“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.”
~Jean Paul Sartre
Still plagued by your past? Then this post is for you. But only if you want to be free, only if you want to know the open-heartedness and enthusiasm for life that come with making peace with the past.
As you probably know, sometimes events from the past have a mind of their own. Memories keep recirculating when all you want is for them to disappear. You are way more emotionally reactive than you know is good for you. And you are limited by distrust, neediness, and a stunted view of what is possible for you.
If you know your past is still nipping at your heels, read on. Because you will discover 10 facts that may just be the key to unlock the door to your full, unbridled, joyful, infinitely sane expression of you. Be free of the past, and you can go on and simply enjoy your life.
A Personal Example
How do I know? From first-hand experience. For many years, I had a very rocky relationship with my parents, filled with anger and resentment about the past. My mind screamed about the “should have’s” and “ought to be’s.” I kept an endless list about what I deserved, but thought I had missed out on.
There were periods with no communication and many arguments as we tried and failed repeatedly to find a way of meeting. Until I saw the light.
In a moment of insight, I took responsibility for my own happiness. I saw that my anger was preventing me from experiencing the ease and well being that I desperately wanted, so I stopped feeding it. No more stories about what should have been, no more blaming or waiting for solutions.
My identity as the wounded child disappeared, and what was revealed? Happiness. Peace.
The story of what happened in my past didn’t change. But what I gave power to totally changed. I stopped dwelling on the past. I stopped justifying the anger, and now, 15 years later, I have trouble even remembering the details of events that used to agitate me to no end. I am so much more drawn to ease and simplicity.
Yes, my relationship with my parents has improved beautifully, but that has been a side effect and not the primary driver. What I wanted more than anything was to be free of the past and happy in the now. And, yes, I am free of the past and so deeply happy in the timeless now.
10 Life-Changing Facts
What happened to me is, without question, possible for you. Apply these 10 life-changing facts to the sticky residue from your past. See clearly, get unstuck, and move forward free and unencumbered.
1. The past isn’t really about the past.
When you look with great clarity, you will see that there is no actual thing called the past. Everything that happens happens in the present – it can’t be any other way. Memories of events are thoughts occurring in the present. Anger or hurt about the past is happening now.
Your present moment experience in the now is what keeps the past alive.
What is amazing about this understanding is that it shows you that the way out of your suffering is always in the present. You can change your perspective – now, focus on something different – now, feel your feelings – as they are right now.
If you want to heal from the past, put your attention on your present moment experience.
2. Memories are not the problem.
A memory is a thought, and a thought has no power or meaning whatsoever, unless you give it power or meaning. You have many thoughts about things that happened long ago, and these thoughts cause no problems.
But some thoughts are sticky. You have an emotional reaction to them and you think them over and over. You may even have beliefs related to them, for example, “I am justified in thinking this” or “I need an apology so I can move on.” This keeps them very much alive, affecting your ongoing experience.
If you want to be free of the past, lose interest in these sticky thoughts. Know that it doesn’t serve you to repeat them and that thinking they are justified only delays your freedom. Be prepared to take a look at the pure experience of your feelings without the layer of thinking that solidifies them (see #6 below).
3. “Healing” means letting go so the thoughts and feelings don’t impact you.
Your goal is to neutralize the story from the past so it loses its power over you. It becomes transparent, with no meaning and no effect. You change your relationship to your thoughts so they don’t sit like a dark cloud over you.
Your goal is not to:
- Make yourself forget about the past (impossible)
- Stuff or ignore your feelings (creates other problems – addiction, anyone?)
- Wait for an apology or acknowledgment (postpones happiness)
- Wait for time to heal all wounds (you may need more than time)
- Wallow endlessly in your emotions (oh, so painful)
- Redo the past (you can’t change what happened but you absolutely can change your reaction to what happened)
Keep holding as possible: freedom…peace…sanity…freshness in the moment…fully alive now.
