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Choosing My Dream
This entry was posted on 2/2/2010 9:39 AM and is filed under secrets to peace.
The wise person overcomes his/her past,
instead of being governed by that which has
happened and is no longer present. We, in our
minds, carry our past with us. We can never
re-do or undo that which has occurred, yet we
carry it around like a sack of trash, we
refuse to put at the curb.
I once heard a speaker say, “It is never too
late to have a happy childhood,” because, as
the speaker noted, our childhood memories are
completely under our control. As I was
searching for the source of that quote, I
noticed, on Amazon, a book with that title
written by Claudia Black.
The point is this: most of what we carry
around, much of what defines us, is old
garbage and we have the power to throw
useless memories out, just like we dump our
household waste.
I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I
secretly chuckle every time I hear someone in
their forties or fifties (or even later)
lamenting that the problems they have now,
are due to the treatment they received as a
child.
When I was teaching at Leavenworth USP I
encountered more victims than I ever
anticipated; hardened bank robbers and gang
killers who blamed their choices on poor
conditions while growing up.
Did they have painful pasts?
No doubt; some of these adults came from
situations which made simply staying alive, a
miracle.
Blaming our past for our current situation
avoids the healing we need. It prevents us
from taking responsibility for our own
choices, here and now. It allows the past, in
which we may have had no power, to override
the present, where we do have control over
and responsibility for our choices.
I recently heard a man whining about how his
parents never taught him to be financially
responsible. “They (his parents) never taught
me to save money. They never taught me how to
budget.” And the list went on and on.
I could not resist pointing out, to the
friend, that he was fifty years old and that
he had left home at eighteen. How long are
you going to blame your choices on your
parent’s example, I asked.
He did not like this response, and if typical
to previous discussions of this type, he will
probably not speak to me for some time.
Here is the bottom line: Our past, I don’t
care who you are, is filled with events which
helped shape our self-identity. Some of them
are tragic. Some of them are joyous. ALL of
them now reside ONLY in our memories.
Memories are under our power. Memories are
controlled by us. They are not some monster
which sleeps under the bed, forcing us to
leave the night light on, unless we give them
that power.
We overcome the past by placing all of our
energies on the present. We erase the past by
simply not going there, by not empowering the
memories, by transferring our allegiance from
the creation to the Creator.
The more we realize our Unity with Spirit,
the less we tend to give the past free reign
over our present.
This is the Secret.
When the past has created a huge part of my
present self-identity, I can not replace its
power over my life, easily (well I could but,
in most cases I won’t.) So, I make a
resolution to live this day, one moment at a
time. I notice when thoughts and feelings
from the past arise, I forgive what I can,
and I remind myself of my commitment. Upon
catching myself being owned by my story, I
immediately return full attention to this
present moment.
I repeat these steps, on a minute to minute
basis, until there is no past left to
forgive; until I am free to be fully present
with no chains dragging behind me.
It is all a matter of shifting my focus to
this moment NOW instead of letting the
default ghosts of the past dominate my
consciousness.
There is no agony now. It is all born from an
ancient dream.
Isn’t it glorious that I have the power to
choose which dream I will live?
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