Embracing the Whole Experience of Life
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This resistance to writing is a response to a feeling.
A feeling that appears, changes, and disappears just like all other feelings do.
Can you see that you resist doing certain things?
Can you see that you resist accepting other things?
Does resisting change anything? Does it help?
Who resists? The ego: a cluster of personal preferences, the accumulation of beliefs about who you are. The ego: a self-image of exaggerated self-importance armed with agitation, fear, and insecurity from a distant past which the brain replays like a teenager replays his favorite song.
Who resists?
A brain repeating old stories and the corresponding feelings, a brain that innocently remembers the pain of when I was 5 years old, and ignores the fact that I survived childhood, I am 20, 40 or more years old now, and I have a support system, and other resources to handle this challenge today.
Who resists? A mental voice that screams: Listen to me, I don’t like this, this shouldn’t be this way!
We are describing an internal resistance (energy), a way of thinking that ignores the potential you have today, your capacity to love and create, your innate resilience; the ability to bounce back. Why does it happen? Because your gifts, talents, and all the wisdom and common sense available to you are buried under many layers of insecure thinking. And the solution is one thought away.
One thought away, really? How can I be so sure of that?
Consider this, as soon as we understand (see-realize) that the obstacle is a feeling, a thought, or a perception that appears, changes, and disappears, everything looks different. Once we understand that this experience is temporary, we wake up from a nightmare, there is nothing to do but realize that the illusion is over, and anything can happen, anytime!
The misunderstanding
Sometimes my brain seems to focus on past pains, failures, and humiliation, and for a while, this insecure exaggerating brain appears to be my best friend while innocently being my worst adviser. Can you see how your brain does the same to you, and for that reason to all human beings?
You see, life is constantly flowing, the past is over. I survived that time, I’m here now, today I have new resources, plus the lessons learned from that old experience. But the memories are in the system, and when the new challenges appear, the brain compares the present to the past in order to predict the future and keep me alive.
Notice what is available to you today, or what is in front of you as a challenge or opportunity, do you notice any resistance appearing.
Resistance and Acceptance
What to do? Embrace the whole experience of life, it is OK to be perfectly human, without having to be perfect. See and understand that being alive means that sometimes you will feel peacefully confident, while other times you will feel agitated, afraid, and insecure. All these feelings are surges of energy passing through your system. Feelings that appear, change, and disappear on their own.
When we learn to hold space for any unwanted feeling (anger, arrogance, insecurity, envy, jealousy, sadness, fear, impotence) all this energy does is to appear, change, and disappear. After that, we bounce back to peaceful confidence and from that edge, it is easier to take off, land, and take off again as many times as we wish… before the body dies.
We are one energy, one awareness, one human race drifting in this ocean we call life. When we embrace our whole humanness, our spiritual and physical nature, and hold space for all that we are (light and shadow): we are one with the Universe, we are whole. In that state of mind, resistance appears, changes, and promptly disappears opening space for a new feeling. We can’t inhale unless we exhale, we can’t feel two feelings at the same time, a feeling fully felt changes, and passes on leaving an empty space for the next feeling to arrive. No need to fear a feeling.
The Scottish author Sydney Banks (1931-2009) is reported to have said: “if the only thing that people learned was not to fear their experience, that alone would change the world.”
That statement seems to be true, in the absence of insecurity, there is peaceful confidence that unleashes the desire to stand up and fully participate in life. Being aware that we are naturally resilient; the daily ups and downs of life become expected occurrences, and we learn to welcome and accept all experiences as they come and go.
Being aware that I am as resilient as nature is; because I am nature in human form gives me permission to reclaim my voice and fully participate in life, while will holding space for you to do the same.
As soon as resistance appears, notice the ideas and physical sensations, and remember this feeling is temporary and it doesn’t mean anything about your capabilities, or your life. This feeling too will pass.
What is resistance? A surge of energy that temporarily passes through my system
Where is this resistance? In the mind, therefore I will experience physical sensations in my body
Where will resistance go when it passes through my system? Hint: the same place where the breath goes after you exhale.
What gifts or talents have you been resisting?
It is time to bring them back from exile!
What have you been waiting to do that will make you feel alive, and benefit your community?
Beyond the resistance there are endless possibilities. Do you to see more? Let us have a conversation.
If you want to learn more about the role that THOUGHT plays in our decisions, click here.