4. The path to healing opens up once you are fed up by how the stories about the past impact you.
As I’m happy to say as often as necessary, what you focus on is what will grow. If you cultivate sadness, regret, and revenge, then they will become your reality.
As an alternative, be very willing to see through these stories as much as is needed. Be open to energy moving through your body rather than staying stuck. Prepare yourself to feel differently.
Contemplate not defining yourself by thoughts about the past.
5. You get a jump-start on releasing the past when you take full responsibility.
Once you see that the ball is totally in your court, you have set the stage for deep letting go. Your happiness is your responsibility alone, not anyone else’s.
You might be very familiar with feeling like a victim. But this is a passive, unempowered position, leaving you waiting for words or actions from someone else, something you cannot control.
Taking responsibility means being open to recognizing how your own internal landscape is feeding your suffering. What thoughts make you unhappy? What feelings are stuck in your body and heart? How do you make yourself suffer by recycling negative memories through your mind?
Being stuck in the past means that a part of your heart is closed. Take responsibility for going right into those bruised and tender places. Read on to find out how.
6. Telling stories keeps the past lodged in your mind, heart, body, and spirit.
We tell ourselves all sorts of stories that bring trouble to our lives. Want to be trouble-free? Here is the medicine.
- Notice how entranced you can be by the stories of drama and victimhood that appear in your mind.
- Just for a moment, let yourself lose interest in these thought stories. (see #2 above)
- See that what is left is a pattern of physical sensations, maybe gripping, tension, or burning. You may never have noticed these sensations before, but they have probably been there for a long time.
- Now notice this: You are aware, and these sensations are appearing in your awareness. They come, go, and change, but here you are: aware.
- Take the perspective of awareness, and the sensations have the freedom to be. They aren’t ignored or suppressed. You aren’t so busy in the story that you don’t notice them.
- Now notice: Are you suffering? No, you are simply experiencing sensation as awareness.
This is freedom – no attention to the story, experience appearing and disappearing with ease. You: unchanging, clear, undisturbed.
7. Beliefs about healing can get in the way.
Besides getting stuck in the story, you might become aware of beliefs you hold about what needs to happen for you to let go. These are simply more thoughts that keep you distracted from the heart of the matter. Here are some possibilities:
- “I feel justified in staying stuck because I was wronged.”
- “It is someone else’s responsibility to make this better for me.”
- “If I let go, I’m somehow approving others’ bad behavior.”
- “I need an apology.”
- “Life is unfair.”
- “It was so bad that it’s not possible for me to heal.”
You life begins now, in this very moment…and now…and now. You can always start anew.
Don’t feed these limiting thoughts, and you won’t need them to disappear. Proceed to discover that you were never not whole, that a part of you has always been untouched by the world.
8. Relationship troubles relate to your past.
Unless you see through all of it, you are a product of your past and the ideas you have formed about how relationships work. This keeps the past alive in the present.
Do you fear rejection or commitment? Do you feel you need approval and attention? Do you isolate or push people away? Do you need to be on top and in control? Do you have difficulty trusting?
If these tendencies cause you problems in your relationships, here is your opportunity. Untangle your thoughts and feelings about the past, and live in freedom from them as you move forward.
9. The middle path is the intelligent path.
Dwelling on what happened and leaking your feelings all over the place will keep you suffering. Hiding, indulging, or stuffing your feelings doesn’t work in the long-term.
Instead, bring intelligence and clarity to your direct experience. Cultivate a fire for peace and ease that serves you well.
10. Finding out who you are is the ultimate freedom.
If you define yourself by your past, you will be living as a fraction of what is possible for you. Say you think of yourself as wronged or abused or victimized. Or you see yourself as having gotten the short end of the stick.
Defining yourself by what happened doesn’t help you now. It’s like wearing clothes that never fit. Is it time to take them off?
It’s easy to believe in a mistaken identity. It feels so true to think we are the result of what happened or the sum total of our thoughts and feelings.
But the truest thing about you is that you are aware. Life presents a passing array of experiences – thoughts, emotions, events, people. These all arise in you but are not you.
