The Beast Part 2

By Damien and Rei

In Part 1 we went over some of the basics of the beast that sangs experience. In part 2 it will be some helpful advice on dealing with the beast and how to safely use it to your advantage while minimizing the disadvantages.

To reiterate, Lady CG describes the beast as thus as opposed to blood rage:

Beast: “There are two Beasts inside each of us, which one wins? The one you feed”
– Almost everyone has a “Feral” side to them tucked away somewhere. It refers to the strong feral inclinations of all Vampires and most Kin. It is the wild, untamable side of us, the instincts that keep us alive when we are at our most base, or desperate. While Mundanes also carry this trait is very very strong in Vamps of all kinds, and, of course, Therians. THIS is BEAST.

RAGE: Blood Rage, Energy Rage are the result of going too long without feeding. It can be vicious, violent, bordering uncontrollable. It is a painful result of serious lack of needed sustenance triggering instincts that we COULD use to get fed, were we not living in a civilized society. Its very … primal, and gets stronger the longer one goes without feeding.

Some ways to control or limit the danger of the beast:

• Staying fed
  As mentioned above, the Beast refers to the predatory instinct that we have and not feeding worsens those instincts into Blood Rage or Energy Rage. It is the vampire version of being hangry.

  It is important then to monitor your energy levels and mental and physical state in such a way that you can determine come how often you would need to feed and how long it usually takes before you start vamping out, then come up with a feeding schedule to keep that from happening.If you have donors, you would be able to notify them in advance when you need to feed and make an arrangement for it. If you rely on animal blood, you’d be able to set up a schedule on when to visit your local butcher. If you need to store them for a long term, you can use this Long Term Blood Storage guide by Lady CG.

• Figuring out what triggers it outside of needing to feed and how to minimize or capitalize on those triggers.
  This is where knowing yourself come in. Knowing what triggers the Beast in you would help you avoid it or learn how to manage it. When it comes to twoofing or vamping out, knowing what the signs are for you would help you prepare better for it.

  On the flip side, knowing this can help you tap into it at will and give you an advantage during dangerous or life threatening situations, martial arts, like MMA, and boxing, or other physical sports or past times. One way to harness the beast in this way is to simply stop holding it in –most vampires usually do it without knowing they are doing it, normally out of fear — then letting it out when needed. Of course this to takes some work. First realizing you are holding it in, and two, is accepting it and embracing it as part of you then letting the walls down at will and letting it out when it is needed.

• Alternative foods that may help curb the cravings to manageable levels until one can get fed
  Experienced blood feeders in the past have experimented on various blood substitutes that help them deal with the craving and hunger. It is not as good as feeding but it can help tide you over until the next feed.

  Some of the better known substitutes are rare steaks, beef broth, and blood wine. Belfazaar Ashantison has a pseudo-blood recipe which you can find here. Blood wine and other blood substitutes can found here and here, respectively.

• Meditation and learning control and anger management techniques
  When the beast is triggered, one’s senses are so overwhelmed and the predatory instinct be on the forefront that one nearly overcome by it. Much more so during Blood Rage, which is one of the reasons why it can be dangerous for blood vampires to not feed for a long time. Keeping a sense of self is important and calm are important to maintain self control. There is where meditation comes in.Currently, the word meditation means many different things in the West. We are referring to the focused-attention or mindful meditation.

  Studies have shown that this form of meditation results to loosening the connection between neural pathways. It means that by constant and consistent meditation practice, the pathways in the brain connecting the parts that process information, perspective and experiences called the ME Center, and to the parts that process fear is loosened. At the same time, consistent practice of focused meditation helps build connections between the ME Center to the Assessment Center, the part of the brain that helps you process information and fears in a more rational perspective.So instead of acting out of anger or fear, or overcome by predatory instinct,  you’d be able to direct the beast properly and not lose self-control.

  Learning anger management techniques help channel your rage, whether your beast has been triggered or vamping out, in a healthier manner. Anger, just like any emotion is normal and should not be suppressed. However, letting it out destructively never helps anyone. Hand in hand with constant meditation practice, you’d be able to more mindful of how to channel the Beast. Some of those techniques include Cognitive Restructuring and Exercising and Using Humor. We found some techniques for and you can  read more on them here and here.

• Having an older, more experienced sang near you who you can get help from. Aka the buddy system.
  Having an older vampire around, specially one who is good with energy work, can help alleviate the pressures by a link, or by using their energy to push it down for you. Since they are experienced and have had more time learning how to deal with the beast and rage, they can help you learn how to watch for signs of it coming on too.  They would also be able to guide you on how to do things to help curb it, or manage it.
  

As one can see there are some ways to help with the beast. Though they all require work, and you would still require blood. FEED. As when you are raging, it could lead to lethargy, getting sick, and being grumpy, and other negative effects. That is simply how it is, trying to run or deny yourself that only puts your health, and possibly others, at risk.

We hope that helps. Tell us how it goes 🙂