The afflictive emotion of anger – including the range of emotions from low level irritation, frustration, resentment and jealousy to full blown rage – is one of the most destructive forces we face as human beings. This is true of anger experienced in our personal lives as well as societal anger that wreaks so much havoc upon people everywhere.

We have each acquired our own personal anger patterns due to our conditioning in life; we certainly don’t consciously choose to be irritable, resentful or angry. Thus, we can be gentle and understanding of ourselves as we are today, while at the same time knowing that with mindfulness we can create new conditions that will help to uproot anger and bring more joy into our lives.

Buddhist psychology offers much wisdom for working skillfully to transform anger through the practices of mindfulness and the cultivation of understanding and patience. These teachings have proven beneficial for over 2600 years in helping individuals to uproot anger and experience more joy in their lives. 

In our workshop we will explore the following fundamental principles essential for loosening the knots of anger, including:

• What is anger?
• The destructiveness of anger and how it has manifested in our lives
• The sources and causes of anger
• Is anger ever useful?
• Using understanding to unknot anger and cultivate patience
• What to do when anger has already arisen in the mind

The workshop will include instruction, reflections and practice opportunities through interactive exercises.

The workshop will be held at the FCM Practice Center, 6501 N. Nebraska Avenue, in Tampa from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, April 20. The cost is $75. If you have questions, please email us at info@floridamindfulness.org.

Workshop Leaders

Betsy Arizu has been interested in Buddhism for over 30 years as a counselor and artist. Her formal study began in 2011 when she became a student of Fred Eppsteiner and a practicing member of the Florida Community of Mindfulness. In 2015 she was ordained as a member of the Order of Interbeing, a community of lay and monastic practitioners established by the Venerable Thich Nhat Hahn. She leads mindfulness workshops for educators, psychologists, school and mental health counselors and social workers. 

Bill Mac Millen has been a practitioner with the Florida Community of Mindfulness and a student of FCM's teacher Fred Eppsteiner since 2013. He is an aspirant in Thich Nhat Hahn's Order of Interbeing (OI) and a student in FCM's Dharma Transmission Program. Previously Bill worked in law enforcement with the Tampa Police Department and as an investigator in the communications industry before retiring in 2016.