The Wisdom of Surrender: Resistance Equals Persistence

Resistance tends to strengthen the energies it attempts to oppose by giving them power and energy to work against.

We all know the feeling of being repeatedly haunted by the same issue, no matter how we try to ignore it, avoid it, or run away from it. Sometimes it seems that we can get rid of something we don't want by simply pushing it away. Most of the time, the more we push away, the more we get pushed back. There are laws of physics and metaphysics that explain this phenomenon, which is often summed up in this pithy phrase: That which you resist persists.

Resistance tends to strengthen the energies it attempts to oppose by giving them power and energy to work against. Additionally, resistance keeps us from learning more about what we resist. In order to fully understand something, we must open to it enough to receive its energy; otherwise, we remain ignorant of its lessons. There is a Tibetan story of a monk who retreats to meditate in a cave only to be plagued by demons. He tries everything—chasing, fighting, hiding—to get the demons out of his cave, but the thing that finally works is surrender. He simply lets them have their way with him and only then do they disappear.

Now, this wisdom must be applied practically. We are not meant to get ourselves physically injured. Instead, this story speaks of how, in essence, our demons are inside of us. What plagues and pursues us on an inner level has a way of manifesting itself in our environment in the form of people, events, and issues that appear to be beyond our control. But all these external expressions are reflections of our insides, and it is inside ourselves that we can safely experiment with surrendering to what we fear and dislike. It may feel scary, and we may find ourselves in the company of a lot of resistance as we begin the process of opening to what we fear. But the more we learn to surrender, and the more the demons that plague us disappear in the process, the more courageous we will become.

~Reprinted with permission from DailyOM

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SHANTI BHAVAN DANCING HOLIDAYS

Shanti Bhavan is a home and an exceptional school for economically and socially disadvantaged children. It is located near the village of Baliganapalli in rural Tamil Nadu, one hour outside of Bangalore. The mission of Shanti Bhavan is unique and ambitious - to develop children of deprived backgrounds into leaders of society through excellence in education and their holistic personal development. The success of our model is evident in the academic achievements of our students. The two most senior classes performed exceptionally well in the 10th Grade ICSE exams, with 100% of the students passing with First Division scores, and 50% of each class scoring higher Distinctions. Learn more about Shanti Bhavan: www.shantibhavanonline.org.

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