Tag Archives: Resistance

Personal Development

Approaching Life with Mindfulness

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In a world that is continually moving faster and providing more and more distractions to pull you out of the present moment, it is more important than ever to learn how to be aware of the present moment.  A person can lower stress and enrich their life experience by cultivating this awareness.  In this article, I will try to explain what mindfulness is and give some examples of how to practice a mindful life.

Understanding Mindfulness

Mindfulness is defined as the state of being engaged and fully present in the moment, right now.  Judgment or attachment is not present in relating to your thoughts, emotions, or current external circumstances.  One tries to be aware of the thoughts and feelings every situation brings into our lives from external stimuli and internal thoughts and responses to whatever is happening, and accepting it.

Today, mindfulness has become a mainstream practice and is widely studied and adopted in fields like psychology, medicine, education, and corporate settings. It has proven to be an effective tool for enhancing overall well-being, reducing stress, improving focus, and promoting emotional resilience in the face of life’s challenges. The integration of mindfulness into various secular settings has made it accessible to people from diverse backgrounds and beliefs, making it a universal practice that transcends its original origins.

Benefits of Being Mindful

So many positives come to you when you understand the present moment is all you have. It will help you reduce stress and anxiety because you are eliminated regrets about the past and worry about the future by existing in the only thing you have, the present moment.

By doing this you will also improve your Mental clarity and focus.  Rather than having your thoughts bring up uncontrolled images of yesterday or tomorrow, a person can focus on what today is bringing into life, good or bad, and accept it as a part of life’s experience.  Rather than resist it because it doesn’t match your perception of what life should be.

Our emotions also benefit from the practice of mindfulness, because we start to be aware of the feelings we are experiencing in the moment.  We can learn what each emotion actually is and what thoughts or experiences have brought it to the surface.  Without mindfulness and awareness, we will be a servant to these feelings. Understanding and acceptance puts the power in your hands, so you are in control of what happens.

What you are aware of you control, and what you are not mindful of controls you.  That is the way many deal with their emotions throughout their lives.  The practice of being aware of your experiences throughout the day will enhance the quality and experience of your life.

22

Cycles of Growth and Change

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Life is like a game that brings you a varied experience. From the time we are born,  we move through cycles of change, which allow us to grow and become more mature and eventually become a powerful, positive-thinking human beings in the world. Some play this game on a loop. They get to a certain point and then try to stay in that comfortable place where everything is known, and the challenges are few.  The problem with this is that there will be little growth or purpose in life.

To avoid the pendulum of experience that swings from success to failure to gain and lose is impossible.  Our fear of loss and failure stops us from moving forward and risking all we have for the potential reward of becoming better people. We are too comfortable right where we are, even if we are unhappy or unsatisfied.  All life cycles have value and provide an opportunity to become the best version of ourselves. It would help if you had the courage to keep moving forward, regardless of the losses you might seem to leave behind.

Opportunity for Growth Everywhere

To become our best selves, we have to embrace growth opportunities. This can mean a new job, relationship, or trying something new for the first time. Growth is generally a positive experience that makes us more confident and provides joy in life. It will lead to change, and change brings an initial feeling of discomfort with it. Many people return to uncomfortable and harmful situations to avoid this awkward feeling of growth.  Even good change requires you to say goodbye to things, people, and places you enjoy and are comfortable with.  To grow, you need to dissolve a part of the past. Like a snake shedding its skin to become more mature, you must leave to get something.

Nothing can grow forever, but growth symbolizes life, and when you are reaching the end of the grand cycle of life and growth is no longer possible, it is time to move on.  Learning is the key to growth. All people can learn something new and become better at something in their lives. You always know what you want to learn because it is drawn to you like a magnet. Follow your interests in whatever paths they lead you. Don’t let age or the limiting expectations of others stop you. Modern society wonders that all information is located right at your fingertips. Search, learn, and grow. Develop and maintain a growth mindset throughout life.

Don’t Fear The Down Cycles

There are a time and a purpose for all things that happen. Sometimes it isn’t easy to see the positives in a situation, but we only have our perspective to look at things. We can’t see the landscape around us when we sit in the forest ourselves.  In general terms, down cycles are necessary for spiritual realizations to occur. The power of loss and pain draws a person to look for the meaning behind it all. If we move from success to success and never have time requiring character, we will never want change. Life is too comfortable.

