3 Ways to Release Resistance & Connect

I read the coolest thing recently about a study that took place years ago at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab (PEAR Lab). The experiment focused on the interaction between human consciousness and physical devices. The scientists used machines called random event generators (REGs) that displayed random sequences of ones and zeroes, and they’d have a volunteer (who was not known to be psychic) sit by the machine and try to influence it to produce either mostly ones or mostly zeroes…just by sitting there and willing it to.

The results showed that the participants’ intentions could produce a subtle shift in the machines’ outcomes, away from pure randomness. My favorite part? One of the volunteers who produced the most successful outcomes would set her intention, then just relax, eat some yogurt, and read a book.

This to me is the answer to everything — it’s all about letting it go.

It turns out the volunteers with the least amount of influence on the machine tried hard. Want to work with your own energy to clear yourself and connect to messages from your animals, the universe, your guides, or angels? Don’t try hard!

It reminds me of the time years ago (before I studied intuitive animal communication or Reiki), when I used a guided meditation that was specifically for asking loved ones on the other side to come through. After the meditation, you were supposed to sit still quietly and wait for any messages. After a few minutes of active listening and frustrated waiting, I lost patience and got up to do something else. A minute later, my cat Coco’s picture flew off the refrigerator. Its frame had separated from its magnet, and it hurled to the floor. Coco was saying, “Hey, you rang?!” And it happened the moment I let go.

Trying hard, impatience, self-doubt…it’s all resistance, and it can all come naturally to us humans.

Years after the picture incident, I was working nonstop for hours at my desk one day and began to feel pretty stressed out and tired. I decided to get up, sit on my bed and just take a few breaths. A moment later I heard my name distinctly coming from the right side of the room. This was after I’d been working in the field of woo woo for a few years, and even I thought that was super weird.

A couple of weeks later I, received a mediumship reading from a woman who brought a cat of mine through from the other side. From her detailed description, I knew she had Coco. The message Coco wanted me to know? The medium said, “She’s saying when you hear your name, it’s her.”

The medium didn’t know I’d had that experience of hearing my name, so…mind blown. If I’d remained at my desk that day just plowing through, ignoring the break that my mind, body, and soul needed, would I have received that amazing gift?

So how do you really get to that state of releasing resistance to allow all the messages and magic in? I work on this a lot (you can’t do intuitive animal communication or Reiki with an ounce of resistance), so here are my best tips:

1.     Reframe it. Know that anything that comes up to block you from connecting is something that’s just trying to keep you safe from the unknown. It can be your nervous system, ego, or old patterns trying to keep you in a familiar, logical space. That’s ok — just acknowledge that, thank whatever is coming up, and it will lose its power. Understanding where that resistance is coming from is huge.

2.     Be neutral. Don’t judge the resistance or blocks. If you find yourself tensing up or trying too hard, just say, “Oh that’s interesting”, instead of beating yourself up. Any volunteers in the PEAR Lab study who thought, “Shoot, why can’t I do this??” would have been better served to think, “Ok, what can I shift now to feel more open and connected?”

3.     Release attachment. Intuitive clarity and connection can disappear when we push for it and when we’re hooked on a specific outcome. One time I lost my favorite necklace. I started spiraling when I couldn’t frantically find it in my home. Then I realized…I loved that necklace, but there were more important things in life. I remember telling Archangel Michael (who I always ask for help in finding things) that if I never see that necklace again, I accept that, that there must be a reason for it, and I will be ok. It felt like a weight lifted. Soon after that, I felt an energetic pull to my desk where I saw my necklace on top of a stack of papers. No idea why it was there, and I was thrilled. I knew it was the letting go that led me to it.

So, it’s your relationship with the resistance that’s so crucial to look at and work with. It’s not daunting, it’s just perspective.  

And speaking of relationships, the other super successful volunteers in that PEAR Lab study were loving couples influencing the REG machines together as a pair. It turns out love can beat resistance every time.

Several years ago, I took a mediumship class and it brought up a lot of my own stuff that got in the way. Feeling frustrated, I ventured outside, sat on a bench, and dropped into my heart space. Suddenly a robin appeared in the grass at my feet and hopped closer to me. I felt loving encouragement from him to keep going, and my energy shifted. Later I looked up the robin spirit animal and learned it represents releasing personal drama and approaching the new with faith, love, and trust. (He would have done great in the PEAR Lab.) And I did a lot better in my class after that. 💜