Way of the Left Hand Buddha.

I might go out on a limb and say that many people on the Left Hand Path are consumed by hate of some sort. I know I was. I used to hate theists of any sort. Didn't matter if they were poly- or mono- theistic. Whether they were pagan or Abrahamic, it didn't matter to me. I hated any one who worshiped any external spiritual force. Looking back on it, I'm not sure why. I think I just told myself that it was because I didn't like their voluntary self-slavery, or because they couldn't think of their own beliefs, but had to have their opinions dictated to them. Though it occurs to me as I write this, Atheists can't really think of their own beliefs either. So they don't bother to believe in anything. I think I might have just been filled with a shiftless hatred because maybe I thought it gave me some kind of drive.

It took me some time to realize that Satanism gave me a greater purpose: myself. People who followed a religion that worshiped some kind of god or spirit didn't have the same purpose I did. Some people are just too humble to be self-serving. So without themselves or a god to give them purpose, many people turn to theistic religion to give them greater reason to exist. I realized a little while back that this was actually more pitiable than it was infuriating. The only reason I hated them was because I was being xenophobic, and hating anyone who was not like me. Some people hate other people for various reasons. But let me ask: If you took all the energy you expend just hating others and instead focused it on the achievement of your goals or maybe showing your love to those who deserve it, how much more fulfilling do you think your life could be?

Now don't get me wrong. I'm no peace loving hippie! There are those I hate with a blinding rage. There are some who inspire such anger in me, that I literally don't know what to do with myself. But I can avoid this if I want to, though not if I need to. Even when I find myself surrounded by those I hate, I find that if I just ignore them they don't bother me. It's when they choose to trouble me and decline my request to be left in peace, that I find myself stirred into anger.

And there's another thing people often forget. There is a difference between anger and hate, everyone. Because I love quoting from the dictionary, here's the difference between the two:
Anger
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, affliction, anger, from Old Norse angr grief; akin to Old English enge narrow, Latin angere to strangle, Greek anchein
Date: 14th century
1 : a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism
2 : rage.
Seems pretty basic, right? Well here's anger's evil twin.
Hate
Pronunciation: \ˈhāt\
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hete; akin to Old High German haz hate, Greek kēdos care
Date: before 12th century
1 a : intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury b : extreme dislike or antipathy : loathing
2 : an object of hatred.
They seem pretty similar don't they?
Well I can say this. The definition of hate implies anger taken to it's extreme. I think it was the Greeks who coined the phrase "Everything in moderation". So taking anger to it's extreme until it becomes hatred doesn't really help anybody does it?

I won't say that your life will be better if you just let go of your hate. It's impossible to do just one thing which, on it's own, improves the quality of your life. It is entirely possible though to let go of that hate. I will tell you this, though: since I've let go of my unconditional hatred, I feel as though a huge burden has been lifted from my life. I for one have found that tranquility is much more preferable to impotent rage. Because when you hate a portion of the whole world and you're unable to do anything about it, what does that accomplish? Maybe you find it gives you focus for your goals. However, like theism, that focus is external. Eventually you find yourself a slave to that hatred, all your actions are motivated by it. Before you realize it, that hate becomes your god.

One need not pursue Zen to feel peace. Nor must you smoke pot or forsake physical possessions. But it helps if you start looking at that which you hate as being beneath your notice. Letting go of one's hate is not as easy as dropping a suitcase. But it is as easy as neglecting that which you find distasteful.