And anger wants to get there now.

I think anger is power wanting an outlet, it's power "coming through!" Anger wants to do something. It wants to meet a goal of some kind, perhaps to acquire something - to take over new "territory" in some sense - or to protect something you already have.

In the Shadow Work® four-quarter model, anger is the "gateway" to the Warrior archetype; that means your Warrior steps up to the plate. (For more on the four-quarter model, see The Shadow Work® Four-Quarter Model at the Shadow Work Seminars site.)

Warriors are very good at setting boundaries. They conquer territory, they can use their swords to draw lines in the sand, and they carry shields as protection.

Two, that there's a part of me that is strong and courageous. I can use that strength to protect myself and others, and to acquire what I and my loved ones need in order to thrive.

Three, that I am a powerful human being who can have an impact. If I feel anger, I've got a Warrior who's looking for a goal to accomplish.

Some common ways to feel anger are through the voice, arms and legs, where anger wants to yell, to bite, to clench the jaw, to punch, and to kick. Another common site for anger is the back, where the spine is a kind of boundary for the body.

Some other ways people feel anger: in the chest and stomach, where anger may feel like a ball of fire or a lump of lead. Anger may show up as an adrenaline rush and a faster heart rate. There's a lot of power in anger, which is why it's often conveyed as something dark and dangerous.

If you can become familiar with the way anger shows up in your body, it can give you useful information. That is, the body symptoms can tell you you're feeling angry when you wouldn't otherwise be aware of it. And once you know you're angry, you can be more conscious of your need to set boundaries.

I grew up in a household where anger wasn't welcome; it was considered ugly and inappropriate. I think a lot of little girls of my generation were told that anger wasn't "nice," wasn't "lady-like." That didn't make the anger go away, however, so we had to find ways to stuff it out of sight. I used food. I ate to give my mouth something to do besides yell. And eating a lot slowed my body down so that the anger seemed easier to control.

The anger didn't really go away, of course; we can force a river underground, but that doesn't mean it's gone, it's just out of sight temporarily. Overeating caused weight gain, which I felt angry about inside, and I simply directed the anger at myself instead of at others.