Cards: Tarot Illuminati by Eric C. Dunne

"All suffering is resistance. The only reason you suffer is because you're resisting what is."

I heard this recently from a mindset coach on TikTok. And my gut immediately reacted.

Not because it's wrong. But because it sounded like something I used to say.

Before We Go Further

Yes, there's truth in this. From a purely philosophical standpoint, resistance does create suffering.

But philosophy and lived experience are two different things.

And this is where it gets interesting.

Some Context

I've been fortunate to be quite healthy for most of my adult life. I'm a regular exerciser, I eat nutritious foods, avoid processed foods, get regular sleep, and don't smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreationals. (I know, I sound pretty boring! LOL)

Sidenote: I did acutely abuse alcohol and marijuana for a 6-year period in my life I call "the dark night"—but have been effortlessly sober since 1997. But that's another story.

Three years ago I noticed a dip in my overall energy amongst a few other strange symptoms. I thought it was a food allergy and tried some approaches in that direction.

One night while making a trip to the washroom, I felt a bit off balance. I ended up falling headfirst down a flight of stairs instead of stepping into the bathroom. We live in a 2nd floor walk up.

My wife called 911 and we went to emergency. I was fortunate to walk away with a concussion and bad sprains, cuts and bruises.

But what happened next has taught me everything that this article will be talking about.

It turned out through discussions with my family doctor that I had somehow gotten a rare parasite. Her theory was that it was raw veggies from somewhere.

This parasite went on to cause a satellite of other conditions including severe anemia and a serious autoimmune condition.

With medication I was able to eventually eliminate the parasite, return my blood iron to normal and modify the inflammation from the autoimmune condition.

I've experienced my fair share of pain over the past 3 years—physical and psychological—because of losing  some livelihood and money along the way.

Please, I want to be clear: I know many have experienced even worse. I'm not comparing. This is simply to make a point about pain and suffering.

Three years later, I'm almost 100% there. I’ve had no inflammation for several months and I'm on a very low dose of the meds. Hope to get off completely in the next few months.

I came through it. And what I learned in the process is the foundation of everything I'm about to share.

Why "All Suffering Is Resistance" Is An Incomplete Teaching

It's clean. That's what attracted me to this teaching years ago.

If you can just let go of resistance, you'll never suffer. What a concept!

But here's the thing: it's theoretical. It's abstract.

When I was experiencing an intense electrical type migraine 24/7—even while sleeping—for an entire month after I fell down the stairs, this concept did help.

I couldn't take ibuprofen because of the stomach pain from the parasite, so I would go into a meditative state.

I would notice the space where the pain sensations weren't. I also noticed the sensations were just sensations before being labelled pain—and by the time they were labelled, were already in the past. I also noticed the wave-like behaviour of the sensations.

And this helped immensely. This is the truth of that saying.

But during the past 3 years I've also had sensations so intense they knocked the wind out of me and I could barely focus my attention because of their intensity.

I'm going to speak from the human experience domain now and call it what it was: pain. It hurt like hell.

And if someone tells you that you should be able to simply stop resisting it, they've never been in real pain.

Pain vs. Resistance

To me, resistance is more of a psychological reaction.

Like fear. Fear is appropriate when a raging tiger confronts you. When someone criticizes you unfairly it might be unpleasant, but the fear or resistance that accompanies it can be said to be unnecessary.

But here's the thing: there are blind forces both in the universe and within us. We're here to become conscious of those forces so they're no longer blind. So the Universe can become conscious through us.

Even though psychological resistance is piling more pain on top of the real pain that's already present, it too is a blind force.

And until you are truly conscious of it in any given situation, you are actually judging yourself harshly for having it.

You can't force yourself to not have resistance. You can't tell yourself to not have resistance.

It's something to be worked with. You need to knead it like dough until it smooths out and releases. 

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The Hanged Man Knows Something

In tarot, the Hanged Man shows someone suspended between two worlds.

He's not fighting his situation. He's not trying to escape it.

He simply... surrendered to it.

And in that surrender, something shifted. He sees everything differently now.

That's the teaching here.

Not "I must let go of resistance" (which is just more resistance).

Not "I should be further along by now" (which is just more suffering).

Just... surrender to what is.

Let. It. Be. Here.

Go with it.

Not because you're giving up. But because fighting the current exhausts you.

And the river knows where it's going.

The Woman And The Lion

There's another tarot card that speaks directly to this. It specifically relates to “kneading the dough” as I mentioned above. Metaphorically massaging the tension knots out of the muscle.

The Strength card shows a woman and a lion.

At first glance it’s a striking image with her serene, gentle and ethereal presence contrasted with his raw, instinctive and powerful energy. But she's not fighting him.

She's not trying to cage him or suppress him or pretend he isn't there. She's working with him. Gently. Patiently. With quiet determination.

This is exactly what happens when Presence meets your psychosomatic or nervous system. 

The lion is your nervous system. Your raw, instinctive, biological response to pain, fear, and threat. It's not wrong. It's not bad. It's ancient and it's doing exactly what it was designed to do.

The woman is Presence. The "I Am." The awareness that holds everything without being consumed by it.

She represents what many call the Divine Feminine or the Feminine expression of God.

Here's what's remarkable: she doesn't overpower the lion. She doesn't need to. She simply stays present with him. Allows him to be. Works with him.

Gradually, without force or haste, the lion softens. That's not weakness. That's the deepest kind of strength there is.

That's what working with resistance actually looks like. Not fighting it. Not suppressing it. Not pretending it isn't there.

Just staying present with it. Again and again. Until it softens.

I have an in depth article on The Strength card if you'd like to explore deeper.

How Presence Helps

This is where Presence helps.

Presence is like the sun behind the clouds. It's always there. It's the "I Am" that maintains you even in deep sleep.

When you notice resistance coming up, start by simply being aware of it. Just that alone is sometimes enough.

Other times, the resistance comes in waves. You may need to become aware of it several times before it releases its grip on you. Or before you release your grip on it.

It's the same thing.

And sometimes, it's like grief. It takes time. There are layers. It's like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe.

It's Alchemy

The important thing to realize is that this is alchemy.

Transmuting lead into gold. Coal into a diamond.

And it may never be perfect. That's not failure. That's being human.

Be patient with yourself. Don't judge yourself for having resistance. It's not so clean as that. It's more nuanced.

Keep working with it. But not in a forceful way. That's just more resistance.

Like anything in life, it takes practice. And like any art form, it takes a lifetime.

In Closing

If you've read this far, you already know that real spiritual growth isn't about clean formulas. It's about showing up, again and again, to whatever is here.

The next time pain or resistance shows up, remember the Hanged Man.

He didn't fight his way out.

He surrendered his way through.

And so can you.

If this resonated, I'd love to have you in my community. Get my free guide '3 Questions to Ask Tarot When You're Stuck' and join my newsletter Tarot & Presence. Get The Free Guide.

And if you're ready to work through what's coming up for you directly, a Presence Session is where that happens.