Live as the awareness that you are – fully alive, here, not in conflict with anything. Know who you are, and the pain of the past will barely be a ripple…on the surface…of the immeasurable vastness of you.
Comments, reports, or questions? Are you having trouble being free from the pain of the past? All are welcome…
Note: This is the seventh in a series of posts on Life-Changing Facts. Here are the others: fear, attachment, habits, healing the inner critic, happiness, and anger.
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57 Comments
A very meaningful post to me, loved it. And love this series.
Thank you so much
It’s my pleasure, Arlene. Love to you…
Thank you! I’ve always felt like I should have been more affected by things that hurt me in the past, but reading this makes me realize that I handle them in a healthy way. I wasn’t able to articulate why or how I’m able to leave those experiences behind, but you’ve done that for me. I love your writing.
Thanks so much for your comment, Sandi. There is no right or wrong when it comes to matters of the heart. You respond how you do. Some people seem to be naturally resilient – not only making it through a difficult upbringing, but somehow thriving. May your happiness shine everywhere…
I’ve missed your posts. This one was well worth the wait and relevant as always.
Thank you.
Great, Crys! I’m glad it was helpful.
Hi Gail,
I really resonate with the way in which, in all of your examples, you assign our personal power to the present moment. That there’s no power really in the past unless we lend it that with our choices and focus in the present. I learned that one the hard way, eventually having to choose freedom and peace even when it seemed to contradict what was “true”.
Only after I took that risk, stopped believing the negative stories about my past, could I see that they were, in fact, just stories. Thank you!
Seth Mullins´s last [type] ..Dreams and the Power of Belief
Thanks for sharing your experience, Seth. What I love about your comment is that you said you “took that risk” to stop believing stories, to see if what seemed so true really was.
If we assume that what we think is true is, we might stay stuck for a very long time. Best to investigate – to know for sure what is true or not. Stories come and go, but You are here always…
This is juicy! Thank you, Gail, for your gift of insight. It takes a lot to keep grounded and this post is one I will keep coming back to.
“the immeasurable vastness of you”…..
Beautiful.
Glad it helped, Diane. Yes, keep coming back as often as needed. When we are fed up with the suffering, the momentum of patterns still runs. So it can take diligence and perseverance until the energy of the pattern dies down. Stay alive to what you really want…
Welcome to you, Diane, beautiful you. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Hi Gail,
Lovely post as usual. Letting go of our past resentments leads us to that place where we can begin to find inner peace.
I’ve had times in my past where I found it easier to play the victim card. But as I grew older and hopefully wiser, I’ve realized harboring these resentments doesn’t serve me well.
This line speaks to me – “Being stuck in the past means that a part of your heart is closed. ” So true. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Have a great weekend.
Cathy|Treatment Talk´s last [type] ..Treatment Talk Monthly Message – July 2012
Hi Cathy,
I appreciate what it’s like to somehow automatically fall into playing the victim card. And by grace, we hear that there is another way.
Sometimes it’s like giving a few drops of oil to the creaky tin man. At first, giving up the victim role feels wrong. But then wisdom sets in, and we find the inner peace we are looking for. It didn’t actually go anywhere. The releasing of the victim card reveals that peace was here all along.
Beautiful to hear from you….
I was immediately reminded of a dinner I had with my mom and some of my friends when I was in my 30′s. My mom regaled them with tales of my childhood, describing a childhood that was very interesting, but it wasn’t mine! I couldn’t relate at all to the picture she was painting. I realized then that my childhood had no objective existence. As A Course in Miracles says, “The only wholly true thought we can hold about the past is that it is not here.”
Galen Pearl´s last [type] ..I Gave Up Childish Ways
I love this, Galen! There is so much wisdom in realizing “the past” is not an objective thing that happened the way we remember it. It’s only a set of thoughts and feelings – that are showing up now! And of course these are never going to be the same between two people.
How fortunate for you that this happened so you could move through any way in which you were still holding on to your past.
#3 really resonates with me.
