Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    • Home
    • Sedona
      • Arts and Entertainment
      • Bear Howard Chronicles
      • Business Profiles
      • City of Sedona
      • Elections
      • Goodies & Freebies
      • Mind & Body
      • Sedona News
    • Opinion
    • Real Estate
    • About
    • The Sedonan
    • Advertise
    • Sedona’s Best
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Home»Sedona News»Resistance: Winning the battle
    Sedona News

    Resistance: Winning the battle

    July 12, 2017No Comments
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Reddit WhatsApp
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Reddit WhatsApp

    By Dr. Marta Adelsman
    Life Coach in Communication and Consciousness
    www.DrMartaCoach.com
    (July 12, 2017)

    As I stand by the side of a pool, enjoying a sunny day with others who swim and sun themselves, I notice a man under the water who has apparently drowned.  Deeply alarmed, I point him out to a lifeguard, who dives into the water and pulls the man’s body toward the ladder at the side of the pool.  As he reaches the ladder, the drowned man comes alive, climbs out of the pool, and stands directly in front of me.  He looks at me intently, and I feel a hint of recognition.  “I know you!” I exclaim.  “You’re the artist!”

    Then I wake up.  Immediately I know the dream’s message: to act on creative aspects of myself I had submerged. 

    In his book, The War of Art, Steven Pressfield (author of The Legend of Bagger Vance) offers an explanation for what prevents us from acting on our creative spirit’s nudges: “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us.  Between the two stands Resistance.” 

    Ah… resistance.  It rears up to block us when we pursue self-improvement, undertake a challenge, or initiate changes in our circumstances.  Whatever threatens (or promises) to move us out of our comfort zone acts like a bugle call to summon resistance. 

    We can recognize it in our procrastination when facing a comfort-zone-busting challenge.  When we begin a creative act, resistance is a master at distracting us to fix the squeaky door, to raid the refrigerator, to start the laundry, or to goad our spouse into an argument.  Sound familiar?

    Resistance pushes the hardest when we face our highest calling.  Deep down we know we are meant to fulfill a certain purpose, yet we’re afraid.  Pressfield wrote: “The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”

    Sedona Gift Shop

    The War of Art unmasks resistance and the many ways it prevents us from the most important thing about creative endeavors—hard work.  Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and grinding it out.

    From personal experience, seeing even a little bit of fruit from small efforts feeds creative energy.  We can’t steer a car if it’s sitting still.  We can’t see where we’re going unless we act and move into the light shining on the next step.  As we do the hard work, little by little the results expand.

    In my dream, I didn’t jump into the pool to rescue my inner artist.  I depended on someone else to do it.  I wasn’t ready to take that kind of responsibility yet, so it took me a long time before I committed to putting my rear end in the chair every day to pursue my call to write!

    In the words of William H. Murray, “…the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents no man would have dreamed was possible.”

    Murray goes on to quote lines from Goethe:  “Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has beauty, magic and power in it.”

    Jump in.  The water feels wonderful!

    Healing Paws

    This is an advertisement

    Comments are closed.

    If I Were Curtis Sliwa
    By Tommy Acosta

    One of my guilty little pleasures is imagining what I would do if I was in someone else’s shoes, especially politicians. In this essay I would love to jump into the shoes of Curtis Sliwa, a former New York City vigilante who founded the Guardian Angels and is now running as a Republican for mayor of his city.

    Read more→

    The Sedonan
    House of Seven Arches
    Need More Customers?
    Bear Howard Chronicles
    Humankind
    Tlaquepaque
    Verde Valley Wine Trail
    Recent Comments
    • Mark Harris on The Attics of Conscience — What Could Soon Happen in Sedona and Across America
    • Daniel J Sullivan MDJD on If I Was Curtis Sliwa
    • Jill Dougherty on If I Was Curtis Sliwa
    • Blue on Between Bombs and Olive Branches: The Art of the Deal
    • Blue on The Attics of Conscience — What Could Soon Happen in Sedona and Across America
    • Charles H Blum on License to Spy
    • TJ Hall on If I Was Curtis Sliwa
    • JB on If I Was Curtis Sliwa
    • Stephanie lenore Maciel on The Attics of Conscience — What Could Soon Happen in Sedona and Across America
    • Michael Schroeder on The Attics of Conscience — What Could Soon Happen in Sedona and Across America
    • Michael Schroeder on License to Spy
    • Brian mcgillin on If I Was Curtis Sliwa
    • TJ Hall on If I Was Curtis Sliwa
    • JB on If I Was Curtis Sliwa
    • Jill Dougherty on Cottonwood, Verde Valley Residents Join Largest Protest Yet to Reject Abuses of Power
    Archives
    The Sedonan
    © 2025 All rights reserved. Sedona.biz.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.