Soul's Code

You'd think that soaring above the clouds might bring you closer to the Divine, or at least be an uplifting experience. But flying, for many, has become the epitome of a painful experience. Some people are going over the edge, experiencing the phenomenon of Air Rage. One U.S. Congressman is facing an assault and battery charge this month after an incident at Dulles Airport where he allegedly pushed an United Airlines bag claim employee, ABC News reports. Another man recently pointed his air rage at himself. He stabbed himself in the neck, The Charleston Daily Mail reports.

Turns out Air Rage is nothing new. It has been around way before 9/11 and the insanity of the security lines. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, airlines flying within U.S. airspace reported 283 incidents of disruptive behavior in 1998, Salon.com reports. That's more than double the number of incidents that occurred in 1994. There was even a book and a July 2001 movie called "Air Rage" that stared Ice-T.

So what's the real reason people become belligerent at 30,000 feet? Alcohol. Or at least that's what The San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2000:

"The airlines are providing champagne and hard liquor to passengers before the plane ever leaves the gate," said Dawn Marie Bader, a flight attendant and chapter president of the Association of Flight Attendants. "They're drinking before breakfast, before dinner. They're drinking during dinner, after dinner and during the movie. Passengers are drinking all the time."

It's a motif repeated in this excellent feature by Salon.com: The Passenger from Hell and in this complaint filed against a first class passenger who defecated in the service cart.

Many people self-medicate with alcohol when they don't feel good. Alcohol in moderation, can help some people relax, but it's not a panacea. It can act as an accelerant by magnifying emotions and blurring reason. The airlines encourage this at some level. They will never stop serving alcohol, of course. It is likely the most profitable part of the business. It even makes one wonder how much their in-flight sales improve as the rest of the air travel experience worsens.

Columnist Tim Chitwood has a suggestion for beating the Delta Blues:

"Zen" means seeking enlightenment through contemplation instead of faith or written instruction. Faith in schedules, facts and figures won't help you find inner peace when you're stuck on a crowded plane.

You can only do what you can do. Pack carefully, leave with plenty of time and try not to hate the person sitting next to you for their rude, weird and annoying sneezing, whining, scratching, sniffing, smelling, or whatever.

When you start to feel hate, pay specific attention to how your stomach muscles tighten. You may feel your blood pressure rise, or an urge to bite your finger nails. These are normal responses, but you may experience hate in a very particular physical way that's unique to you. Imagine what that feels like now.

Imagine spending your entire day that way. Imagine clinching your fists and grinding your teeth for hours on end. It's not a pleasant thought, is it?

Now change gears and imagine the tension you feel disappearing as you open yourself up to your ideal lover. Imagine the feeling of letting go and falling into a blissful cloud of love.

Try interchanging the feeling of love and the feeling of hate. Toggle between the two like flipping a light switch. Tension, release. Stress, relaxation. Hate love.

Keep flipping the switch. Feel your muscles contract and prepare to fight, then unclench and open to your ideal lover. On. Off. On. Off. Just keep flipping the switch until it breaks.

When the difference between on and off blurs you're ready to fly.