Holy Resistance
Holy Resistance – an interesting term -- one that came to me as I was preparing for one of my monthly sessions for a year-long spirituality group. I was reflecting on how this group of women, so committed to their own process of spiritual deepening, also complained about assignments and had difficulty following through on their daily spiritual reflection time.
Holy Resistance—how is it different from any other type of resistance, psychological resistance, for example? If we consider ourselves to be spiritual beings in our entirety, then perhaps there is no difference, no distinction at all. In that case, all resistance to growth is Holy Resistance. But, if we narrow our focus to only include resistance to what is holy in us, and where The Divine Spirit is leading us, then all acts of resistance are not quite the same. Although both are predictable aspects of human nature, both are rooted in learned behaviors often stemming from early childhood wounds or external messages that interfere with integration and authenticity, Holy Resistance involves more than resistance to the growth of the self.
Holy Resistance implies resistance to fulfilling a contract that not only aims at living to our full potential and authenticity but also developing ourselves to the point that we see the universal connection between everyone and everything. It is a resistance to experiencing life on the deepest level—where we are led to discover our unique destiny in the service of something larger than ourselves.
Spiritual integration is the final chapter in adult development. It is the launching point beyond self-actualization to the awareness that something more infinite, more universal exists. It is a journey that involves a process of developing the psychological self so that we may be strong enough, unencumbered enough, freed up enough from childhood longings for rescue, so that we may experience true surrender of the self. It is what the Buddha called enlightenment. It is what Christ referred to as finding the Kingdom of God within. Although most spiritual belief systems include practices and disciplines aimed at achieving enlightenment or salvation, the process is not complete until we understand the power and the function that Holy Resistance plays in our journeys.
Each of us embodies an attitude that both seeks after the light and resists or resents the effort it takes to surrender to the light. Surrender to the light? Why would that take effort? Moving toward the light doesn’t seem as though it would be something that we would choose to avoid. But we do. You do, I do, in little ways, every day.
We do it when we fill our schedules to the brim, leaving no time for contemplation. We do it when we neglect or abuse our bodies by not exercising enough, eating or drinking too much, smoking, or committing other acts of destructive indulgence that don’t honor the body as the temple of the soul. We do it by making excuses and rationalizations, remaining in a victim identity, and choosing to stay focused on fear or resentment or martyrdom, gossip, or envy, rather than trying to pray into why it is that we are here.
What is it that we can learn about integrating the spiritual and psychological parts of the self into a more harmonious balance so that we may submit or surrender to the light? The next set of Blog Posts, Forms of Holy Resistance and Surrender and Control, will offer us several different snapshots of what Holy Resistance looks like as well as various centering exercises to help focus and center on the light. By presenting various pictures, it is my goal that these very normal human behaviors will help you to recognize aspects of your own struggle. Hopefully, this recognition will be met with humility rather than self-contempt, because the desire to do this journey perfectly is the greatest roadblock or resistance of them all.
Learn more about Spiritual Integration HERE.