What If the Obstinate Path Was the Key to Spiritual Mastery?

In the NIV translation of the Hebrew Bible, the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel are the two books that use the word “Obstinate”. Obstinate is defined as stubbornly adhering to an opinion in spite of reason¹. Isaiah writes about what the lord said to him, that he has held out his hand for obstinate people, who pursue their own imaginations. Additionally, Isaiah shares that the lord said he feels bad for the obstinate children, who make plans that are not his, forming alliances without his spirit and stacking sins on top of each other. In Ezekiel’s call to become a prophet, god tells Ezekiel he will be sent to a people who are obstinate and stubborn. I believe resistance is what defines the ancient Israelite people, they are named after Jacob who wrestled with a man and was given his new name Israel. I believe stubbornness is a unique quality observed by culture and religious traditions, sometimes praised and sometimes condemned. Jacob was an obstinate wrestler before his birth, holding on to Esau’ heel as he came out the womb. The resistant nature of Jacob during his youth created Israel, the Israelites, and the Hebrew people. I believe my parents and those close to me would consider me a stubborn person, sometimes to my own detriment. I have been resistant to changing my ways, surrendering to my circumstances, and creating in a traditional way. However, I believe what one is obstinate to, is what reveals the path to one’s self, to what one could decide is their purpose in life.

I believe obstinate individuals are the ones who have contributed to the history of new thought. I believe stubbornness could possibly be a fruitful spiritual superpower, rooted in the spiritual stage of resilience. As I’ve outlined in previous blogs, I believe resilience is one of the spiritual stages that contributes to our spiritual inner strength. I believe one of the most valued spiritual practices of meditation, requires a significant amount of obstinance towards thoughts that could distract one from their focus. I believe stubbornness and confidence in one’s expression allows one to fully live out their vision for the world.

Challenging Obstinance

I am not a scholar in the gender field, but I wonder why femininity is associated with passive energy. From a Biblical perspective, Eve, the woman, was the first human to take action directed by their own will. I believe ever since that moment, because of the way the Biblical story of the fall was framed, the western patriarchy has made every effort to put women as the support, the second act, in almost every form of media. The Feminist movement has made strides to even the playing field, but they are fighting against thousands of years of societal and cultural messaging. I believe divine feminine energy is the most embodied form of obstinance, a force of resilience against the chaos the patriarchy has left our world in.

In the Highest Self Podcast, Sahara Rose shares her thoughts on how to be more in one’s divine feminine energy². In the introduction of her podcast, Sahara discusses how there are women who have devoted their lives to ritual ceremonies, dances, music, etc. to connect to their natural ways³. Sahara then claims if her audience is listening to this podcast, they have felt drawn to certain practices, drawn to the unknown, drawn to their intuition, connected with children and animals, and have done rituals and practices in cycles⁴. Later on, Sahara states that the feminine is emotional, and society is afraid of the feminine because the feminine brings forth truth⁵. Sahara believes her audience may have noticed this and can recall some sort of experience with this⁶. Sahara continues stating that others can be triggered by divine feminine energy, that being a woman, people can respond to you by questioning who you think you are, “she’s trying too hard”⁷. Sahara states these questions are sparked from their own inner reflection, wondering where they are in their divine feminine energy⁸. Towards the middle of the podcast, Sahara shares about the energetics of breath, how you breathe is how you live⁹. Sahara believes you can look at how someone breathes and see how they live their life¹⁰. Sahara thinks when we inhale, we take in life, we take in information, we take in energy, and then we hold it within us¹¹. Sahara believes this is the process of life, we have to inhale in life, open up, and hold our breath to some extent¹². Sahara states once one has held their breath, they then have to let it go, soften their breath, exhale and release their breath to return to a state of emptiness, a state of stillness, a state of complete surrender¹³.

Sahara shares about her experience living in the divine feminine energy through her intuition, her emotions, and her inner stillness¹⁴. I believe Sahara’s explanation of breath energetics is the physical representation of our cycle of spiritual surrender and resistance. I believe inhaling is the resistance to death, the will to keep living in our physical experience, while exhaling is the surrender to death, letting go of your physical life. I believe both inhaling and exhaling are a part of the human experience, the struggle of grasping control of our lives and believing it may be our time to transition to what’s next. I think I am as stubborn as I am because of my fear of failure, my fear of not accomplishing what I think I can, of not becoming who I think I can be. I believe in the process of turning my stubborn fear of failure into an intentional practice, transforming my disbelief into a newfound belief in myself.

