Here’s Why Anger Is the Most Spiritual Act Today
Anger has a terrible, terrible reputation. In New Age circles, it is treated like bad breath. Something toxic you should avoid inhaling at all costs. The advice (consciously or unconsciously) is always the same: “Raise your vibration. Don’t dwell on the negative. Love and light, beloved.” Which is all very cute until you realize that this indoctrination neatly explains why so many spiritual bubbles stay just that—bubbles. Safe, round, delicate—and easily popped by the first sign of political reality. Because once you decide anger is beneath you and your yoga cushion, activism usually is too.
You see, anger is not a malfunction, it’s not inherently bad. It’s a signal. Like pain telling you your hand is on a hot stove, or fascist politics telling you it’s time to vote differently (unless you are a fascist), anger tells you that something in your environment is unjust, misaligned, or outright harmful. Suppressing it in the name of “spiritual purity” and “high vibrations” is like trying to become “conscious” by turning off your sense of pain. Sure, you might fool yourself for a while. But you also lose the basic warning system that keeps you from walking straight into fire. Quite deadly.
History is clear on how things work: change doesn’t come from people politely asking for justice or manifesting love and light in healing circles. It comes from people getting angry. Jesus, after all, didn’t hug the moneylenders in the temple into better behavior. He threw their tables over (and you don’t have to be a Christian to honor that story). What an impressive act of holy anger! That was not a love-and-light talk, but righteous fury with excellent muscular energy.
Every major movement for justice in history began with people saying, “Enough!”
That word is usually not whispered calmly with a smile and a hand on your heart while witnessing unbearable injustice. I mean, it could, but it might feel a little dissociated—probably psychopathic—but definitely the kind of thing for deep-dive therapy sessions. “Enough” is shouted. Loud at best. It needs some “Wumms,” as Germans say. Although Germany itself lacks the “Wumms” in every sense.
Decolonization, in particular, requires anger. Of course it does. Anyone who suggests it shouldn’t is probably a colonizer themselves or someone with a highly colonized mind. Colonization was not just theft of land and resources, but theft of dignity, culture, and voice. To pretend this can be undone with nothing but “higher vibes,” “healing meditations,” “inclusive yoga classes,” and “talking” is to ignore centuries of brutality. It’s New Age propaganda, white supremacy, and modern-day laziness. Anger is the crack in the colonial spell, it interrupts the story that says you must accept, obey, and assimilate to the violence and injustice going on. Without that interruption, the system continues unchecked.
Of course, I’m not suggesting we live permanently in rage mode. That would be exhausting. Anger is not meant to be a permanent state, it’s a messenger. You know that old saying: “Don’t shoot the messenger.” Well… anger often shows up uninvited, usually at inconvenient hours, and whispers (or sometimes shouts) “this cannot go on.” It’s uncomfortable to face, sure, almost annoying, but it’s also honest, energetic, and sometimes even empowering, and you shouldn’t shoot or bury it.
And just for those who’ve been sleeping while reading: I’m not talking about getting angry because the line at the supermarket is long or your flight to a Tantra and Cacao Ceremony in Costa Rica with Boho medicine woman Steffi is delayed.
We are talking about sacred anger here.The work, then, is not to reject it, but to listen and redirect it: to turn the heat of anger into action, into words, and into movements that matter. To let it push you to call out injustice, to build, to resist, to create change. Instead of simmering silently, sipping cacao while the jungle burns. Anger is not the enemy, passivity is.
So, my spiritually curious friend, I want you to remember something: without anger, nothing shifts. Without it, the injustices that wake you at night persist. Without it, tables remain upright, empires remain intact, and systems that should burn quietly smolder forever. Anger is not a spiritual failing, but a compass. And if we can carry it consciously, with purpose, it can become one of the most powerful forces for change.
If this resonated with you, moved you, or made you pause and reflect – consider this your cue. I’ve set up a virtual tip jar via Buy Me a Coffee. No monthly commitments, no strings, no memberships required.
Your sweet kindness helps keep the thoughts flowing, the energy exchange intact, and the glow of my inner goddess alive. It won’t fix capitalism, but it might buy me five minutes of joy (or at least a cortado).
Gracias. Thank you. Jërëjëf. Merci. Obrigada. Danke. Arigatō. Medaase. Grazie. Hvala. Tack. Asante. Shukran. Teşekkürler. Dziękuję.
