Between Rage and Serenity

POINT TO PONDER

Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him.

                                        - Louis L'Amour

 

STORY LINE by Rajiv Shah

I want to talk about a scene from X-Men First Class that I feel has a profound message. Yes, it is a comic book superhero movie and I recognize that, but try to keep an open mind.

The scene is between a young doctor Xavier and a young Magneto as they stand on a veranda in front of an open field and a satellite dish in the distance. Xavier is dealing with Magneto's painful past - his mother was killed by Nazi's when he was a boy and was forced to watch her murder. This traumatic event fuels him, often consuming him with anger, guilt, and regret. Xavier cautions Magneto that rage alone will consume him but through serenity and peace he will find true power. 

To demonstrate, Xavier asks Magneto to focus on a satellite dish in the distance. He asks Magneto to focus his energy on it, to move it with his mind, his emotions. Magneto tenses, rage gripping him, but he cannot force the satellite to move. 

Next, Xavier tells him to try moving it again. This time recalling a loving memory of Magneto's mother and with him when he was a boy. It is a memory of happiness. love, and it overwhelms the rage and pain that he feels. In the distance, the satellite moves dramatically. 

Xavier looks at Magneto and says, "that is the point between rage and serenity." 

 

REFLECTION

I have been a fan for a long time of a kinesioly book by Dr. David Hawkins titled, Power vs. Force. Dr. Hawkins is responsible for the study of human consciousness and how it affects the spirit and body. Specifically, how what we experience emotionally in the body affects the mind and our physical being.

The scene outlined from X-Men mirrors Dr' Hawkins revolutionary work - a simple test to demonstrate the power of kinesiology and human consciousness. This test was done under strict conditions by Mr. Hawkins but can be done with anyone. It's a simple test. You turn off any surrounding distrations - cell phones, radios, etc. - and you have the subject stand with their feet shoulder width apart, their arms straight out to the sides, in line with the shoulder and palms down. 

Next, you explain to the subject that you will push their arms down (while facing the subject, not behind them) with your hands and they should resist your force. Ask them to close their eyes and think of a memory that was the saddest point in their life, something that caused them pain. You then push down on their arms while they are thinking of this memory and while the subject resists. Notice the results. 

Then you take a moment, have the subject clear that memory from their mind and to resume the starting position. You ask them to now think of the most loving memory they have, something that caused them great joy and happiness. Again, while they are in this state, you push down on their arms and again, they resist. What did you discover in the same person under the different conditions?

What was found by Dr. Hawkins in an overwhelming number of subjects is that people are strongest when they are thinking of the loving memories. The body responds more powerfully and energetically to the force applied on them. The study suggests that our power comes from the specific emotions permeating our body at that time. Dr. Hawkins uses a scale to give a numerical value to each emotion from 20 to 600 (a score of 0-20 represents death), shame and fear on the lower end (20-30) with peace and enlightenment ranking on the highest end (600-1000). 

How can this knowledge be used? We can use it to assess the feelings we are having and where on the scale those emotions reside. Just that simple awareness often allows one to change the things in their life that are causing a negative emotion and allow us to seek higher states of joy, happiness and fulfillement. 

Comments

[From a Distant land]

Just read. Interesting story and experience see if I can experience that with my family today.

The X-men story reminds me of the power of full engagement, and to get maximum power – you need to find rituals (happy moment and serenity) that give you the positive energy.

Thanks for continue to share great stories and reflections with us….

[microCEO]

Haven't seen this film but I read the xmen comics as a boy and was impressed as a kid can be. I found a related clip of the scene here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOcYuTPjY6g .

This point of controlling one's feelings and keeping out of the zone of anger (also fear, also greed) is surely one key to happiness...and I must say not so easy in this age of daily stressful situations like driving to work, waiting in lines, standing in overcrowded trains, sitting in endless telephone meetings (with people we may have never met!)...everything that seems to take us away from a spirit of cameraderie and cooperation and leaves us stranded in a world of antagonism and misunderstanding.

I tend to agree with Yoda (scene from another well-known heroic movie) who tells Anakin that, "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." One can help to curtail the anger by simply asking oneself, "what am I afraid of?". Analyze the fear as it hits, or better yet, anticipate it and mitigate it altogether, i.e. have your plan B ready.

The emotional scoring heirarchy of Dr. Hawkins sounds really fascinating. The higher your score, the better your performance, and popularity, too. (The scoring concept reminds me a bit of Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs", which has a similar idea but different approach to human behavior and happiness.)

What role models could represent a high score in Dr. Hawkins' index? I haven't read the book but... How about
'the Fonz'(Henry Winkler's Character in the TV Show "Happy Days")? Never out of control. Always cool.

I am also fascinated by some amazing people who, like Magneto's character, suffered through the terrible experience of the holocaust, yet still managed to produce amazing pieces of art, literature, philosophy, and science despite it all. One such amazing example is the story of Jakow Trachtenberg, who used his time in concentration camp to conceive of a new way of doing difficult arithmetical operations entirely in his head. After the war (having escaped with his life twice!, thanks to help from his wife), Trachtenberg went to Switzerland, where in 1950 he opened a school to teach his mathematical methods, the Mathematical Institute in Zurich. Now that's power.

[Frustration]

It’s not Anger I have a problem with, it’s Frustration, --- which is powerless-ness rather than power or force

[Eastcoast]

In my opinion, I believe “ to seek higher states of joy, happiness and fulfillment” requires faith and belief in the one true God.

[DH]

This was a really good one. Thanks. And not just because it involved mutants….. 

[Reddy]

Great read, Rajiv. I can see the truth behind anger dwindles our strength. Reminds me of a sloka from Bhagavadgita (I am quoting only a part of it)

krodhaat bhavati sammohah
sammmohaat bhavati smruti vibhramah

translation: anger causes stupefaction which in turn destroys the mind

Thanks for pointing out the book by Dr. Hawkins. I will read the book.

- Reddy

[Bobby]

I can relate very much to this. Sometimes at work when I am not able to find solution to a problem at hand, I tend to get angry and frustrated that I am taking too much time to resolve the problem and try to just grunt through to get the results. At the end I feel I have wasted the whole day without being productive. The next day when I come back to work with peaceful thoughts, I find that I've resolved the issue in just few minutes! It's crazy! Thanks for sharing the wonderful story. I will try to keep this in my mind always.

[wiseman from CH]

Anger increases cortisol who is toxic body & brain neurotransmitter. Feed the Good instead of Bad Wolf !

[Amy]

I wonder if the result of Dr. Hawkins test would be the same if they give the 1st test as the subject focuses on a positive thought, and then giving the 2nd test while focusing on a negative feeling. This will eliminate one of the variables being the uncertainty in the level of force applied in the first test, while the subject is familiar with the level of force on the 2nd test.

[Rajiv]

Amy brings up a great point. I would recommend trying the experiment in the reverse order. I imagine the results but might be similar to the idea of previsualization for athletes that is practiced at all levels of sports - from the professional to the amateur - that the power of positive emotion leads to positive physical results.

I'm going to try it and share the results. If anyone else tries, let us know what you found!