So many people come to my office to and tell me that they are healing because they are consciously putting their stuff and garbage “in the past”.
Putting their stuff in the past is like stuffing ten pounds of garbage into a sandwich bag.
It will eventually spill out and cause problems in their life.
Wendy Merron´s last [type] ..Are we born Positive Thinkers?
Hi Wendy,
Putting “stuff” in the past is really ignoring what is here right now in the present. As I’m sure you know, when we commit to allowing everything, we open up to the possibility of freedom. No walls = no resistance. Aaahhh, what a relief!
Lovely post Gail.
I really like how you emphasised that you should not forget your past but rather make peace with it.
Truly learning who you are and what you want to achieve in your life is definitely the way to live in the present.
Your post reminds me of the following quote I would like to share:
“Your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you.”
― Sarah Dessen,
Hi Jason,
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment.
To be honest, I don’t think it’s possible to forget the past. And some of those difficult events we have repeated a million times in our minds, so they are very well-conditioned. Which points to the dilemma: how to be happy. Making peace with the past so you can live in the present, without the residue holding you back, seems to be the way. Sounds like that is your experience as well.
A very inspiring read! just reading through this post has made me think about how i could have handled things better in life. I won’t deny i had anger management issues resentment or felt i was hard done by but i’ve done my best to move on from that and the anger issues i once had are nonexistent. I also won’t deny that i do sometimes fleetingly do delve back into the past and think about how i could have handled being bullied at school but i do manage to pull myself out of it damn quick. Just a very interesting read of this blog and i am one to comment on blogs that i come across and find interesting and informative. I went to a group with uniting care in my home community which was an up close and personal group which talked about friendships relationships etc mainly to find out who i really was I should probably shut up and stop talking about myself too much here it’s just so onesided.
Just what I needed to read right now. I’ve got to stop letting the past contaminate the present – oh so hard to do but I’m going to keep trying.
Great to hear from you, Sandee. Thanks so much for stopping by.
You sound like you are in the right place to let go of how the past has been affecting you. Focus on your own peace and happiness, and let the past be finished, because it is. I love your enthusiasm and your fire.
This doesn’t work for me right now.
In my past, I was told bad thing weren’t happening, I wasn’t allowed to have feelings and I wasn’t allowed to express an opinion about being treated badly.
This message again pressures me once again to “move on” and that being mistreated isn’t important.
I want to claim my right to have my feelings, to have it expressed that being mistreated is not okay and to spend time understanding fully my abuse.
I think there is a time to be with the story and deal with that fully and there is also a time to live life fully beyond a particular story.
I’m curious what your thoughts on this are.
Hi Marie,
Thank you so much for writing. I do completely agree with you that there is a time to be with the story. In situations of abuse, sometimes the story needs to be told many times – not in the sense of wallowing in it but with the intention of understanding and ultimately releasing. That said, sometimes we need to wallow, too, and that’s fine.
The problem is when things get stuck. If your life now is hindered by a preoccupation with the past, then there might be something to do and heal. If it is important to say that you were mistreated and have feelings about that, then follow your instinct, but also be aware if you aren’t making progress with it.
There is not a one-size-fits-all model. Each situation is delicate and each person’s process needs to be respected. For people who are in the midst of understanding the story and feel the need to be with it for now, they can also know that freedom is possible when the timing is right.
If you feel like responding, I’m happy to hear you.
Sending love…
I have always been extremely impressed and appreciated that you respond to comments.
Your comments above are very helpful.
The only thought I might leave with you is that a blog post such as this might be even more complete, well rounded, powerful and “hit the mark” if you can anticipate and include remarks to address some of the common “yes, but … ” questions to your post.
Your way of thinking is revolutionary and can be a difficult leap from a conventional traditional western lifestyle, so I think people need help bridging the old style thinking that they come from, are emersed in and is all around them to your approach that often turns a lot of conventional thinking on it’s head.
However, this is all easy for me to say …. you have much experience providing an excellent blog and explaining a much needed alternative way of thinking.
