events, at parties, graduations. I can’t think of an occasion that isn’t accompanied by alcoholic beverages of some sort.

I think these people believe they have control over this behavior, but clearly don’t.

I understand the enjoyment of a finely distilled spirit, a beautifully aged whiskey/scotch/bourbon or brandy, the careful balance between acid, tannins, taste and aroma which creates wine’s unique character. This enjoyment is the same pleasure one derives from fine art and beautiful music. The setting, the company, the mood and the experience make the consumption of these so pleasurable.

I do not understand, however, the competetive swilling of booze for the sake of seeing who can get hammered (an interesting term to use, no doubt) first; to see what ridiculous behavior will be on display; to see what awful comments will be made; to see how funny and interesting one can be (trust me, drunks make the dullest and most obnoxious company); to see who can tote up the largest tab. 

To what end? The only results I’ve seen are people who spend the next day or two physically miserable; people who say or do dreadful things and have only the excuse of “well, I was drunk” or “I can’t remember what I did” to defend the hurt they have caused; people who kill or injure while driving drunk; people who spend time away from family; people who destroy their careers; people who destroy the lives of those who love them; people who have so much anger and fear in their hearts and minds they seem to have no recourse but to dull their senses until they are close to numb.

The problem is this: They don’t kill their anger or their fear. They kill themselves, slowly, and forever damage those who love them. They leave a tortured path in their wake and have no idea the harm they cause.

Where does all this anger come from? What is it’s genesis?

Kill the liver, kill the anger. Doesn’t work; it just delays the inevitable reckoning with one’s self.

Quell the pain, numb the anger. But the body doesn’t forget.

Let’s take this a bit further.

The kidney is the organ of fear and it’s element is water. This is the house of the spirit, the consciousness. Is is coincidental that a staggering number of people suffer from kidney disease? Where does all this fear come from?  What trauma, in this life or a past life (or lives), has got so many suffering from fear and anxiety causing physical stagnation and life paralysis?

The heart is the organ of joy. It’s element is fire. We have lost the passion and fire of the heart that is expressed as joy, love, compassion. We are stuck in the destructive passions of anger and hatred and fear. This is tearing our families, our communities, our cities, our countries and our world apart which is clearly evidenced in the current political climate manifested globally.

The lung is the organ of sadness/grief and detachment. It’s element is metal. It receives, generates and disperses QI. How much time do we spend just breathing, focused on breathing in, then out, deeply and luxuriously. Most of us rarely do more than quite shallow breathing. Taking the time to focus on breath, full and deep breath, which fills up every space in our bodies, helps us to calm our thoughts, calm our worried minds, ease the stress in our muscles. This relaxation helps us to look at our emotions and evaluate the importance of each – is that anger justified? If so, how can that situation be settled to that anger is expressed appropriately and the issue resolved? Is the fear rational? If so, on what is it based? What is the root cause? What can be done to dissipate the fear or what coping method can be established? Is there any need for hatred? Feel what happens to the body when thoughts of anger, fear, hatred, jealously invade our minds. We clench, we tighten, our guts get in turmoil, our eyes and head start to ache, our breathing becomes shallow, fast-paced. We can dive into those emotions so deeply the only way to feel balanced again, in most cases, is to have some type of violent physical outburst – yelling, storming around, running, driving fast, punching, and even having sex. Anything for a release of the build up of tension from such extreme emotional escalation. We allow this. We allow this evil into our lives. Unwittingly. Our faith is such a low priority, our lives too entrenched in superficials, we have lost the depth of strong roots needed to keep up grounded, steady through the storms, able to bend but not break. We need to remove all those things that keep up from keeping the flow if QI in our lives. 

The spleen and stomach are associated with the earth element. These transform, generate and distribute nourishment. Our stomachs are overworked from overeating. We are a nation of great abundance and yet we are close to the worst nourished, given our resources. We gorge ourselves but are never satisfied. We are trying to fill a void that is emotional in nature rather than physical. Heal the emotions and the need to over indulge will cease.