Life never stays comfortable for most people. For some, it takes a significant life shake-up to force change and an investigation of things that are new and wonderful for you.  The hard times are not fun but are needed. People have experienced many deep losses, which have pushed them in new directions of development.  A new career, a new hobby, an activity that brings you peace, or even an appreciation of who you are and what a joy it can be to be a living human living on this great Earth.  All because you experienced a time of challenge in your life.  Be grateful for the challenge because it made you a better person.  Perhaps the version of yourself you were meant to be all along.

Final Analysis

So before you jump out and label one thing bad and another good, remember that the event is only the catalyst. The streams of reaction results also need to be analyzed. Often you never see your shortcomings until life points them out to you.  How can you improve something when you have no idea it exists?  It is that way when you look at failure and success. Often we get so wrapped up in perceptions we don’t understand what opportunity life has given us.  “Failure lies concealed in every success and success in every failure.”

Look for the lesson, not the perceived result, and seek ways to improve yourself.

“The perfect orchestration of the symphony of life is one of the Creator’s greatest and most beautiful miracles.” ― Suzy Kassem

“ Dharma or Ethics and Morals are the Fundamental Set of Rules created for those who want to play the Game, by those who are Inside the Game.” ― Vineet Raj Kapoor

22

Stuck Energy

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 Anything offering resistance will create energy blockages or stuck energy, which also applies to your emotional state. 

It is a battle of wills most days regarding the circumstances we see and the perspective we want to see. Resistance is the refusal to accept or comply with something or attempt to prevent something from happening. Your strength can come from action or argument. Things are not left to unfold as they should because we have a set outcome we would like to see in our heads. When you have this outcome in your mind, all other results are unacceptable and will cause a problem in your reality. It is hard to know what you want, set an intention to get it, and only accept one path to get there. Learning to see our resistance to things is vital to growing as a person. Resistance is futile when it comes to seeing the results of events. They will happen eventually, the way they are meant to be. You can fight against them and dislike the results, or you can learn to enjoy the ride. It is also true in accepting things in life. They may seem like “bad” things at first, but all items can bring good to your life in time. Work with them.

Expectations Limit Us

All of us create expectations. This creation means we believe a specific outcome will be the result we will see. Regardless of whether or not it is realistic, the consequences of situations we are involved in are predetermined in our minds. Any other outcome would cause disappointment, even if it were better than you hoped. Our expectations can limit our happiness and stop us from enjoying the good things coming into our lives.

There is an element of control that exists in our expectations. We try to devise what we see as the best possible outcome and then manipulate the world into that tiny, limited mold of options. But life is neither low nor inadequate, and you can’t possibly know all of the variables and potential outcomes perhaps experienced. You can’t control the Universe as much as you would like to. Not for yourself and certainly not for others. Control is a limitation to what you want; it will create situations where you are blocking good things from entering your life. Learning to let go of the control you wish to see in the outcome of your experience can allow more incredible things than you can imagine to enter your life.

Beliefs Cause Resistance

In our development as people, we create beliefs based on our experience and the information others tell us. These ideas bring us to think that a specific outcome will result from a situation even though there is no substantial proof that this will be the case. In this way, we believe we have the world figured out, and the cause and effect relationship of our lives will lead to the desired future results. In short, if I do x,y, and z, then the result will be fixed and predictable. Wouldn’t it be nice if the world worked like this?

The future is continually changing, and there is no way to predict or control what is coming your way. You may be able to do it once or twice even, but to do it consistently is impossible. Understand that our beliefs can and will change as our experiences in life grow. We are going to move toward becoming our potential. Suppose we are not cut short by our mortality. Being limited in your beliefs will lead to resistance to anything outside of them. Resistance leads to a stoppage in whatever you are trying to create. Work on being fluid in what you believe.

Bottom Line: Resistance=Disappointment

If you choose to be ridged in what you believe and the outcomes you will accept in the flow of life, prepare to be continually disappointed. People cannot consistently control all things and people in the world. Those we are close to needing to make their own decisions and have unique experiences. It isn’t up to us to choose for them. Good, bad, or neutral life’s

The rural scene at sunset

experiences are meant for growth. Let the experiences provide what they will, and don’t develop fixed expectations of what you will accept from them.

