Chinese Finger Cuffs as a Spiritual Practice

Not long ago, someone gave me some Chinese Finger Cuffs. So how are these a spiritual practice?

I laugh when I saw them, because I had not seen them in years. I remember having one as a child. No doubt it was one of my older brothers who gave it to me, and instructed me to put an index finger in each end.

Resistance is Futile

If you ever played with these, you know that trying to remove your fingers is not easy or intuitive.

You cannot remove your fingers by pulling on them. the harder you pull on your fingers, the tighter the cuffs become.

I suppose it is meant as a practical joke played on unsuspecting children too young to think of alternatives. I probably went running to my mother, who would have told me to push in instead of pulling away.

Non-Resistance in Life

I love this metaphor. That when I encounter a tight or difficult or frustrating situation, the best and

So now I keep one near my computer, where I tend to get frustrated most often, and one in my car. They remind me to pause and breathe, to stop resisting, and to allow, relax, and go with the flow a little bit more every day.

When faced with a frustrating or challenging situation where I feel tight or upset, the most effective action is to relax my resistance and move in toward the thing I instinctively want to resist.

Only by relaxing instead of panicking can I feel that the appropriate way to free myself from the situation is to go with it, to stop resisting, and to move into what seems like discomfort. When the struggle is released, the tightness dissipates, and I can free myself from the predicament or frustration.

How About You?

What reminds you to go with the flow instead of resisting?