Resitance

1. the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.
2. the ability not to be affected by something, especially adversely.

You have probably heard the phrase “what you resist persists.” Let’s take a look at how it applies to your life.”

Whenever we are experiencing discontentment or unhappiness, there is inevitably something that we are resisting. All suffering is caused by non-acceptance of what is. It may be a thought, a feeling, an emotion or a situation. You suffer when you want things to be different from how they are. What you resist persists.

Most of the time, it is NOT the experience itself that causes us pain and suffering, rather the resistance TO the experience. How you label the experience determines how you feel.

We are conditioned from a young age to categorize our experiences into good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable.

Lets say you are feeling down. The mind will unconsciously label the feeling as “bad.”

In the absence of labelling, it is simply a feeling …it may be uncomfortable but it is not a problem in itself.

There is nothing “wrong” with feeling sad …unless the mind says so.

Through habit, the mind will also latch onto something as the cause of the feeling …the girlfriend, the job, the weather.

Who knows what the real reason is? Often feelings of being flat or down have absolutely nothing to do with us. You could be picking up on the earthquake in Japan or your neighbours having an argument.

Conscious people experience the exact same thoughts and feelings as everyone else. The difference is the recognition that:

1. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with the feeling being there.

2. It is not personal …feelings simply appear by themselves.

3. All feelings come and go so why give too much attention to whatever shows up in any particular moment?

So, the key to finding peace is to become aware of all you are resisting and to make the conscious choice to:

1. React to it or
2. Suppress it or
3. Express it or
4. Surrender to it and let it go.

The first three are the usual responses, have you ever tried the the fourth one, it may surprise you.  As you show no resistance to what is happening, you may find the feeling subsides and it goes, leaving only peace and harmony in it’s place.

All you need to do is practice, practice makes it better.

Thank you for tuning in.  Don’t forget to post a comment if you enjoyed reading this and feel free to share this with one person who may benefit from it.