33. How to Make Resistance Work for You Rather than Against You.

‘I know that I need to make changes, but I just can’t do it’ Sound familiar? Damn right. We all experience resistance to change. Everyday. So why not try to work with it, rather than against it? In this episode, I talk about different kinds of resistance and how to utilise the resistance to be a driving force for change. I also talk about understanding resistance and the different kinds of resistance that you may face. Sometimes we face intuitive resistance – where we can’t bring ourselves to do something, but then it turns out that NOT doing the thing was actually for the best. For example, this year I was very resistant to organising workshops at the Centre for Shamanism. Now I’m VERY glad that I didn’t, because I would have had to cancel them all.  That’s intuition disguised as resistance & we all need to be able to tell the difference. But if there’s one thing we all need to know… it’s that Resistance is real, affects us all & knowing Resistance is a skill you to develop. Like everything, it takes practice. There’s no magic bullet! In this podcast I talk about the process of knowing & releasing Resistance: Identifying Understanding Utilize Release Identifying Forms of Resistance – this list will help you to identify the different type of resistance in your life: Believing you’re not good enough Numbing with TV, alcohol, exercise, drama, concentrating on what everyone else is doing Getting uncontrollably angry (for example during a healing circle or at a therapist) Scepticism – ‘you guys have no idea what you’re talking about, this is a load of rubbish’ Avoidance of a potentially healing situation Projecting issues onto others – I’m so angry at x person/self-consciousness/that person looks terrible in that outfit Avoiding group work Rejecting help Being the saviour, victim or perpetrator of your group Time management – I’ve got so much to do and don’t have time for spiritual work Counter-will – I’m not doing that just because you said so – in fact, I’m not doing it BECAUSE you said it! You can also experience counter-will from within yourself too. Journeys for this week Find a place in nature that you love. If that’s not possible for you right now then use a house plant, your garden or go into NOR (Non- Ordinary Reality) to find a place for this work Nature is a wonderful teacher and can help us to understand that everything is in its right place without hierarchy. I invite you to think of how your resistance manifests for you. Is it anger, jealousy, greed, numbing, being emotionally closed off, – the only way to work through resistance is to identify it, understand it & process/utilise it. Write down your thoughts and take them to your place in nature. Open your sacred space, be with your guides and then ask the Nature spirits to begin to shift your resistance. Give yourself over to the experience. Listen to the sounds in nature or listen to a track of nature sounds. To deepen this work over time, continue to write a journal of your resistances and work with Nature. Remember to work compassionately with yourself and from a place of love. Know that Resistance is your greatest teacher if you choose to look at it that way! Don’t know how to Journey? No worries. I got you. You can sign up for my free monthly live online introduction to Shamanism training here.