Most of us have built some kind of stone-like fortress inside, while on a larger scale an entire world is available to explore. (In the image above, note the beautiful eclipse displaying to the right.) But we don’t notice the larger picture. We close ourselves up. We wall ourselves off. In these moments, our world is reduced to only what we see through our beady little eyes or tiny slits of perception. When we do this, it means we are resistant to the actual flow of life’s energy. We don’t want to go beyond what we already know. We want to stay with what is familiar. Subconsciously, we are afraid of our higher selves. Resistance is about avoiding the magnificence of who we really are. But that is problematic because the Circle of Light says,
“You cannot resist yourself if you want to expand yourself.”
And we want to expand ourselves! We want to grow into our most authentic, our most powerful selves. We’re going for the gold! (See my blog post for January 1, 2022.)
We all have resistance
The Circle of Light tells us that “Resistance is a part of human experience…this means it is held in a shape, a form, and it [the energy] resists moving into something else.” Resistance occurs to shake things up a bit. When things aren’t going as we wish, there is variance between what we want to experience and what we are actually experiencing. This causes abrasion and friction. This very discord makes us take notice. It urges us to do something different. It’s like sand in the oyster, causing a pearl.
Noted therapists and teachers use friction in their healing therapies. Jules Taylor Shore says, “There is no way to avoid resistance. It’s just part of being a human. It comes with the territory.”
Dr. Sue Morter agrees:
“Awakening happens through friction…without friction, we can’t gain awareness about which parts of ourselves are still in the dark; we need to be jostled out of our status quo in order to see where we need to redirect and reintegrate our energy. You want to hold onto your old blueprint, but this is operating from old news.”
The Circle of Light says:
“The old blueprint is not who you are. It’s a sham. This is not your true creative power…You came to Earth to create a new experience. Your spirit came to create the shift from 3D to 5D…It’s time to come out of the shadows and let a grander, more encompassing aspect of yourself shine through…You don’t have to tackle the whole thing, just stay open enough to let the mystery come to you.”
Our resistance is a doorway to spiritual growth. The Circle of Light explains, “Resistance is what comes at the exact times that you need to look at your obstacles. It is designed to help you be creative and move on.”
Matt Kahn says the same thing.
“Perception of discomfort, negative feelings, or resistance is one of your fiercest teachers and allies. It is the consciousness of your highest unconscious-self to ensure you gain the necessary depth of experiences to see what you are meant to see at exactly the point you are meant to see it. This experience is meant for you to gain insight and move on to the next level of expansion.”
Dr. Sue says in her book Energy Codes:
“We do have a choice about where our friction occurs: in our inner world at the energy level or in the outer world at the level of story….Shifting your orientation from the mind to the body, from thinking to feeling, from rationalizing to sensing, will initiate a drastic shift in perception.”
The Circle of Light concurs, telling us, “The key is that humans can learn to have [their] resistance work for them.” So, let’s take a look at how resistance actually shows up in our personal lives. Since resistance is designed specifically for us, we need to be able to identify when it is occurring so that we can learn to use our resistance to work for us, rather than limit us. I invite you to consider the following possibilities and decide which aspects of resistance most resonate with you:
Resistance shows up in thoughts and actions
It may show up disguised as a head stuffed with unwanted thoughts or how we obsess about all the things that are wrong in the world. We moan, whine, fret, become disgruntled and voice our dismay over and over again. Resistance occurs when we are in opposition—to ourselves, to others, and Life Itself. This is how we energetically spread our negativity out into the world. Resistance also sneaks in subconsciously. This is when we escape being in the present moment. Maybe we spend lots of time trolling the web, checking our incoming messages, or pigging out on games or TV. All of these behaviors can keep us away from our deeper selves.
Resistance shows up in feelings and re-actions
We find ourselves feeling sad, bored, fearful, ashamed, or irritated, but we ignore these feelings. We just move on. Sometimes this is ok, but actually our feelings want, and need, to be explored if we really want to know who we are. There are times we get emotionally charged. We get triggered, but instead of dealing with our underlying feelings, we re-act once again by retreating, blaming, or becoming antagonistic. This too is a form of resistance which locks us into our old patterns.
Fears, buried from childhood show up unconsciously. Maybe we have a subtle sense that something is wrong, we don’t feel safe, we are all alone, there is no support. I’ll tell you what happened to me the other day: I set off to do errands, driving from place to place. I noticed that each time I got back into the car, I would feel a very subtle fear. Huh? I decided to pay more attention. This fear had been totally unconscious, but in the moment, I was experiencing this fear on an inner, energetic, level. Suddenly a series of painful childhood incidents flashed through my head. I was in a car. I was afraid but had no way to speak or escape. The experience was dreadful. I stayed with it, and then spontaneously, I started to use the infinity eight symbol to clear this old energy. (See my blog post Heart Series #7.) Thankfully, by the time I arrived home, my old fear had been released.
The is an example of how old phantom imprints show up and give us grief. But when we stay with them, we find they are an opportunity to dive more deeply into our truth. Sometimes it takes a courageous heart to explore and discover the message that lays beneath the feeling.
Resistance shows up in the body
When we experience aches, pains, headaches, and sore spots, they are usually signs of unconscious resistance. (This was a hard lesson for me to learn.) When we become tired and listless for no reason, it is also a sign that we are in resistance.
On a more subtle level, resistance physically whispers to us through images, pictures, words, sounds, memories, colors, and various configurations. When we learn to look inside, we will find that resistance comes in an infinite assortment of sizes, shapes, and textures. We may experience resistance internally as thick, thin, brittle, strong, sticky, hot, cold, light, or whatever. We may have subtle inner sensations that are experienced as gauze, burlap, or canvas.
Resistance can descend like a heavy fog. It can block our higher-self and cover up what’s really going on underneath. Resistance can blast out from nowhere, ruining our day and leaving us feeling agitated, depressed, irritated, or confused. Resistance can make our body shake, tremble, spasm, or jerk to release energy that has been trapped inside. Resistance can come as waves of energy, gusts of chi, or bursts of life force that are trying to get our attention, trying to be set free. The heartening thing is, when we attend to our resistance, amazing things can happen.
Enlightening sensations, and intimate understandings, can suddenly pop into our consciousness. This feels awesome, wonderful, and greatly reinforces our trust in the journey. (You will know when this happens.)
Now let’s recap
- We all have resistance.
- Resistance is a doorway to spiritual growth.
- Resistance shows up in innumerable ways—thoughts, actions, feelings, reactions, body sensations. Resistance can whisper to us from our deepest core.
If we pay attention, we will come to realize when, and how, we are experiencing resistance. We will know these are times that we are denying certain parts of our self because we don’t have a full picture of who we really are. So, we get to work on exploring. We want to develop a courageous heart. We want to have the ability to stay with, and learn from, our resistance. We want to be able to stand tall in the face of discomfort. We want to discover how this enhances our life and moves us toward the Truth. Remember:
“You cannot resist yourself if you want to expand yourself. The key is that humans can learn to have resistance work for them.”
Next time let’s talk about how to release our resistance so that we can convert our old energy into new positive energy that works for us and the world.