Beliefs, Resistance and Samsara
Beliefs and resistance seems to be two sides of the same coin, and also the main mechanism of samsara.
Whenever there is a belief in any abstraction, there is also resistance.
And whenever there is resistance, there is also resistance to the effects of resistance.
Beliefs as resistance
Whenever there is any attachment to a thought, it gives rise to a sense of I and Other, to an identity (I am this and not that), and to a sense of Other and Not That as a disturbance.
There is resistance to what is through trying to hold onto some aspects and trying to push away other aspects. And from this comes a sense of struggle and drama.
Resistance to resistance
When there is resistance to what is in this way, there is not only the appearance of Other and of a disturbance, but the whole process also gives rise to an experience of suffering.
On top of this, there can be resistance to the suffering as well. There is the effects of the initial resistance in the form of suffering, and then resistance to those effects which in turns adds to the experience of suffering.
Unraveling
To unravel this, we can start at the belief end or the resistance end of it.
Starting at the belief end, we can for instance do The Work on beliefs and allow them to unravel in that way. When beliefs unravel, resistance unravel with them - along with a sense of suffering.
Starting at the resistance end, we can be with whatever is experienced - allowing it its own life, befriending it, finding peace with it even if it would never go away (which it always does, at some point). As the resistance falls away and there is a familiarity with the new terrain, the corresponding beliefs tend to unravel as well.
Labels: beliefs, resistance, samsara