We can learn a lot from plants or animals about dropping resistence. They are masters of accepting what is, of surrender to the Now, of Being. They know how to live and how to die; how not to make living and dying into a problem.
What we resist, persists. What we look at, goes away – Neale Donald Walsh
Change happens when we drop the conflict with existence. We need to accept fully all that is in our reality right now, not resisting any part of it, however small. What is, can always be changed. It is only what is not, that can’t.
Think about it: That which we deny, we have no control over, because we have said it’s not there. So, to change something, we need to first fully move into it. The very act of resisting something, places it there and the more we resist it, the more we make it real. What we deny, controls us; what we accept, we can begin to control.
Dropping resistance opens you up to Self. Start breaking the habit of present moment resistance by withdrawing your attention from past and future. If you let go of inner resistance, you’ll find that circumstances often change for the better.
Surrender
If we find our life situation intolerable, we need to surrender to it first. This breaks our unconscious resistance that perpetuates the situation. Acceptance of a situation means inner freedom from it. We may then find that the situation changes without any effort on our part or it may stay the same. Either way, we are free. We will know that we have surrendered, when we suddenly feel very light, clear and deeply at peace despite our circumstances.
The state of surrender is far from passive. With a clean inner space free from negativity, we see very clearly what needs to be done. Then we are led to appropriate action. This is positive action in the situation rather than negative reaction to the emotions the situation has brought up. If there is nothing to be done, then we use the situation to move more deeply into the Now, more deeply into Being. Staying present, we end the suffering of being at odds with everything. Life becomes helpful and cooperative. Observing events unfold, we flow with them, taking minimum impact, maximum effect action.
The passing parade
Why in moments of shock, do we feel like we’re watching life like a movie, removed from us? It’s because that’s what it actually is. The mind for once has nothing to say and we experience the moment without mental commentary.
Once we have surrendered, we can say in full acceptance: ‘It is what it is’. We finally see it as it is – we see the whole picture. We don’t judge or fight the way things turn out. When the world has ceased to hold and bind us, it becomes a place of joy and beauty. We can be happy in the world only when we are free of it. If we pull nothing out of the ‘movie ‘of life, then it stays what it is, a mere passing parade. Safe in the Now, I look at the world equanimously. I don’t need to leave that space ever – unless I allow my mind to drag me out of it.
Say ‘yes’ to all of it
Saying ‘Yes’ to what is, is the fastest way to enlightenment – Nisargadatta Maharaj
When we fully accept what is, then every moment is the best. That is enlightenment. We can say ‘Yes’ to the moment, as if we had chosen it because at a deeper level we actually have. Then everything is perfect just the way it is. By being just who we are, we have all we need to make our lives successful.
If we say ‘Yes’ to Life, it suddenly starts working for us and not against us. If we love life unconditionally, whatever it brings, welcoming all with open arms, we transcend the good-bad, pleasant-unpleasant duality. Realizing that right now is perfect, is the way to peace. In all things, we begin to see more clearly the perfection of the moment and we can stay in this perfection. We no longer need to get ‘out’ of situations we would previously have labelled ‘unpleasant’.
We are always exactly where we should be to experience what we need to, to uncover the next layer of Self.
Get in touch with me here if you’re ready to break free!