In my experience with people who have been infected by the Beast, I have found there are two paths to keeping the monster at bay.
First, you have to calm the Beast. Rage isn't only an Abiding Evil trying to turn you into a man-rending animal, it is a force that can slowly corrupt you into seeing people as prey, even on a slow burn level. The Beast can manifest itself in your flesh in several means... ulcers, hypertension, inflammation disorders, insomnia. Calm the beast to reduce the heat. I like music to this end, a historic remedy for the Beast. What music calms you? And I don't mean "satisfy", I do mean "calm". Is it baroque organ music, Italian opera, new age Windham Hill synth music, trance, Buddhist chant, or even the pipes and drums? Feed that into your body, and put the fetcher to sleep.
Second, you have to feed the blighter. A pet will turn on any master once it begins to starve to death. Likewise, to keep the rage from overtaking your humanity, keep it from forcibly lashing out and taking more than it can eat out of your hide. Recognize the anger that is human, and give it a place to exist. I'm biased, but I like music towards this end as well. Give it the hard metal, the brakes, the two-step country-western shuffle, the belt-out-loud Broadway. Choose the music that tends to make you physically move... this feeds it just enough to keep it from lashing out.
Food for thought...
I was thinking about just this last night while playing my cello. When I'm angry, I think loud, angry music helps to release that feeling. I haven't thought a lot about what kind of music calms me though. That's a good one to think on. Great post!
ReplyDelete