Ever notice how the more things change the more some people stay the same?
However, to resist change is to deny who we are.
Like our cells, we are always reacting to stimuli in our environment in order to maintain balance, or we die. Making adjustments, moment-to-moment. is how we adapt, learn, and grow. Change is the reality of Nature. Greek philosopher Heraclitus declared in 500 BC, “The only thing that is constant is change.”
Heraclitus has not been proven wrong.
Cognitive Dissonance
Image by Alexandr Ivanov
So why do some people prefer to put on their cleats and bury their heads in the sand?
Franz Fanon, a philosopher and psychiatrist, called this condition of denial Cognitive Dissonance.
In his book Black Skin, White Skin he wrote, “Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.”
Fanon speaks about fear. Whether we move ourselves forward or resist change comes down to the strength of our beliefs and fears and their hold over us. Our view of the world determines our beliefs, which determine our thoughts and feelings, which determine our words and actions. What we see manifest around us is based solidly in what we believe to be true or not. This explains why ten people will report ten different scenarios to describe one car accident. Each sees from his perspective.
Setting Up Modern Vehicle Multimedia System. Streaming Audio in a Car.
Truth is individual, based on perception. So there is always more than one truth. As perception changes and consciousness expands, support for old paradigms falls apart and we are able to see and act on new truths. To find truth is to resonate with a specific frequency, not unlike tuning into a radio station.
Therefore, debating truth is conflict because truth is relative, at the level of ego. Debating scientific truths is one reason conflicts never resolve. Science is debatable by nature. It can only ask a question based on a fixed set of variables. It cannot solve a problem.
Colorful Circuit Board Background Illustration. Circuit Connections.
The idea that resistance is futile goes back to electronics. Resistors provide a vital function in the world of electronics. They resist. They impede the flow of current. However, in Nature, or electronics, the current will take the path of least resistance. Note the solid line going around the resistor is what’s called a “short circuit.” Since the wire going around the resistor has very little resistance, the current will go right around the resistor as though it wasn’t even there. So the resistor is superfluous and therefore “resistance is futile.”
Your perceptions create your personal reality in ways that impact the greater, collective reality. When perceptions are based in fear, you naturally contract into a protective bubble. You settle into a one-world view with blinders on instead of taking a risk to see the possibilities of other worlds. If you believe there is only one way – your way – then you limit yourself and deny your capacity to transcend conflict. When you constantly reinforce your own belief system, you prevent meaningful interaction and the ability to find common ground.
“What you resist persists.”
Get To Know Your Shadow
Black and white portrait of trendy girl
When Psychologist Carl Jung said, “What you resist persists,” he was describing the shadow self. He saw that those who resisted aspects of themselves found that those traits persisted and grew. They created a negative feedback loop, a cycle of resistance. Such a cycle is energetic in nature. Thoughts of limitation and denial feed on themselves. What you believe you cannot do, you won’t do.
How to break out of the cognitive dissonant cycle of limitation? Embrace your fears and your shadows. Embrace all that you are. See them as a gift so you can short circuit your bubble of fear, and proceed on your evolutionary path. Don’t fight inevitable change. If you are open to other’s views, then your vistas naturally expand. You witness outcomes you never expected. You better reflect the nature of your cells. You more easily adapt and come into balance, not only with yourself but with everyone around you.
Blog updated from February 4, 2014.
Rosanne Lindsay is a writer and Naturopath. She is a health freedom advocate and the author of two books, The Nature of Healing: Heal the Body, Heal the Planet, and her latest book based on her own story of thyroid disease reversal: Free Your Voice, Heal Your Thyroid, Reverse Thyroid Disease Naturally. Find her on Facebook at Rosanne Lindsay and Natureofhealing. Consult with her (Skype or Zoom consults available) at natureofhealing.org. Subscribe to her blog at http://www.natureofhealing.org/blog/.
