Taoist Composting

Anger, fear, frustration, anxiety, and sadness: these are emotions that pretty much every human being that I know of experiences - perhaps only occasionally, maybe more frequently. And this is perfectly natural!

So-called "negative" emotions only become a problem when they get "stuck" in our system, becoming something like a "default setting" - a lens through which we then view our entire reality. If we can remember that what we call emotions are simply forms of energy, we can allow them to arise and dissolve without making them into a permanent part of our internal landscape.

Better yet, we can engage in a kind of Inner Alchemical composting, in which we learn to transform the energy bound in these rather uncomfortable states of mind, into nourishment for "virtues" such as kindness, joy, courage, equanimity, wisdom, and awe. Neidan practices such as the Healing Sounds and Fusion of the Five Elements are wonderful in this respect, as is the Inner Smile.