The jaw stores anxiety and fear, frustration and anger. When we find a sense of balance emotionally, the jaw will lead us in the right direction. How many grind or clench their teeth to suppress these feelings, turning all that energy into such force as to damage bone, crack teeth, put whole groups of muscles into spasm (head, neck, shoulders), stunting any possibility of relaxation. How many suppress their truth, fail to express themselves or are not allowed to express themselves, their truth only to find that lack of expression, that denial of their voice, their truth results in a wide variety of psychological difficulties. Conversely, how many interrupt, over speak, dominate conversations, speak without thinking, over run others by boasting all in an attempt to find self worth, self value or to find some truth or perhaps to deny some truth too difficult to comprehend.

The lower back stores unexpressed anger. What is the percentage of sufferers of back pain in the global population? More anger. In addition, chronic stress put pressure on the spinal cord. More discord in the body, more stagnation of QI.

The heart is the king of all organs. Other organs will sacrifice energy so the heart can maintain balance. Physical disorders often arise from emotional imbalance in the heart. So ‘heartsick’ really is a thing. If all our other organs are so busy just trying to stay alive given all the punishment we heap upon them, how can they support the heart? How can we find our hearts when our physical bodies are so out of balance, so full of fear and anger and pain? How, then, can we live our lives from a perspective of love and compassion, for ourselves and for others?

Energy is stuck, stagnation occurs and our poor souls suffer the consecquences.

Is it then surprising we are so detached from one another and find it easier to lash out rather than embrace?

Anger, fear, hatred are all self-fullfilling. We do what we see. We need to look with a different perspective, find a new way to listen, a new tribe, a new village. Leave the toxic behind. 

What will keep our systems strong, healthy and able to keep the flow of good energy through our bodies so that our minds will be able to create, discern, learn, understand, absorb, investigate, imagine, explore and, ultimately, ascend? So then our hearts will be free of hatred, pain, and despair and we will be able to reach out with compassion, embrace others, share our stories, find ways to heal ourselves and one another. Then our bodies will no longer be punished and slowly destroyed by the poisons we ingest to kill the pain, kill the anger, ease the frustration, soothe the stress. 

We must find a way back to light. We must find a way to fill our souls with God’s love, His grace, His forgiveness, His mercy. These, and only these, will give us armour to defend our hearts and minds from the forces of evil surrounding us, pulling us into the mire of fear, anger, and hatred because evil invades our lives at every turn. 

So many healing possibilities are available to us.

First and foremost, FAITH. Find a way to find God and allow HIM to heal us with grace, forgiveness, mercy, love. Unconditional and steadfast. Daily prayer and meditation – supplication, intercession, gratitude and forgiveness should be part of each prayer and meditation session, as many times a day as possible.

For physical healing, try Brain Education TV. They publish a variety of videos demonstrating exercises to find balance and to target disorders in various parts of the body. When physical energy begins to flow properly, the hope is that emotional balance and well-being will follow. Continual practice is necessary.

Perhaps, with daily practice, prayer and meditation, the focus in our lives will fall away from numbing ourselves and literally drowning our sorrows to finding simple, quiet methods to help us cope with whatever has happened in our lives to cause fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, pain – and sometimes these are happening every day – and help us find a way to move our energy toward healing rather that hurting, toward flow rather than stagnation, toward clarity rather than confusion, toward ease rather than pain.

It takes time, effort, and focus but the benefits are tangible, physically moving and emotionally satisfying. This does take us away from what is considered socially acceptable means of coping, but I know of no one who has felt better after a night of any sort of excess. The cause of the emotional distress will never be uncovered or dealt with, but only silenced for a time. When alcoholic stupor fades or angry outbursts subside, one faces the same problems again. And the cycle continues. 

We need to find a clearer path and a more healthful cycle to lead us on to higher levels of consciousness and humanity.

God, help us find a better way.

Amen.