Ed, I hear you that anger is so nice for getting us out of our 'stuck' zone. It rarely gets me into trouble just motivates me too. Sounds like you've had some fun adventures when the mind was silenced by anger emotions. I'm remembering that the same things happens to me - kind of freeing, although I don't have enough much to be angry about these days, have to find another motivator.

I like your quote about the hot tub. That's actually where I feel the most comfortable - connecting in a relaxed atmosphere although I realized that I couldn't have felt relaxed there until I hit my mid-30's (boy life seems so much easier as I age).

Interesting Shif, considering your picture only shows half of your face;)

LOL, funny Ed.

Shifting4Now, don't we as Introverts usually hide a bit of ourselves (I guess everyone does but we are probably just more aware of what we are not showing)? We spend a lot of time understanding the ghost in the machine or the wizard behind the curtain that to reveal all would be a little too exposing and probably overwhelm others.

)))"always tried to make you feel that he knew you better than you knew yourself "(((

Ugghh, Daira, one of my dad's favorite lines is/was "I know you better then you know yourself." The difference is that he often did know things as he watched and studied people but he seemed to be missing the compassion aspect. " He enjoyed the control he had over others and even told us how he would cause people to be afraid because they thought he was reading their mind. I did inherit a lot of this stuff from him but I turned it around as I counseled people to trust themselves as in "you know yourself better then I could."

Yeah, the idea of a parent telling you that they know you better then you know yourself can be very harmful and far reaching and especially if they are not very balanced themselves. I too learned to articulate well and hold my own in debate but have little desire for debate these days. It's funny when you finally see your authority figure in the light that "they had to say that to you, a child, to feel more empowered" it's hard see them as the authority figure anymore.

Like you I kept repeating this type of energy in relationships with bosses and people I met until I got it, "Dad is a very smart guy but extremely insecure" I see him on rare occasions and often now their is sense of sadness in me because I can see the kid in his adult suitestill trying to tell the world (probably his father), "I'm good enough, I know everything, I'm good enough." Now I just listen to him but am not 'AS' triggered by it all anymore which now vastly affects my relationships with others especially aggressive or pushy people. I no longer feel a need to prove myself (at least not as much as I used to) to them but instead move out of their energy field.