Resistance to a particular outcome can only lead to disappointment. Life happens, experiences occur, and we can choose to move with the results, or we can choose to resist them. Our choice will rarely change anything, so energy spent in this way seems to be a waste of time. Although it would be great if we could control things the way we want, life would never be able to teach us anything new, and growth would be impossible.

Accept the flow of things and allow them to happen naturally without resistance from you. Learn to take the lesson and become a more productive person as life experiences teach their classes. It’s up to you if you enjoy the ride or not. Resistance is not only futile, and it is a waste of energy. 

“Resistance is thought transformed into feeling. Change the thought that creates resistance, and there is no more resistance.”

“The mind commands the body, and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.”

“What is happiness? The feeling that power increases – that resistance is being overcome.”

“The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked.”

“Fear is only inverted faith: it is faith in evil instead of good.”– Florence Scovel Shinn

 

 

22

Truth Seeker

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truth pinoccio
All people create their truths.

Truth should be a universally known entity. But it becomes increasingly evident every day each person carries their thoughts about what is true and what is not for themselves in their own life. Each person sees the world through their lens of life, which will, in most cases, support their individualized ideal of what constitutes reality for them. Anything outside that realm is rejected with judgments, delusions, or denials. My challenge for you today is to look at the happenings in your life and decide if they are correct for everyone or just for you?

Perception

Our truth leads to how we look at things, which is our perception of life. The most basic of facts comes from our basic view of the world. Is it the right place, or is it the wrong place? This fundamental thought colors all of our experiences and determines our essential positivity or negativity in life. One person wakes up and ventures out into the world, expecting a hostile,  very dark, and dangerous place, and if you don’t look out for yourself, nobody else is surely going to.

Some see the world as a beautiful place.

Another person living in the same town, maybe just one house down the street, wakes up and faces the world with a vision of kindness and acceptance. One thinks we are all in this together.

Some see the world as a cold wasteland full of dangerous white walkers.

They see the good in other people and know they are not in this altogether. They expect good things to happen, and they most often do.

These two perceptions are the basic was we all look at the world, and only you know for sure which of these paths you choose to walk.

Truth and Perception

Each moment in life will bring you a set of experiences. People leave, come. Accidents happen, great fortune occurs, success, failure, and every conceivable combination of life events. If something we believe and accept as accurate, then we deal with it, no matter if it is positive or negative. For example, a person suddenly loses the job they have been at for 14 years. A person will not be able to move on positively until they accept the loss as a part of their reality. As long as the truth of the situation is muddled through blame, anger, frustration, disbelief, or denial, you can’t move on. The same is the case for the end of a relationship. Until you accept the reality of the situation, you will never be able to move on.

Acceptance of reality should not be as hard as it is. Our mind’s job is to protect us and get us through this thing called life. It will tell you something which is not accurate to fulfill its prime directive of protection. You can’t trust what your mind tells you. It will lie and exaggerate, make excuses, and throw all kinds of judgments onto others. Being conscious of your thoughts and comparing them to what is happening in your life will show the level of truth existing in your experience.

Responsibility

This perception of truth leads to accepting who you are and the happenings of your life or putting a lot of effort into resisting things. Resistance comes in the forms of denials, postponements, and blame on everyone and everything else in the world. Whatever is happening which you don’t like is not your fault, and you have no responsibility for it. That is the attitude of failure and unhappiness in life.

The flip side of this is to take responsibility for everything in your life. Accept it and embrace it and understand even things occurring that are far removed from your direct control, you can take responsibility for and bring that into your truth of life. Taking responsibility for items puts you in the driver’s seat and controls your life and destiny. When something happens, embrace it even if it hurts because it is happening anyway, and spending time and effort resisting it, is a significant waste of time.

Final Truth

Events are what they are, and to employ any denials for that fact will detract from the quality of life a person will experience. Your truth will be colored by the perception you create about things and how any anticipated event will affect your life right now. Putting negative thoughts or resistance in a situation makes a negative experience in your life. You control how much of this type of negativity you allow in your life. You are proactive with your use of responsibility.

