Driving with the Handbrake On
by Jenny Parker.
Have you ever had the inspiration to do something, got really enthusiastic about it, only to find that somewhere along the way, perhaps even directly after your light bulb moment, you lost your momentum? You have perhaps succumbed to resistance, which can easily prevent you moving ahead and grounding your wonderful ideas.
Resistance is that push-pull experience that we manifest when our heart is guiding us to take the next step towards our growth and then our mind kicks in and goes against that inner knowing, finding every reason (excuse) under the sun as to why not to act on our inspiration. It may sound something like “I’m not good enough”, “I don’t have the time”, “that will never work”, or it will be “a failure”.
Resistance will feel like driving around in your car with the handbrake on. We know what damage that does to our car, yet we subject our body to that very same stress. From working with people in a healing capacity for the past 17 years, I’m often amazed at how little care and attention people give to themselves yet don’t bat an eyelid about regularly getting their car serviced, oblivious to the fact that we can trade our car in, but we only get one body.
Most go about their daily lives unaware of the resistance that stops them from achieving what they really desire in life, wasting a lot of time and energy and simply making it all much harder than it needs to be, pushing and pulling against themselves, rather than surrendering to their heart’s desire and allowing the flow of life to carry them along the journey towards the fulfilment of their purpose.
The flow of life moves through everything. It is in the rocks that form and get worn away over time. It is in the opening of a flower born from a seed. The growth cycle that every human being goes through is part of this natural flow. When you go with it rather than fight against it, you are riding on the wave that also allows you to flow with life. You cannot stop the motion and change in your life and it is crazy to even bother trying as this just creates pain and suffering.
Many people live struggling against this current. They try to use force or resistance to will their lives into happening, in the way their mind thinks it should. Others move with it like a sailor using the wind, trusting that the Universe is taking them exactly where they need to be at all times. Choosing to go with the flow is often a matter of letting go of the notion that your mind needs to be in control.
It is simply our decision to accept the ride and experience joy, or have it take us there with our heels dug in - we always have a choice. Accepting the ride, can help us feel a connection to a force that is greater than us and is always there to support us. We will fulfil the purpose of our creation, whether we do so willingly, or get dragged through kicking and screaming - it’s just a shorter or a longer path.
Where we can get stuck is that when we decide to act on an inspiration, all of our unresolved issues blocking it, come up to be cleared, in order to achieve our outcome. At this point we are at risk of going into overwhelm, losing our momentum and then talking ourselves into believing that “it’s all meant to be”. We need to keep focused on the original inspiration long after it has disappeared. Success is 10% inspiration and 90% hard work.
If we didn’t have unresolved issues, related to what we want to achieve, we would already have a successful outcome. It’s just how the growth process works. When I began to understand the mechanism behind this I found it much easier to stay conscious, focused and stick with the game plan. You will need to maintain attention on your intention. If you just intend and then forget about it, your motivation (motion) will stop - the power of intention is not enough. You will need to continually exercise your will and love yourself enough to maintain continual attention, in order to stay on task.
It is important to be alert to any force that comes in and tries to push you away from your intention. Common examples of sabotage and distractions can be as simple as time frittered away on non-essential and unimportant activities such as spending time on the computer, watching TV, going to the fridge or talking on the phone. You will easily spot your time wasters once you focus on the task at hand. Holding the ideal of what you are working on is vital, if you go into mindlessness and let your attention waft, you will be pushed off course. If you put minimum effort in, at best you will be moving that object along in a forward motion, then when other forces come in to push you off course, you won’t even be aware of it.
It helped me to put things into perspective when my teacher shared, that your comfort zone, or the path of least resistance is the choice of the ego - the path of self-mastery is the one of most resistance. When you are on a crossroad and you have a choice to make, “shall I go this way or that”, the one that feels like the most challenging is probably the path that will bring the most growth.
The decision to follow our heart takes courage and self-determination, because we are surrendering the belief that we need to do everything by ourselves. Riding the flow of life can be exhilarating and unlike anything you ever experienced. When you are receptive to being in it, you open yourself to many wonders, possibilities and above all support beyond your wildest dream, as Sting sings, let the Universe suck you into place.
Once you take the brakes off, life becomes much simpler. When you are living with resistance, you are completely oblivious to the fact that you are restricting your growth and potential, hindering your life in so many ways. Which takes me back to the hand brake effect - why wait until the brakes wear out? The greatest obstacle to being in the flow 24/7 is resistance to what is. Cast your mind back to a day when everything fell into place and you felt the flow of life, when life felt quite magical. Which would you prefer?
