Title: Anger

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To truly understand violence and the anger that pushes it, one must understand the four basic causes of anger. But even deeper than just that, one must understand the deepest sense of who we are, our personal way of being.

There are two ways to be; responsive or resistant. A responsive individual is open and kind to those around them; but, a resistant individual is closed, unkind, and uncaring. Resistant, self-deceived criminals commit violent crimes from the inner-most sense of who they are.

-All criminals commit violence in their minds long before their hands do.

-Violence is not necessarily a hit, but a way of being.

-To be violent is a choice.

-Nonviolence, just like violence, goes deeper than behavior. It's a way of being.

-Self-deceived violent people disconnect themselves from the feelings of others.

-Those who are resistant believe, I violate others by reducing them to an object. In doing so, I elevate myself.

-In the resistant way of being, I fight for power without mercy or compassion.

-"In violating my children, I destroy future generations".

-When I violate others, I produce a violence in them that justifies me in violating them

-In the resistant way of being, I invite problems into my life, not solutions."

-Violent people endeavor to portray themselves in ways that make the wrong they do appear to be right.

-In the resistant way of being, I impede the flow of lifes light and energy. I repel others and live a life filled with self.

Violence in a society is brought on by the way of being of its citizenry. To reduce violent behavior, a person must leave his or her resistant ways and become responsive. This involves an entire change of being.

Any course that does not approach individuals at the deepest level is doomed to failure. Behavior modification and other anger management techniques are just surface remedies that do not penetrate deep enough to make lasting changes. Cognitive restructuring, when performed properly, is a proven intervention that allows people to become self aware and thus more willing to change their personal way of being. Cognitive restructuring isnt a force but rather an invitation to change. It gets involved at the deepest level where enduring changes can take place.

About the Author: Decades ago, Larry Lloyd founded the American Community Corrections Institute. ACCI sponsors a news blog on the topic of criminal behavior and related topics.