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” ~Mark Twain

 “If a thousand old beliefs were ruined in our march to truth, we must still march on.” ~Stopford Brooke

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” ~Mark Twain

“There is no truth. There is only perception.” ~Gustave Flaubert 

This song is about the truth of the 1980s, James Brown, Rocky, Living in America my brothers and sisters, Happy 4th of July.

Laws

Universal Laws of Life

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I wanted to share some thoughts with you which will hopefully help raise your consciousness. I read this in a book called Universal Laws by Jennifer O’Neill several years ago and it made me look at the world in an interesting way.  If nature is governed by a set of laws, perhaps our reality is also controlled by hard fast laws. Being aware of these laws may just allow you to get the most out of your daily experience. Some you may agree with and some you may not and that is great.  It should be an experience creating new thoughts in your head about your behavior and understanding the world a little more in a different way.  These are the 18 Universal Laws of Life and they can help you understand your life a little bit more.

My goal is to discuss each one of these laws one by one for the next 18 days.  Hopefully, it will create thought and new ways to look at life.

  1. The Law of Oneness- Everything is connected. We are all one.
  2. The Law of Vibration- Everything in the Universe vibrates or offers a vibration.
  3. The Law of Attraction- You attract into your life what you are offering vibrationally.
  4. The Law of Allowing– The state of allowing is the purest state of getting what you want. Allowing things to move without resistance and to evolve and grow naturally.
  5. The Law of Resistance– Anything offering resistance will manifest itself into energy blockages or stuck energy.
  6. The Law of Detachment– The law of releasing or letting go of your desires.
  7. The Law of Abundance- There is more than enough in the Universe, nothing is limited.
  8. The Law of Intention- Directing energy as an intention is the first step to creativity and desire which results in creating the things you want.
  9. The Law of Action– Action must be taken in order to result in manifestation.
  10. The Law of Cause and Effect– Every action has an equal reaction or consequence.
  11. The Law of Pure Potential- Everything and everyone has infinite possibilities.
  12. The Law of Rhythm- There is an ebb and flow of life. All things have a rhythm, a cycle or the ebb and flow.
  13. The Law of Polarity- All things have an opposite available. Yin and Yang,  these complementary opposites are part of the greater whole.
  14. Law of Relativity- Everything and everyone will face challenges or tests that will allow them to find their strength within.
  15. Law of Dharma- A purpose, all things have been created for a purpose.
  16. The Law of Giving and Gratitude- The Universe dictates, you must give in order to receive.
  17. The Law of Correspondence- Simply put, reality cannot contradict itself.
  18. The law of Love- Love is universal, energy in its purest and most powerful state.

I will be spending the next 18 days exploring each of these laws and sharing my thoughts on how they affect our lives. It should be a fun experience.

“The Universal Law is impartial. It will give you anything you believe. It will throw you garbage or roses depending on the energy you put in. You are the one in charge, and you must accept that and stand alone. If you think God is coming down to fix things for you, forget it. God is out playing golf.” -Stuart Wilde

“Freedom is independence of the compulsory will of another, and in so far as it tends to exist with the freedom of all according to a universal law, it is the one sole original inborn right belonging to every man in virtue of his humanity.”-Immanuel Kant

 

 

Poetry

The Journey Dark and Light

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by Jonathan Hilton

Sea StormI was looking for myself,

But what I found was you.

Dark journeys I have traveled alone,

but light was just a momentary thought away.

The negative propagation that overwhelms,

replaced by sunlight and sea breeze laughter.

Much as the winter is killed by the spring,

the reality of missing pieces, stands out brightly.

Incomplet and utter dark night,

combined with twin bright flashes of starlight.

star oceanTwisting me ever forward, toward light perfection,

resistance is gone, I am resigned to the fate.

Walk, run, crawl, faster, quicker,

don’t miss another second of the twist of life.

It is not a completely forever conversation,

life is a combination of pain and love.

It will be over before you ever realize,

grasp a hold of it and ride, as if you had a choice.

This song was the theme to Friday Night Lights but it is called, Your Hand In Mine, sets the mood for this I think.