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.

While a machine called a random event generator (REG) displayed random sequences of ones and zeroes, a volunteer (who was not known to be psychic) would sit by the machine and try to influence it to produce either mostly ones or mostly zeroes…just by willing it to with their energy.

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! Don't worry, don't push.

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, “Hi, 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 heard my name alone in a room, so…mind blown. If I’d remained at my desk that day just plowing through, ignoring the respite 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 and letting go 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 why that resistance is showing up 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? I need to try harder,” 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 are hooked on a specific outcome. If I misplace an object that’s important to me, I get myself to a place of true acceptance — I embody the fact that if I never see this thing again, that’s ok and I’ll be ok. As soon as I reach that point, the object shows up magically, always in a random place that I'd never have guessed. It’s a direct result of having let it go.

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 outputs together as a pair. It turns out love can beat resistance every time.

Years ago, I took a mediumship class and it brought up a lot of my own stuff that got in the way. Reeling from all that resistance, 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. He exuded loving encouragement, I felt the message to keep going, and my energy shifted. I did so much connecting in my class after that.

Later I looked up the robin spirit animal and learned he represents releasing personal drama and approaching the new with faith, love, and trust. (He would have done great in the PEAR Lab.) 💜