Hi Marie,
I’m glad you see what I present as revolutionary. Our conventional conditioned way of being may be good enough, but it is not satisfactory once you know that abiding, lasting peace and happiness are possible. It takes a radical departure from all ideas and beliefs about everything, including our ideas of ourselves, to realize this.
I appreciate your suggestions and the need for bridging the gap. I will keep that in mind. And I am happy to address any other “yes, but’s” in the comments.
Thanks again.
Marie´s last [type] ..The Heart and Soul of a Peaceful Life
At one point in my life I was a very busy dude—literally swimming, drowning, suffocating in a never ending succession of interruptions. Between office phone, cell phone, email and text messages I could literally receive or make seven hundred to a thousand transmissions a day.
Each one of these transmissions was accompanied by an auditory signal of some kind—a ring, a ring tone, a chirp, an alert, a blast. These sounds would instantly alert me to the need to take action of some kind–to answer, to e-mail, to text, to take a message, to transmit information, to look up data.
After years of this career, after being overwhelmed by this constant badgering, sometimes running eighteen hours in a day, six and seven days a week—I was at the end of my rope.
On those rare off day all I really wanted was silence, a period of no noise, no decisions, no interruptions.
(If you ever wanted piss me off just decide to call me on my off day to chit-chat.)
Well, thankfully, I have a lot more freedom now, a bit more peace. I’m certainly happier, less stressed.
But, I’ve noticed, I’ll watch a video of me during that hyper-active period now. On the tape, I’ll hear one of my devices going off. Even though this might be a film from six years ago, I’ll immediately start searching for a phone, patting my pockets, trying to answer that six year old call.
Though I’ll quickly realize it’s only the video, for a time I’m tense, anxious, as if I’ve been transported back to an unpleasant time in my life.
This is a past I’d really like to let go.
Welcome to you, Adam! You sound like you have made some wise choices and that you are reaping the benefits. Beautiful to hear.
You are describing a conditioned response that is so automatic – not only in your behavior of looking for the device, but in how the body reacts. My suggestion would be to immediately let go of the story about the past, and just focus on allowing the bodily sensations that are here in the present. Don’t touch them – simply let them be and move through. This is the medicine for conditioning. Whether or not the sensations go away, you stay peaceful as the awareness in which they come and go.
The past is already finished – it is kept alive by keeping the story going. No story means simply presence – and no problem.
Best wishes to you…
Thank you so much for sharing your personal story Gail. You are inspiring! I too have spent so many years working on finding freedom and peace within myself and am letting go, moment to moment and by surrounding myself with peaceful, loving people. My thought is that my childhood was taken, but I will not let these important years be taken away by rage and anger. I don’t want to wake up one day 20 years from now thinking and feeling the same way. I want to let go and live fully. After all, we only have this life, let’s make it amazing! Thank you. With gratitude, Sofia
Sofia Reddy´s last [type] ..Positive Challenge #1: Lift the FOG, lighten the load
Hi Sofia,
I love that you don’t want to live with your life directed by the thought, “My childhood was taken.” You can let go little by little. Each time you turn away from the thoughts, you stop feeding your identification with them. Eventually, they become like weather, just passing by. Every time you step into the now and let the residue of the past go, you are free. And those moments of freedom add up.
The only sane place, where true, stable happiness is possible, where you are not identified with thoughts about the past, is now. Live in this awareness as much as possible and you will see that life is amazing right here and now.
Love and support to you…
Great article. I perhaps know/am aware of these things but just not able to move on. I am kind off waiting for person who gave me pain to come and apologize to me…which perhaps I know for sure is never going to happen. I go into endless loop of why…why..why me…??? Why cant the other person see the pain they have put me in…All I need in acknowledge my presence and not treat me like a door mat…..Am I expecting too much…I am really stuck …..
Hi Sandy, and welcome to you…
What I love about your comment is that you know you are stuck. You know that it’s not working for you to wait for an apology and ask “why me.” Great. In a sense, you are treating yourself like a doormat because you are not empowering yourself to discover that you can be free of this. Fully acknowledge your own presence, rather than waiting for someone else to do that for you.
