Recently I did a teaching on a “Holy Spirit Guides” message called, “How do I let go of the past?”*
The message begins with a question:
“I am realizing how much I hold onto the past, and I want to learn to let it go. Letting go of the past seems challenging. I keep seeing the past in the faces that I come into contact with. Will you share some tips to help me get better at letting go of the past?”
Answer: “Letting go of the past seems difficult because you have an earthly memory. Don’t think of letting go of the past as letting go of your memories. That is not realistic for you at this time. Think of letting go of the past as releasing it from your present moment, and therefore, from your future.
“First of all, you feel guilty because you think you live too much in the past.”
I can relate to this in the sense of feeling guilty for holding onto judgment and grievances, even after many years of spiritual practice. We may not always recognize that these grievances are a way of holding onto the past. In A Course in Miracles we are taught: Look at the past, but don’t dwell there. Most of us have not only looked at the past, we’ve pitched a tent there!
The Course speaks of “shadow figures”. We react and relate to people in the present through the lens of past experiences, and in this way, we make the future continuous with the past.
In the message, HS goes on to teach us that it is impossible to live in the past because the only time is now. We are not “living” in the past, we are “thinking” of the past. The good new is that we can make another choice, now. We are free to choose a different thought or reaction now.
“Secondly, when you are reviewing the past in the present, think about your memories as a diet. We can call it a soul food diet. The diet that you select determines what you will grow in to. If you decide to feast on a diet of ego memories, you are building a future like your past. You are urged not to do this. This is what is meant by letting go of the past. However, you can select different memories as your diet and build a different future by reviewing those memories now. Choose to remember the times that you have felt your closeness to Me. Choose to remember the times that you were in your right mind. Choose to remember the helpful thoughts I have shared with you. Choose to feast on uplifting memories. Use your past to build you up and bring you closer to Me.”
We can use our past to learn that we are free. Let’s say you have a difficulty with a certain person, and every time you see or think of him or her, your grievances come up. An example came up that I delve more into in the audio, but for brevity I’ll give you the nutshell version.
Years ago, there was a particular family member who trigged a lot of grievance for me. I was determined to heal this relationship, and it was actually a process that took a few years. But on a particular holiday I decided to prepare in advance, and I did much forgiveness work in the weeks leading up to the holiday. As we traveled to our holiday destination, about ten minutes away, I began to think of everything this person had done to piss me off. Suddenly I heard the Inner Voice say: “Sheryl, that all happened in the past. She can be seen anew in this moment.” I acknowledged the truth in that, and from that moment on, I never felt an ounce of tension in her presence, and our relationship was healed.
I am reminded of a very poignant “single quiet thought” #67: **
Forgiveness frees us
from the burden
of our own thoughts.
The thoughts that we hold onto from the past are burdensome. Forgiveness is the practice of letting them go. I’ve been listening to a particular story in my mind that has a theme of feeling victimized by a particular person. As I became aware of this, I thought, “Do I want to create future experiences where I feel victimized and unfairly treated?”
“No!”
As I look at the thoughts in my mind and recognize thoughts of lack and limitation, do I want to create experiences of lack and limitation in the future? No!
No, I don’t want to continue to create a future based on the past. Then…I must be willing to let go of those false beliefs today, and let Holy Spirit heal these errors in my mind.
The message goes on to say: “Letting go of grievances is important. I’m sure that you can see from what I have already shared that when you bring a past grievance into the present, you have another opportunity to let it go. However, do not think of the past as only the distant past. If a brother says something to you that does not seem to come from Love, the moment he has said it, it is already in the past. You can choose again now. The past occurs rapidly, yet now is with you always. As you become skilled at letting go of the past immediately, you will find that you can be at peace always.”
I have found that the practice of the mantra is a great way to let go of the past in the present. I practice is slowly:
I Am that Am. I Am as God.
Often when I practice in this way I am taken into profound stillness, and this occurred as I practiced this during the teaching. Through the practice I was taken into the present moment.
“Love the present moment.
Cherish it as your opportunity
to know your Self.
This present moment is a gift.
It is a gift that is always with you,
given by Love.
Feel gratitude for the gift.
Treasure it.
It is your peace,
and like your peace,
it can never be taken away from you.”
~Thank you~
I Am that I Am. I Am as God.
**********************
The audio on this teaching was recorded on 9/13/11 and is 54 min.
How do I let go of the past?
* “Holy Spirit Guides” are messages given to Regina Dawn Akers, and they can be found on her website at: http://www.reginadawnakers.com This one is from March 7th, 2005
** “Single Quiet Thoughts” can be found on Regina’s website.
0 comments:
Post a Comment