Buddhist Radio: Anger, Emotions, the Brain

Karla McLaren (Language of Emotions), Dr. Rick Hanson (Enlightened Brain), Roy Tuckman ("Something's Happening," KPFK) and SoundsTrue.com; Wisdom Quarterly

Dharma over the airwaves of LA (Ben Ashmole/flickr.com)

   

Loving is easier than taking a pill (weheartit.com)

Los Angeles is fortunate to have Buddhism on the radio at 90.7 FM. The connected world is fortunate, too, because it streams worldwide.
  
Unfortunately, much of the Buddhist programming occurs overnight. It is radio for night people with Roy of Hollywood on "Something's Happening." Thankfully, it's temporarily available in the audio archives to listen to FREE from Pacifica.  

In an extraordinarily lucid and enlightening segment, Karla McLaren (12:00-1:30 am, Sept. 11, 2012) redefines the usefulness of "negative" emotions. What is anger for? How about sadness, depression, guilt, and worry?
 

Emotions are as integral to our existence as consciousness (kyleweber.com)

   
They all serve us and have something they are trying to tell us. But they speak in a special way. In The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings Are Trying to Tell You, McLaren reveals that society tells us something different: We shouldn't feel them at all, and if we do, we should feel bad about it! Society shoulds all over us, and emotions linger for years unheard and unprocessed. McLaren points out that there's a better way.

• Part 4 of 6: "The Gift of Anger - Healthy Boundaries." Preparing for emotional channeling. Sadness and anger.  Contentment, guilt, and happiness.  Worry and joy.  Heading into deeper water.  Channeling anger.  Fury and rage.  Hatred: Part One.  Hatred: Part Two. 
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Does the brain know what the heart is saying?

Not content to deal with the heart, Roy follows up with a brilliant assessment of the brain (1:30-3:30 am). Neuroscientist Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of The Enlightened Brain: The Neuroscience of Awakening, gets to the root of brain structures and their activity in relation to Session 5 of 6: "Equanimity." What is an equanimous mind? Better still, What is equanimity?
  
Hanson tackles bigger Buddhist questions: The cause of suffering.  How our reactions create unnecessary suffering.  How the brain creates suffering.  The four components of equanimity.  Guided Practice: Focusing on Change.  Interdependence.  Guided reflection on the causes of a present difficulty.  Not being alarmed about being alarmed.  
  
Guided Practice: You're Alright Right Now.  The eight worldly winds.  Guided Practice: Tracking the Feeling Tone of Experiences and Their Reactions.  Calm, contentment, and virtue.  Guided Practice: Opening to a Growing Sense of Contentment.  Serenity. 

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• Coming soon: FREE LIVE STREAMING VIDEO EVENT: RICK HANSON "The Compassionate Brain"  October 8, 2012.
• Both authors presented courtesy of Sounds True, (800) 333-9185, soundstrue.com