This is a process you can use if you want to practice using tools for

• Developing your personal power in relation to the terrorism of our times,
• Releasing what is valuable in your anger and rejecting what may do harm, and
• Responding in new ways.

(Note: This process in no way is represented as therapy. If you think you may need face-to-face help with your reactions to the terrorism in our world, we warmly encourage you to call a therapist. If you contact us at info@aap-psychosynthesis.org we will be glad to help you find therapists in your area.)

1. Let it out - in Private.
   In a private space where you can be fully expressive, recall your experience of the events of September 11 and since. Start by letting out all your feelings in one big eruption. Type or scribble for five to fifty minutes with complete freedom to use language (profanity, accusations, etc.) that you might not want to use in public or directly to any perpetrator.

2. Mine It: Carefully Separate the Gold from the Abuse and Self-indulgence.
   We may have shame or anxiety about our eruptions of the past because we used them to strike or force others. Still, this pile of the good, bad, and ugly has one thing in common with all our flare-ups, past and potential -- the gold available for mining. Perhaps someone has reprimanded you for misusing anger. We all have seen outbursts doing more harm than good because they were not kept private or channeled skillfully and responsibly. Still, the rubble always is full of nuggets of pure gold that we can use for our own self-knowledge -- and perhaps even for constructive give-and-take.

   Also, if we can listen for the facts, truths, and values in our own anger, we may be ready to listen for diverse values in others' outbursts and piles of emotional rubble.

   Copy the headings under the P-O-W-E-R Guide below and paste them into an email. They are tools for finding real gold in your responses to the recent terrorism. Under these headings type your concrete observations, emotions, values, and ideas.

   P-O-W-E-R Guide

   • P - The Picture: specific behaviors you're angry about - and their results.
   • O - Ownership of All Your Emotions: your versions of mad, sad, glad, and scared.
   • W - Wants: concrete changes you would prefer (would have preferred) from the terrorists/others, in place of what they are doing (did).
   • E - Embracing of Values: honor and gratitude for the principles, passions, or personal "articles of faith" implied in your preferences (previous heading).
   • R - Review of Options: brainstorming YOUR next steps - ideas and creative possibilities in light of the above - bypassing the harmful and abusive rubble.

3. Share Your Precious Results.
   Send your P-O-W-E-R responses to anger_to_power@aol.com. Title your email POWER RESPONSE, or I will not open it. (No attachments Please.) I will compile the treasure trove and send the results back to you. Perhaps an action plan will emerge -- for a letter to terrorists or the President, a learning project, or some other surprise.
   Questions? Email me. (Remember to type POWER RESPONSE in the email title!) I may not be able to engage in long philosophical discussions, but I may be able to clarify my meaning or coach you through blocks in the process.

4. Post Script: Do it Again: Searching for the Gold in Your Opponents' Anger.
   Even in the anger expressed by terrorists in twisted ways, we may be able to find precious values. Even when we cannot engage our opponents in dialogue, we still may be able to find important ideals deeply buried or openly expressed. We can incorporate these along with the ones we have been supporting. The results? Another powerful synthesis.

P-O-W-E-R Listening: If you are willing, re-copy the above steps, sift through whatever you know about the terrorists' anger, see if you can get into their shoes, and dig down to positive preferences and values that the terrorists' unthinkable behavior may have hidden from you. If you can do that, you can combine their positive values with yours. (If you act on this post script, please share your P-O-W-E-R Listening results with the rest of us also.)