Sahara talks about the practicality of accessing one’s divine feminine energy, through the power of the breath. I believe listening to your breath, the rhythms, the discrepancies, observing the cycles of creation, and inhaling rest could be a habit formed to grow in your feminine energy. In addition, I believe journaling your intuitive thoughts and embodying what you want to become may be another way to challenge behaviors you have due to our strongest emotions. I would encourage you to challenge your obstinance, question your stubbornness, and dispute your resilience, to remove the harmful conditioning ingrained in humans from our culture.

Addressing Obstinance

In my experience, guided meditations focus on silencing your mind and silencing your surroundings. The more I meditate, the more I notice the berating thoughts I have towards my self-image. In these moments, I am left to run away from my negative thoughts, or to confront my negative thoughts. I believe meditation is less like green pastures and still waters, but more like a battlefield, a clash between my ego: my beliefs and my personality, and my true self: my strengths and my stamina.

In The Sadhguru Podcast, Sadhguru shares what he believes meditation really means¹⁵. Sadhguru opens up the podcast stating that today, when people hear the word meditation, they think of something that is very difficult to do¹⁶. Sadhguru emphasizes that people should understand meditation is not an act, but is a quality¹⁷. Sadhguru gives a hypothetical, if one wants flowers in their garden, you don’t have to sit there and do flower meditation¹⁸. Sadhguru continues, one doesn’t have to think of flowers, but you have to think of soil, water and sunlight¹⁹. It has nothing to do with flowers, but if you focus on soil, water and sunlight, the flowers will come because it’s a consequence²⁰. Sadhguru believes we have a mad, goal-oriented society right now, we are interested in the flower and not interested in the plant²¹. Sadhguru states this is the fundamental that the yoga (the meditation) will change within his audience²².

Sadhguru explains his beliefs around meditation and the process-oriented mindset as opposed to goal-oriented mindset. I would like to take a deeper look into the interaction between soil, water and sunlight in the battlefield of meditation I described earlier. The roots of a plant grow stronger when the right soil, proper water, and adequate sunlight are embraced from the flower. If the soil is bad, if water is scarce, and if sunlight is blocked, the plant will suffer and the flower will wither. The plant faces the chaos of the world around it, by digging deep underground, deep under the surface to strengthen itself against obstacles attempting to stunt its growth and beauty. I would encourage you to build your own roots, to start or continue meditating even when peace may not be found on the other side. I would encourage you to attack your meditation rhythms with obstinance, finding ways to wrestle with your ego and true self no matter what is thrown your way. I believe growth can become more meaningful when facing resistance coming from yourself or from others, and not trying to take the easy way out.

I do realize it’s hard to build any type of consistent practice, especially a meditative practice. For those who are constantly moving, I would recommend trying a movement meditation. I have been trying to be more in tune with my emotions, and I’ve been using a guided emotional processing practice to help align more with what I am feeling. A difficult practice that I tend to engage with sporadically is a paradoxical intention practice, one that focuses on recognizing your discomfort and pulling out the root of the issue. There are plenty more meditation practices you could find online, and you can mix and match these practices to create the most beneficial practice for you and your spirituality. For those who are frustrated at their current circumstances, I believe it’s important to address these concerns with obstinance, with stubbornness, with resilience, to move forward in your journey towards deeper awareness.

Call to Obstinance

Build your obstinate mind. Embrace the stubborn path. Discover your key weakness. Use your resilience as a spiritual tool. Redirect and master yourself. Sharpen your challenges. Address your spirituality. Answer your call to awareness. Deepen your spirituality. Observe your meditation. Refine your culture. Inhale art. Diversify your purpose. Own your expression. Don’t resist your vision. Lean into your origin. Feel the echo of spirituality. Eternally create. Breakthrough your soul. Wait for the mystery. Reveal the other side of your twin. Dance with your stubbornness.

Bibliography

“Definition of OBSTINATE,” Merriam-Webster: America’s Most Trusted Dictionary, last modified January 3, 2025, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obstinate. ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, “590: How To Be More In Your Divine Feminine Energy with Sahara Rose,” podcast audio, February 18, 2025, accessed February 19, 2025, https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r8KH1lLtBtKIfBK6wTxSq. ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, “What Meditation Really Means,” podcast audio, February 18, 2025, accessed February 20, 2025, https://open.spotify.com/episode/30mlj66oH1mNSx3vkgNdKb. ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, ↩︎
The Sadhguru Podcast, ↩︎

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