Have you ever deliberately pushed someone's buttons and enjoyed it? Do you sometimes pick a fight just for the adrenaline rush? Like a toddler who wants to stick his finger in the electrical socket, no matter how many times his parents tell him not to, sometimes we all have the urge to test the inner workings of life in ways that give us a real jolt. Welcome to the spiritual wild side.

Despite the calm, cool demeanor usually associated with spiritual types, many of us employ, shall we say, less than wholesome means of connecting to life before finding our peace.  Anger, jealousy, excessive drugs or violence have preceded many a spiritual transformation.  And even after we're in the cosmic know, we may digress.  But, our bad habits are not always impediments to enlightenment-if we use them properly, they can act as our vehicle. There's a story of Buddha, who while instructing two lay people, both admitted egocentrics attached to their own feelings of self-importance , says "now you know how the other guy feels."  We're paraphrasing, but you get the point.  Rather than lecture these guys, the Buddha uses their selfish natures to evoke the sentiment that is known in the western world as "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

We all walk on the spiritual wild side every now and then.  Sometimes we are nasty or cruel because the feedback is unmistakable.  We feel the direct wrath of our actions and, as distorted as it sounds, this makes us feel our connection to life. Zap---we've tapped into the life force. It's not pretty, but it's visceral and satisfying on some level...until we've had enough of the consequences.  Even then, it's a tall order to give up anger, hatred, fear or self-importance, so like the Buddha, we say, sometimes it's better not to try.  Instead, just consider the idea that we are all connected and see what insight comes of it.  When you're angry, consider that others may be angry too.  Perhaps they share your opinion---ZAP, you feel less alone.  Maybe they have a good reason for holding another opinion---POW, you begin to see the other side of things.  Maybe these other angry people are just too crazy and you don't want to deal with them any more---BAM, patience becomes a practical alternative.  As we chicks have always said, there's more than one way to feel your power, and electrical sockets and fits of anger start to lose their appeal once we realize that there are more constructive ways to connect with life.