Here is what I would suggest: Stop giving your focus to the other person and to what happened. Yes, something happened that caused pain in you. Let’s fully acknowledge that. Now you get to decide how you would like to move forward. What can you learn from what happened? Take these lessons with you. How can you support your own happiness? Let joy live in you and follow it now, and now, and now. Be around supportive people. Every time you start thinking about the past and this person, say “no” to that habit and don’t feed the story. Focus on the presence that is here now, the wonder of life itself. You are alive!
Don’t be half-dead by carrying the heavy past around. Little by little, bring your attention here, this breath, these sounds. There is so much love available – let your heart open to it…
Feel free to let me know how it’s going. Love to you…
Hi Gail – Thanks for a quick response. And as you can see, I am like continuously/desperately looking for solace. I will follow your advice and see how it goes. One personal handicap I have is I am constantly looking for external strokes. Feel happy when someone outside keeps praising, thanking me
This is really making it bad. I need to change my outlook. I have a great family and the love me. My wife does say in nice way, that I am more sweet and helping with people outside family then I am with them. I know this is true. There is lot’s that I want to set right with my life. As you said, I am alive, and I am really enjoying the phase I am going thru and I am observing myself and my reactions thru it. Hopefully I will grow more stronger and a complete person. Thanks…You take care….
How to let go and forgive without hating the other person? Any one? Any advice….I feel that only way to heal completely is to give it back to the person who hurt you….I am trying my best not to hate and keep respect and love alive, but is that what is making my recovery difficult?
Hi Sandy,
The only way to heal completely is to see things clearly. You are caught in the story of what happened, and this isn’t serving you. When you tell yourself about the other who hurt you and how you feel hate, these are thoughts rolling around in your mind.
See if you can begin to bring your attention into your own direct experience, meaning: pull your attention away from the thoughts that make up the story, these are just sounds appearing in your mind, and feel in your body what is happening – burning, vibration, tension, whatever. Let these sensations be. Your mind will want to grab your attention again and again into the story, but your job is to let it go every time.
True forgiveness happens when you make a decision within yourself to do whatever it takes to find peace. That means being willing to give up the story and look at your experience in a completely different way. Your healing really has nothing to do with the other person; it’s about how you are with your own experience.
Also, create balance in your life. See if you can stop being obsessed with this situation, and appreciate the love and support around you. There is beauty everywhere, if you take a look.
There are many resources here to help. Check out some of the guided audio meditations to help you stay centered.
I appreciate your desire to be free of this torture. You won’t find it in the situation or the other person. Bring your full attention into yourself and work with those things you can do something about – your thoughts and feelings.
Sending love and support…
Hi…quick update, unbelievable but true…I am almost 99% there. I think 1% is perhaps just matter of time. Your blogs an some meditation audio helped. I would also like to share couple of statements that I heard in one of the TV serials (Greys Anatomy) which had immediate profound impact on me, it goes something like that ” No matter how much you love someone there is no guarantee that they will love you back, and you cant force them to love you back”. This was one of those ahaaa moments with curtains lifting off ……Just wanted to share this with you, and thank you for you support….I am almost there….Take care
I’m so happy for your aha moments, Sandy. Obviously, you are giving your struggles some very useful attention – not to keep the stories going, but to find release.
I appreciate the freedom you are discovering. Love and support to you on your journey…
Aha moments prevail!
I am glad I found this post today, as I am completely in it right now. I am feeling unloved, alone, and afraid.
I am not speaking to two of my sisters, their choices. My other sister tells me to go to Alonon.
I am always searching for ways to try and BE happy but right now I am feeling far from that.
I read your blog above and it completely resonates yet I do not know how to get there. I know there is some of; they wronged me, if I let go it means how they are is condonned. I always tried to be the “good” child yet “they” got the attention for all of their f’ups.
I feel completely lost right now.
