Resistance & Tension
Another relatively obvious connection...
When we resist experiences, there is tension - in body and psyche. There is holding, contraction, holding onto or pushing away, force, duality, a sense of I and Other.
In terms of sequence, there seems to first be a belief in a thought. This is the thought I (as opposed to Other), followed by other thoughts of desireable and undesireable, likes and dislikes, want and want not, good and bad, and so on. Then, whatever arises in experience and labeled desireable or undesireable is either attempted pushed away or hold onto. And this is acompanied by tension. Belief in thought > sense of good/bad > holding onto/pushing away > tension.
Of course, it is futile to even try to hold onto or pushing away any experience. They come and go on their own. They live their own life, independent of what gymnastics we try to engage in. At the very best, attention can be placed somewhere else and there is distraction, for a while.
So any belief is acompanied by contraction and tension. There is a contraction down into an exclusive identity, and there is a tension of body/mind in trying to hold onto and push away experiences.
This drama seems to take a good deal of energy, so no wonder many are chronically tired (possibly beyond what is caused by sleep deprivation and less than optimal food and excercise habits) and also grow rigid with time.
In noticing this, over and over, I see (a) that it doesn't work, and (b) how much energy it drains from my daily life. When seen clearly, without drama, that is feedback that may allow it to erode and fall away.
For me, The Work is one way to explore this, especially through question three - how do you react when you believe that thought, and also in the contrast with what comes up from question four - who or what am I without the belief?
Breema is another good laboratory, allowing me to see the connection between holding onto beliefs (in the form of getting caught up in thoughts) and tension, rigidity, force and a sense of lack of flow and connection.
Labels: resistance