The Joy of Sitting Through Resistance

I must admit that I was quite skeptical when I first heard that we could experience joy through sitting with resistance. After trying this practice during a particular difficult period of my life, I began to realize that there might be something to this idea. When I could actually practice seriously, I did feel a sense of peace and serenity. As I allowed myself to go fully deep into this non–resistance practice, a fleeting almost fragile sense of joy began to surface. Granted, today this is not always the case, as I have much that I am in resistance to on a daily basis, but I at least know that the practice works, if I so choose to do it. I do believe however, that is noteworthy enough to begin a discussion about it and to re-visit this from time to time as I now see this practice as an important part of our path to clearing deep states of pain and suffering.

What does it actually mean to sit with resistance? Well, I describe this way: it is sitting with all the contraction, complaining or avoidance that we experience when we are confronted externally with something that we don’t like, is painful or causes discomfort. What we are confronted with could also be internal such as a physical pain in the body, an emotional reaction or a disquieting thought. Whatever it is, it is important to note that the pain and suffering that we are experiencing does not stem from the situation or the internal grief but from the resistance itself. This was the revelation I needed, for I realized that the resistance itself is what caused my suffering so much of the time. It was then that I could finally release holding patterns, contractions in the body, and difficult mental constructs that kept me in pain for years. Once these cleared, that fragile joyous space began to surface more often. Today, if and when I practice, I can more effortlessly contact that space of serenity, peace and yes-even joy. Check it out for yourself and see what happens. Are you resisting something right now? Let me know what you find…