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When we perceive life dualistically, we see ourselves as being separate from life. I have a dualistic view of life if I see myself as a separate entity from the other people or objects around me. Having a non-dualistic view of life means I can recognize that I have an intimate connection with all I experience.
Because dualistic thinking leads us to believe that we are separate from our environment, we create judgments about experiences. If we have a negative view of our experience, we tend to resist it. The challenge is that we not only resist our outer experiences, but we also resist the experience of ourselves.
We create resistance within ourselves anytime we behave in ways that go against how we feel. Examples of this are peer pressure and the workplace. With peer pressure, we engage in behaviors that we would not normally do because we want to be accepted by others. Or, the company you work for asks you to do something that does not align with your belief system.
The only way to maintain your sense of integrity and excel in your personal growth is to honor your feelings and conduct yourself in a way that is right for you, regardless of what others think. While it is unrealistic to believe you can avoid all resistance, you can eliminate most of it. But it does take practice.
Select a day when you will not engage in any activity unless you feel like doing it. Of course, some situations may arise where you have to do something, even though you do not feel like it. If such a situation arises, do one of the following:
- Change the way you think about situations. You can do that by focusing on all benefits you would gain if you handled the situation.
- Hold off on the activity until you feel less resistant toward it.
- Wait till you can get to a place where you acknowledge your feelings about the situation, but understand that you must deal with the situation.
Learning how to handle resistance within yourself is not easy, but it’s worth it. What stands in the way of experiencing inner peace is not honoring the message that our hearts are giving us. In fact, many of our mental and physical disorders are due to creating resistance within ourselves. Given all that I have said so far, one thing deserves mentioning. There is nothing in life that has an inherent meaning to it. Rather, it is our minds that create the meaning of our experiences. When we experience resistance, we are not resisting the situation. Rather, we are resistant to our perception of it.
