Going about the day, it is useful to tune into just how much of our experience we are resisting in some way. We judge it as inadequate, unworthy, inappropriate, or unwanted, and the associated energy in the body is some kind of tension.
But really, whatever is arising must arise because the conditions for it are there. To align with reality, we can learn not to resist the flow of experience. That is not the same as compliance or approval; it is merely not to resist. It takes attention to do this, and doing this also develops attention. Non-resistance is also an act of love.
Perhaps the most direct mode of training is to feel the body, look for areas of tension, and invite relaxation. I find it is best to do this with a broad attention that includes the space around the body. Whatever is passing through, be it anger, sadness, joy, or boredom, can be perceived as a wave through the body or some other configuration of the body's energy. Not blocking this (non-resistance) allows it to move through. There is trust involved in letting that happen.
Adyashanti said of the obsessions in the mind: "You think you resist these things because they are there, but actually they are there because you resist them." A wave passes freely through open space.
A powerful place to see this is in the projections of others. People interact with us through their own lenses of how they see us. Especially around this holiday time when we may find ourselves stepping back into habitual family roles, it is easy to resist the ways we are treated, snapping at people verbally or otherwise defending or defining ourselves.
But projections only land if there is a screen. If your body and mind are solid from your own fixed views and preferences, the movies will keep playing out in your body and mind. If you meet the world as open space, non-resistant, nothing will land. You can go about freely, acting instead from wisdom and compassion. You may indeed respond to what is happening, but it will be from a place of spaciousness.
But really, whatever is arising must arise because the conditions for it are there. To align with reality, we can learn not to resist the flow of experience. That is not the same as compliance or approval; it is merely not to resist. It takes attention to do this, and doing this also develops attention. Non-resistance is also an act of love.
Perhaps the most direct mode of training is to feel the body, look for areas of tension, and invite relaxation. I find it is best to do this with a broad attention that includes the space around the body. Whatever is passing through, be it anger, sadness, joy, or boredom, can be perceived as a wave through the body or some other configuration of the body's energy. Not blocking this (non-resistance) allows it to move through. There is trust involved in letting that happen.
Adyashanti said of the obsessions in the mind: "You think you resist these things because they are there, but actually they are there because you resist them." A wave passes freely through open space.
A powerful place to see this is in the projections of others. People interact with us through their own lenses of how they see us. Especially around this holiday time when we may find ourselves stepping back into habitual family roles, it is easy to resist the ways we are treated, snapping at people verbally or otherwise defending or defining ourselves.
But projections only land if there is a screen. If your body and mind are solid from your own fixed views and preferences, the movies will keep playing out in your body and mind. If you meet the world as open space, non-resistant, nothing will land. You can go about freely, acting instead from wisdom and compassion. You may indeed respond to what is happening, but it will be from a place of spaciousness.
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