You are most welcome here, Peris. So glad you found your way here.
There is a quote by Eckhart Tolle that goes something like this: Whatever you think you need from the world, give to yourself. What do you think you need that would fill up the emptiness you feel? Love, attention, care? Can you offer these things to yourself with a loving, open heart? Here is how it works: you treat yourself kindly and you are both the giver and receiver. It fills you with exactly what you might be needing.
In times of great difficulty, it helps to stop in every moment and follow your inner wisdom to know what to do for your peace and well-being. Only moment by moment, that’s all you need to pay attention to. I have written about this and other ways to deal with hard times from my own personal experience here in this post.
You are the source of your own happiness and peace. Let go of trying to deal with interactions that clearly aren’t working. Be your own best friend, and feel free to stay in touch.
In love and support….
Luckily the cloud has lifted. I am practicing changing my thoughts and it is not easy but I am doing the work.
Your tools are very helpful. Esp the “what do you think you need today”
I feel at times I am waiting to live; if I just do this, or make that much money, or ect. It is a strange concept, I am wondering where it comes from. Maybe self worth. I will read more on your site.
Thank you, again!
This is great news, Peris. Once you notice what you are doing that is keeping you stuck, you are open to options. May I make a recommendation? It is to not spend too much time figuring out where these troublesome thoughts come from. Rather, spend the moments of this life in presence, peace, and happiness. In every moment, this choice is possible.
I enjoyed reading your post”10 Life Changing Facts To Heal The Pain Of The Past’. My personal issue is not so much with dealing with bad memories from the past, but yearning for the good times from my past. I don’t want to let go of the good times; I just want to learn from them and still live in the present. I am having trouble with this issue as I have read mixed solutions for this problem.
Hi Robert,
I’m happy for you that you have had good times in the past. It sounds like now you are comparing the past to the present – and the present is coming up lacking or not good enough. Whether the past was good or not, it is gone. And your invitation always is to live in the freshness of now.
Memories of the past are in the mind, and they are not about the present. Try not giving them your attention, and stay fully open to things as they are.
Thanks for your reply. I know that this will take time, but I really feel that I am moving forward and I am excited about the possibilities for the future.
I wish all of those seeking answers on this site all the best.
Thanks again!
Robert´s last [type] ..The Wisest Choice You Could Ever Make
So glad to hear that you are moving forward, Robert. Thanks for all of your good wishes.
I am desperate to find myself I don’t know who I am , don’t think I ever have . I abandoned my 2 kids 15 years ago to be with a man I am now married to and have 2 wonderful children . My previous relationship was abusive and violent. I cut myself off from all of my family just as my mother was dying . I’ve since had contact with my other 2 kids and one family member , but the guilt I feel is unbearable . I also had a fall out with my now husbands family whom I was very close to . I have a very good life now , but I can’t let go of the past I feel empty and alone . I don’t have any real close friends , my husband works long hours and is always preoccupied with something . I’ve been having some really bad thoughts and I’m scared . I just want to move on and learn how to find peace with myself and be happy .
Hi Lisa,
Don’t hesitate to get professional help in your local community to help you find your way to peace. You say you have a very good life now. So now, as you walk through the moments of your life, focus on what is here now, not how things once were. Being at peace is a choice you can make. Make it now…and now…and now. Over and over, bring your attention to what is here now, letting go of attaching to thoughts and feelings from the past. The past is over, and the only way it is kept alive is in your thoughts. What do you choose in this moment? Make an overture of friendship, do something that is caring for yourself. This is your path – let your whole life revolve around being present, and you will find what you are looking for.
does this apply to thoughts that are keeping me “trapped” such as: “going to work is keeping me sick and I can’t heal unless I just quit work and live a stress free life?” this thought plays over and over in my mind and is very distressing to me because I am just barely making enough money to pay my bills and this thought keeps making me feel like i am in an impossible situation. Thanks
Hi Dave,
Thanks so much for your question – it is such an important one that I’m sure applies to many people.
