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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

"No Resistance"

I was mulling over life’s challenges at 1am this morning – our usual bedtime - feeling an inner unsettledness about many of our life situations at the moment. I know many of you can relate. :) As I lay there I brought my attention to the inner awareness underneath it all – the awareness of Awareness. I felt the pulse and flow of this alive, inner Presence running through my body. Some call it “resting in awareness.” But as always – this “other” awareness of where life is going, or not going, kept arising – and the resulting inner conflict because of the thoughts *about* that.

My husband and I discussed what little we know of Aikido in relation to our life circumstances. It’s actually a martial arts practice that can be applied to any conflict situation. It dawned on both of us that practicing the principles of Aikido – presence and fluidity - doesn’t have to be about a particular conflict with a particular person or situation, but can be applied to life in general.

As I settled in for the night the words “No Resistance” arose in me, like a clear, clean breeze. I could feel my body immediately relax its tension and I took in a deep breath. It was as if the phrase deeply resonated in my body – and had a physical impact - particularly the ‘No.” “O” is a very open letter – it allows and embraces all that is contained within it – which seemed like a good metaphor for life last night at 1:30am. I understand the concepts of “radical acceptance”, “resting in awareness”, and living “life as it is”, but there is no inner *resonance* with these words. They are nice mental concepts to me - *ideas* of how I *should* be doing things. But for some reason I had a felt experience of “letting go” with the words “No Resistance.” So this is my current mantra, my practice. Today when I started to feel inner mental and emotional conflicts about life, I brought my awareness to “No Resistance” - and something relaxed in me and I moved on. I also began to see just how resistant I am! I was actually pleasantly surprised by this today, as I sensed a shift beginning in my orientation towards life…

“Noooooooo”, which we normally think of as being negative, is really such an open word, I surprisingly discovered. When you say it internally, like a whisper, and prolong the oooooo sound – it opens something up. It’s not really a resistance word. Same thing with conflict. We are so conditioned to believe that conflict is negative, that there shouldn’t be any conflict in our lives, externally or internally, and we resist and fight it to regain a sense of peace and equanimity. And yet, conflict just is. It is just energy, patterns of energy that can be met just like anything else – with awareness. I see that if I’m just *aware* of what comes to me, and my reactions to it, without *seeing* it *as* “conflict” – as opposition, as preventing me from living the life “I” want :), as interruption, as something to resist, this changes how I meet it. I can *see* it as just an energy flowing through. The conflict *and* resistance to it are just energies… Seeing this changes my relationship with life. This is a principle of Aikido.

Aikido teaches the philosophy of acceptance, of embracing rather than trying to get rid of conflict. It is a blending *with*, a dance *with* the energy of conflict, which creates a new form of energy. By dancing with the energy of conflict with “no resistance” a flexibility arises which allows a response, rather than a reaction, to the new form that conflict takes. By going with the energy, struggle is avoided and the energy gets re-directed – seems almost magical. I’m a beginner in this area of “no resistance.” It seems I have tilted at the windmills of the challenges that have been presented to me my whole life, so changing this inner paradigm may take a while. :) I still feel a reactiveness underneath the surface. But by turning inward and acknowledging – “No Resistance” – it allows me to stay aware in the moment, and feels like a soothing elixir, relaxing the old, irritated, over-reactive neural pathways, and redirecting the signals to be in harmony with the way things are…


~*~


13 comments:

  1. Hi Cristine,
    What a wonderful post! Thank you...youre the deep meaning of Cyber-Sangha :)
    This part deeply resonated with me... "I understand the concepts of “radical acceptance”, “resting in awareness”, and living “life as it is”, but there is no inner *resonance* with these words. They are nice mental concepts to me - *ideas* of how I *should* be doing things. But for some reason I had a felt experience of “letting go” with the words “No Resistance.” -- Tolle has a CD called 'On the Edge of Awakening'. It's a 2-CD set...the 2nd CD is priceless for it's meditation (in Silence + words) on 'no resistance' to what is...particularly to what is normally labeled as really awful. I like your rock crucifix. Apt.
    XOXO
    -Leslie

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  2. Nice post. I like this idea of spiritual aikido! And I like the experimenting with the sound of Noooo. In qi gong there are healing sounds that resonate with particular organs. I love the idea of words as sounds, not imbued with all that meaning we like to drag around.

