Memories

Painful memories are often allowed to interfere with the joy of living. They can create untold suffering - unless you decide otherwise.

By this I mean, until you realise the past doesn't exist and memories are ultimately meaningless, they can have enormous influence over your peace of mind and happiness.

You could argue that the impact is very real and take offence at the notion that memories are meaningless. Of course they aren't meaningless. Look at my life!

You could argue that because the misery is real then so is the memory.

But I am not talking about the misery. The suffering that ensues from memories are not the memories themselves. One does not quantify the other.

You may have been abused or abandoned in the past but the suffering and impact on your life today is not because of the memories - it is because of YOU. If you choose to attach yourself and identify with the past then you will experience it again and again. And that will continue to have an impact now.

The past can appear incredibly powerful only because the dreamer gives it that power. Realising this can be liberating but it can also be terrifying. You may have become so identified with the past that to accept it as meaningless can leave a massive void in your world.

So much orbits around old memories that when you finally accept their insignificance you suddenly feel disconnected. That which you recognised yourself through disappears and takes your identity with it.

The distress of losing such an anchor is a paradox. To connect with life you must first disconnect from everything else. The fear of losing an anchor is necessary until you realise it is what holds you to the suffering.

Investigate your thoughts, try to identify memories anchored in suffering. Search for them. Observe them. As they appear recognise them for what they are. Nothing but shadows.

I'm not suggesting you try to forget everything but to recognise the past, accept it and then release it every time it appears.

Good or bad memories have no power over life - unless of course you decide otherwise.