Any thought that keeps you trapped needs to be examined. I can definitely see how this thought, about work keeping you sick, makes you feel trapped. It also puts off your happiness and healing to some future time, making the now not a very pleasant place to be. Good for you for realizing that the problem is this thought – and not your job.
What if, just for a moment, you couldn’t think this thought. Then there you would be, going to work, doing what you need to do. You wouldn’t be hoping for a stress-free life because you would be living one already. This is the power of thoughts – and of not paying attention to them.
See if you can lose interest in this thought, you don’t have to get rid of it, and by doing so your attention falls right onto the present. Forget the running commentary in your head, and just be. Your resistance to work falls away.
Maybe you do need to quit work to heal. But you can’t know this yet. First, take away the stress that the thoughts are adding in, then see where things are. You might find more energy than you could imagine and the lovely experience of being fully present and alive for the moments of your life. This is the true healing.
Hi all!
I had a terrible childhood. My father and my mother died really young. My father spent a lot of time in prison. And their relationship was really abusive. I really walked through the fire in my childhood. Now i’m 40 years old. And in these last month i’m experiencing really bad intrusive thoughts about my childhood. Still living those years of suffering and sorrow.there’s a lot boiling in my head. I just would like to ne free from those memories and not so scared. I spent all these years proving i’m not like them. And trying to focus only on positive memories. But it seems it doesn’t work. Thanks
Welcome to you, Boom. I’m sure you’re not alone in being troubled by recurring thoughts from the past.
When it gets worse, like it is now, it’s time to take really good care of yourself. Be around supportive, loving people, see what you can do to reduce stress, spend time in nature, be very, very kind to yourself.
As you know, there is no magic to finding relief from the memories. It’s an ongoing process of getting grounded within yourself – in your wholeness and creativity and clear thinking, which are always there even though they might be difficult to find. Be very present in the moment, breathing and feeling your feet on the floor. Celebrate anything life-affirming that you notice – a moment of joy, laughter, the peace of the natural world. All of these ways of being bring your attention away from the story of what happened in the past and here to presence.
We live from either fear or love. See if you can live from love as much as you can, asking: What would love do?
I appreciate your good intention to be open, peaceful, and free, and I know that this is possible for you. Sending oceans of love and support…
thanks for the prompt reply nd kind words.
do you think is possible to get over these toughts?
living in the past is a non sense because past doesn’t exist.
don’t want to spend the present somewhere else with my mind.
I only would like to find a way to cope with this.
and not being ashamed .
best regards
Hi Boom,
It depends on what you mean by “get over” the thoughts. It’s really about making peace with them, so when the thoughts appear, which they will for a while, you stay grounded in the peace that is here in the present so that the content of the thoughts doesn’t disturb you.
It is wisdom to see that the past doesn’t exist and your mind takes you away from the present. But it isn’t your mind that takes you away. It’s your attention, which is what you potentially have control over. When you feed challenging thoughts with your attention, they will hang around, as you know. But experiment: can the thoughts be present as wisps of energy that have words attached, but no meaning? Can they move through your awareness without your attention grabbing them and making them stick? This is the practice for you.
There is a lot on this site about how to work with thoughts. Try this article, and others. There are also guided audio meditations which may support. Remember that the goal is to make peace with your experience as it is, as it appears. Not to change anything or make anything go away.
Don’t let shame get in your way. It is not the truth of you, and what happened to you has nothing to do with the brilliance that you are and have always been. Shame also appears in you, just like the thoughts of the past. Stay grounded in yourself and committed to peace in the moments of your precious life.
Love to you…
Thanks a lot again!
I see that i’m spreading a lot of anger. I’m dealing With a lot of unexpressed energy. A lot of stress. And the past rose up pretty fast. I read a lot of books about buddhism and practice a lot. But would like to don’t have these set back. Thank a lot for your great words of wisdom!
Hi Boom,
The setbacks are opportunities. If you don’t resist them, you might be surprised at what they offer you. I love your good spirit and intention, and I wish you well.
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