Resistance - It's Not a Bad Thing!

The New Age rhetoric can lead one to believe that resistance is something to be avoided at all cost. Many of the chapters of this book might even seem to imply this. Resistance, however, is a necessary element for the functioning of a radio. In technical terms, resistance is the delaying or stopping of energy in a given conductor. Resistance adds subtlety and granularity to the flow of energy. It directs energy and slows it down in other places. Specific parts of the radio need at some points to have energy redirected someplace else to avoid burning out. Also, some parts of the system might need to be emphasized at times by allowing more energy to flow through them (hence lessening their resistance while other parts increase it). In short, proper distribution of resistance throughout the system allows more possibilities of energy distribution and allows the energy to modulate it’s intensity by creating shades between a totally open energy flow and a completely cool, energy-devoid state.

Experiment 1 - "To Talk or Not To Talk"

1. Stand in front of a mirror and look into your own eyes.
2. Establish contact with yourself.
3. Without speaking it, hear in your mind the words : "I am here"
4. Over several minutes develop an intense desire, pressure or need to say these words out loud, but don't say them.
5. After at least 5 minutes have passed, say them slowly and carefully.

Make note of what happens as you say them.

Experiment 2 - "The Urge to See"

1. Stand in the middle of a room, if possible in front of a mirror.
2. Set your timer to 10 minutes. Start it.
3. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.
4. Start to imagine that the world around you is changing, that it has all turned black and that you won't ever be able to see things outside of you again.
5. Intensify this feeling of having lost your ability to see and go beyond that. It's not just that you can't see... it's that the world as you know it is no longer there.
6. Develop an intense urge to open you eyes, but DON'T!
7. Keep on feeling this tension, this deep urge to open your eyes, without doing so until the timer sounds.
8. When it does, don't open your eyes right away. Take 3 deep breaths, then very slowly open your eyes.

Experiment 3 - "Thou shall not create!"

Spend a day during which you can't have any creative outlet at all. You can't play music, paint, write poems or prose, etc. Firmly remind yourself every hour that you can't do this.  If you find yourself imagining things to do, stop the current of thought and simply return to what you were doing otherwise. Remember that any creative action, no matter how small, is out of bounds for the day.

The next day write down what you feel as you wake up.

Experiment 4 - Phrase Repetition

1. Pick a short sentence. It should be something that doesn't have that much "charge" for you. Something like "The grass is wet outside".
2. Set your timer to 10 minutes. Start it.
3. Now slowly repeat the phrase over and over, out loud, with your eyes open.
4. Pay attention to the waves of reaction that happen within you. The impulse to stop and the will to continue. Feel the battle raging within as you repeat and repeat the same phrase.
5. When the timer sounds, stop repeating. Take 3 deep breaths
6. Write down your impressions in your journal.

As you explore the quality of resistance, ask yourself how this force can be used for the benefit of your own purposes. Instead of seeing it as a block or a nuisance, start to observe it as a possible hidden helper which you have been ignoring. Is there something there, hidden just beneath the surface, that could turn out to be your hidden key? Observe this same quality in other aspects of your daily life. When does resistance occur? What effect does it have? On you and on others. Can it be applied purposefully?  Experiment with these ideas and write down your observations and results.

Experiment 5- Hold up the Wall!

Stand against a wall and set your timer to 10 minutes. Now close your eyes and place your hands flat against the wall. Start to imagine that the wall is coming down towards you. You are the only force holding it up, the only thing that prevents it from crashing down on top of you and anything else that is in the room. Feel it pressing down, more and more forcefully. As you feel that, apply more and more force towards holding it in place. Don't open your eyes or let go for a second or the wall may fall over you! When the timer sounds, slowly start to release the pressure. Do it very slowly. Feel the wall slowly return to its own foundations. Slowly remove your hands and stand separate from the wall. Slowly open your eyes.

[ Freedom Intro ] [ How Freedom Collapses ] [ The Mood of Freedom ] [ Freedom - Purgatory - Shamanmusic ] [ Discipline without Carrot and Stick ] [ Breakdown of Personality and its Bonds ] [ What does movement mean? ] [ The Corridors ] [ The Rooms ] [ Resistance - It's not a bad thing! ] [ How The Personality Hides ] [ Personality Hiding Tricks ]