    And I think we're writing from the same ink pot today!

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  3. Thanks Leslie! I will check into Tolle's CD, sounds interesting...

    Well my pile of rocks is actually not a crucifix. It's just a pile of rocks. It's more Zen in that it symbolizes finding the balance and harmony in life. I was actually amazed that I could get them to stay put! :)

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  4. Hello ZenDS -- Yes, I am familiar with Qi Gong! Haven't done any in a while though. I also used to do "sounding" meditations - it was very freeing!

    Yes, writing from the same ink pot! I loved your 3 pills Rx: stillness, silence and spaciousness :) As well as "undivided presence" - beautiful. Will need to take all those with me today as I am spending some time with my mother. :) Oh boy - I get to practice "no resistance"!

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  5. I love this post Christine! The words are like a key that has unlocked the door to a hidden well of peace within me.

    I also am going to remember the pointer "No resistance" as a touchstone through this day.

    A similar "mantra" that sometimes arises for me is-

    "Hold nothing in the mind"

    (from the Ashtavakra gita translated by Thomas Byrom)

    In the beginning of The Power of Now, Eckhart says that on the night of his awakening two words arose for him-

    "Resist nothing."

    It's like the invitation from our deepest essence- no resistance, resist nothing, hold nothing in the mind...

    Great photo of balanced rocks! I also enjoyed the comments by Leslie and ZenDS, and I agree with Leslie that the CD's by Eckhart are priceless.

    Thanks for this post Christine- I love the whole idea of living by the Aikido wisdom of inner alignment with what arises- even (especially) when what arises is conflict...! This is totally nail-on-head.

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  6. "The words are like a key that has unlocked the door to a hidden well of peace within me."...isn't that the truth. There is great depth of One here. I can't tell 'all' of you how much I appreciate this. Same with Tolle's 'Present Moment Reminders' which get sent to my e-mail. Geeze...the One really does know the One :) He says..."When there is non-resistance to what is, there comes peace. The portal is open; the un-manifested is there. That is the most powerful way. We can't call it practice because there is no time in it."

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  7. I'm with you 100% Leslie- I also get Tolle's Present Moment Reminders in my email, and I love them.

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  8. P.S. Have you ever thought of starting a blog Leslie? A blog of all the Present Moment Reminders from Tolle I think would be awesome...just a thought.

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  9. Hello Colleen ~

    Wow - Thank you for your wonderful compliment!

    I read Power of Now several years ago and have forgotten what Tolle said - but yes, it IS like an invitation from our deepest essence... And I love the phrase "Resist Nothing." That resonates too! I love how whatever the "right" words are arise, unbidden, when needed. And it seems I am being given a lot of opportunities to be mindful of "no resistance"!

    My mind is like cheese cloth these days - not retaining what I've read, so I admire you for being able to recall these wonderful quotes - and sharing them here! :)

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  10. Leslie ~ I agree with Colleen - you really "should" write a blog! You are so expressive! And thanks for the Tolle quote too! I will put that on a sticky note :)

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  11. Hi Christine & Colleen ~ Like I said I think you've both been hired by God. :)
    A blog?!??! OMG...I'd be fired in a flash. Then I would really have to dredge up the big-guns of non-resistance. As it is, I spend all my time reading all these blogs. I can't help myself. All of your words have saved my a_ _. :)
    The only way I'll write any blog is when the writer is absent. Period. Until then it would just be a dog barking at the moon -- so to speak. It is enough that I can stand up without falling. Besides...all of you are doing a clear-as-clear-can-be job with (the expression of)This. For this I am deeply grateful.
    Tolle is just downright brilliant in his expression and funny as heck. Can't count the number of times I could not stop laughing.
    Laughter + non-resistance...that ought to do it :)
    XOXO
    -Leslie

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  12. Leslie ~ I got news for ya'. We're all "dogs barking at the moon!" :) Just your comments alone would make a great blog! Don't underestimate THAT which you already are! A perfect, brilliant expression of the ONE in your own unique way! We are all expressions of the One - AS WE ARE! - no joke :)

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  13. Lovely post on using Aikido principles to transform inner conflict into a gift of awareness.

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