Getting beyond past history

Continuing what I explored in my last post: If we had no past history, there are several ways to get beyond what happened to us. It's easy to describe and difficult to do because our mind automatically uses what already happened to us to improve our chances of survival and success.

Here are some of the conceptual models for getting beyond our past history:

• We can realize that what happened is not here and now. It's only a memory that can be remembered or forgotten according to our choice.
• We can get deeply into the now moment with fascination, appreciation and sense of pure being that overpowers any invasions from the past.
• We can embrace the return of a past incident in our mind with an inner sense of vastness, serenity and acceptance.
• We can imagine the past haunts us because we are clinging to it and then create a ritual of letting go of it, cutting it loose, burning it to ashes, or burying it forever.
• We can forgive those who contributed to our bad memories as if we are all human, making mistakes, carrying baggage and acting out our frustrations.
• We can get clear that there is nothing to forgive because nothing that appears to harm us in any way impacts our eternal spirits.
• We can sort out what is really happening in life from what appears to be happening in our minds and dismiss past recollections in the process.

None of these strategies work when we are in a frenzy. A busy schedule keeps our past history in a condition that continues haunt us and mess up our game. We cannot successfully run away from our past or keep it from interfering with our lives. There is no substitute for turning to face what we've been avoiding.

Any of these strategies can work for us when we've invested some time by ourselves. We need to be still and focused on the present moment. We need to let go of our calendars, to-do lists and piles on our desks. We need to get back to the feeling of being human after any bout with acting like a human doing.