Daryl Wood's Blog

A common reply from my homeopath is “what you resist, persists”. I’ve heard this from her many times over the years and especially when I talk about eliminating foods from my diet and the ensuing struggle to resist temptation. It does seem that the things I try to suppress, fight harder to erupt. This is the “beach ball” phenomenon that Debbie Ford describes in her Shadow work. We try so hard to keep things under the radar and eventually, they burst out with typically negative consequences.

What I notice is that many of us resist dealing with the emotional issues we don’t want to face. Tonight, a woman told me that she isn’t ready to commit to my Women’s Wisdom Retreat because she feels strong resistance to doing the work. First off, I realize that since she doesn’t know exactly what we’ll be doing, she obviously has a story made up that somehow, something she is trying desperately to avoid facing is likely to emerge.

Perhaps what she senses is that keeping busy in her daily routine she doesn’t have to handle anything that makes her uncomfortable. Coming to the retreat where she will have quiet time to reflect and opportunities to deepen her personal growth there is a very good chance that whatever she is resisting will come out of hiding.

Some people might think it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie. From my years of experience what I know for sure is that what we resist festers and grows insides us. It impacts how we live our lives whether we know it or not and sooner or later the pressure must be released. And when it is, stand back, because more often than not it brings plenty of drama and chaos.

The bottom line is that we can ignore what is churning inside or we can find a safe place to unpack it.  The overwhelming relief that I have witnessed when people “come clean” with themselves is awe inspiring. It’s worth saying here and now that what some people resist is indeed facing up to negative circumstances in their lives AND there are just as many that resist believing in their own stunning magnificence.

Either way, I encourage … no urge … anyone who feels a strong resistance to tackling their emotional challenges to find a safe space to resolve it. The sooner the better. Life is so precious and living it from behind a wall can never be satisfying.