In the second part of Thich Hanh’s book, Peace is Every Step, he discusses the methods of transformation and healing. He touches upon the aspect of feelings and how we should go about to heal ourselves and understand others on a deeper level. The three main aspects he describes are dealing with anger, understanding and recognizing differences in others, and community. Thus, overall theme of part two is being mindful about our feelings while also being sensitive to other’s feelings around us, as there are times when we become blinded by our own emotions and we do not see the harm we are causing others. One main idea that stems from section two is how to deal with anger, and to do so mindfully. In the section, Mindfulness of Anger, Hanh deems
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Often when we are angry, it is easy for our minds to wander and focus on how we feel towards the person we are heated about. However, this is a mistake, being that our minds can inflate and exaggerate the real situation, which is the anger that has manifested inside us. It is through taking the time to meditate and settle on our feelings that we are able to manipulate the energy we possess into something productive, such as peace and understanding. In the accompanying section, Pillow-Pounding, Hanh talks about how sometimes we act out towards inanimate objects to become one with our anger. He, however, claims that this is wrong approach to relieving our body of the angry energy. Hanh writes, “if the seed of our anger are watered again, our anger will be reborn, and we will have to pound the pillow again” (60). Thus, there is no long-lasting effect from pillow-pounding, and in order for us to truly transform our anger, we need to understand and deal with its roots, so it cannot re-surface. I found that this concept directly relates to my psychology class in which we talked about Sigmund Freud’s defense mechanisms. The defense mechanism that is described here could be displacement, where one turns their aggression towards a more vulnerable target instead of the true threat. Defense mechanisms are …show more content…
Investing in Friends says that even with a lot of money or possessions this means nothing in regards to our suffering compared to having friends to confide in. Having a secure group of people provides us with “someone to lean on, to come to, during our difficult moments” (Hanh 87). However, the only way to create a community is to in turn be good to the people around us. Our friends can be seen as important investments and in turn extremely vital assets to us in the future. They are people who can help us through difficult times but also share our joys. In Community of Mindful Living, Hanh also talks about how big families are less frequent and how this harms children whom cannot find the proper outlets to cope with immediate family arguments that may arise. Thus, Hanh proposes that communities should surface where each member acts as a role in the family. Ultimately the community would help by having “families...go there to learn and practice the art of mindful living” (Hanh 90). He says the best way to make these communities is by practicing with others the techniques of meditation and smiling daily to increase each other’s awareness. The act of practicing mindfulness is easier when done in a community setting. I know that when meditating with my mother, we feel a sense of calm and a connectedness, which is drastically different when practicing alone. This in turn
Often when we are angry, it is easy for our minds to wander and focus on how we feel towards the person we are heated about. However, this is a mistake, being that our minds can inflate and exaggerate the real situation, which is the anger that has manifested inside us. It is through taking the time to meditate and settle on our feelings that we are able to manipulate the energy we possess into something productive, such as peace and understanding. In the accompanying section, Pillow-Pounding, Hanh talks about how sometimes we act out towards inanimate objects to become one with our anger. He, however, claims that this is wrong approach to relieving our body of the angry energy. Hanh writes, “if the seed of our anger are watered again, our anger will be reborn, and we will have to pound the pillow again” (60). Thus, there is no long-lasting effect from pillow-pounding, and in order for us to truly transform our anger, we need to understand and deal with its roots, so it cannot re-surface. I found that this concept directly relates to my psychology class in which we talked about Sigmund Freud’s defense mechanisms. The defense mechanism that is described here could be displacement, where one turns their aggression towards a more vulnerable target instead of the true threat. Defense mechanisms are …show more content…
Investing in Friends says that even with a lot of money or possessions this means nothing in regards to our suffering compared to having friends to confide in. Having a secure group of people provides us with “someone to lean on, to come to, during our difficult moments” (Hanh 87). However, the only way to create a community is to in turn be good to the people around us. Our friends can be seen as important investments and in turn extremely vital assets to us in the future. They are people who can help us through difficult times but also share our joys. In Community of Mindful Living, Hanh also talks about how big families are less frequent and how this harms children whom cannot find the proper outlets to cope with immediate family arguments that may arise. Thus, Hanh proposes that communities should surface where each member acts as a role in the family. Ultimately the community would help by having “families...go there to learn and practice the art of mindful living” (Hanh 90). He says the best way to make these communities is by practicing with others the techniques of meditation and smiling daily to increase each other’s awareness. The act of practicing mindfulness is easier when done in a community setting. I know that when meditating with my mother, we feel a sense of calm and a connectedness, which is drastically different when practicing alone. This in turn