Resistance has many forms.

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For we have many defense mechanisms.

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They can show up in sneaky ways.

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Which can make them hard to spot.

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We might think we are not being resistant.

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Yet our actions may show otherwise.

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Especially when we are doing our deep inner work.

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For the thing we resist the most is changing ourselves.

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Our ego is designed to resist change.

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This is not necessarily a bad thing, just something to be aware of.

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When we take the time to be with ourselves in a powerful way, our resistance can take us out of presence.

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We could feel the need to constantly talk about our experience.

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Or write about every little insight.

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Maybe we feel the need to focus on other people instead of ourselves.

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It could even look like being excited for some new deep insight, without fully feeling the emotions that underneath that insight.

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Resistance can show up in so many different ways.

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The only common thread through all of them is that they take us out of presence.

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Out of presence with our feelings.

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Or away from being presence to those challenging situations we have lived through.

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Away from those feelings of loss or grief, pain or shame.

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So when we are engaged in doing our personal work, it is helpful to be mindful of whether we are truly being with ourselves, or distracted ourselves from the real issue.

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Not that we need to get rid of the resistance.

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Perhaps being curious about the resistance can be more helpful.

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And we can maybe ask ourselves whether we are truly ready to deal with the feelings that we are resisting feeling?

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Noticing that and being in the inquiry of why that resistance is there can be a very fruitful path.

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So where in your own life are resisting being present to your feelings?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour