Inspired by a message from a listener who is in a pretty dark place, I thought I’d tackle the question of finding purpose and meaning in life when you aren’t experiencing joy and happiness. He asked, “What’s the point?”
Do You Converse With Flow Or Resistance?
Image source: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/integrativemed/clinical-services/qigong/
In Tai Chi, there’s a movement exercise called Pushing Hands. The lesson to learn when doing this exercise is that force can be redirected. If you redirect a strike, it will never make contact. The strike won’t meet resistance; therefore, the flow of the motion is never interrupted.
Pushing Hands teaches the Tai Chi student about flow and resistance. The less resistance there is during the exercise, the more it flows. Another way to look at flow versus resistance is by comparing a dam to a boulder. Water will flow its way around a boulder, but cannot penetrate the resistance of a dam.
In conversation, flow and resistance work very similarly. Do you find that you can easily speak your mind, allowing your conversations to flow along, while feeling a general sense of well-being? Or, are you more defensive when you talk to people, feeling vulnerable, and on-edge? [Read more…]