As someone whose made a lot of mistakes in my life, I've often found myself thinking about the past and all the different decisions I could have made and different paths that I could have walked down. I'm sure many of the readers have felt that way as well. Thoughts would creep up in my head like, "If only I'd said that", “I shouldn’t have done that", “Why did I hesitate?" and more of the like. A perfect word to describe it would be regret, regret of the past, just another one of the things that was unhealthy for my mental peace. But that wasn't the only thing destroying my mental peace.
Many times I've found myself so in love with someone, that'd I'd have trouble being without them. I'd feel disturbed, uncomfortable, out of place in their absence. I guess obsessed would be a good word for it. But there have also been many times, where my mental peace was disturbed not by negativity, but indirectly by my own positive actions. Winning the Basketball tournament 2 years in a row, my past had made me confident for a 3rd win. Beyond confident, I was teetering between arrogance and superciliousness, both of which weren't a good side to be on.
All these states always left me feeling depressed and sad at the end of the day and after some serious time out and meditation, I realized the key to freedom from the past.
There is no magic formula to achieve sustained and serene mental peace it. It's really all about Just LETTING GO OF THE PAST. Just let it go... Every time something happens that agitates you, just be glad nothing worse happened and LET IT GO . Every time someone tries to put you on the spot, bless them for spending so much energy on you and just LET IT GO, Whenever you make a mistake or falter somewhere, its o.k., pick yourself up and LET IT GO, Whenever You achieve some great feat or great goal, Good for you, don't hold on to it and become egotistical. Be modest and humble and thank god for the strength and then LET IT GO, as well. Every time something happens that makes you feel fearful, anxious, uncomfortable, depressed or unhappy. Just remember all the good times you had in your life and LET THE BAD GO. Now I know that letting go can be difficult and to be honest, initially it is. But there were two things that really cemented the power and thought of "LETTING GO" in my mind.
1) Let me start with a story I once heard. "There were two monks traveling through the Jungles, heading for the monastery at its end. One of them was an aged and wise Master Monk. The other was his young pupil, still under training. On there journey across a stream, flowing through the forest, they came across a beautiful maiden with her cloths in tatters. She had been robbed and was unable to walk. Upon further inquiring, they discovered that her village lied on their path. She begged them to help her. The young monk was captivated by her beauty, but knew it was against their code to touch a woman. The Master Monk, not wasting much time, lifted her and carried her to her village. They safely brought her to her village, and then left for their destination. Throughout the journey, the young pupil was filled with questions and condemnation for his master’s actions. Upon reaching the monastery, the pupil asked the master, “Master, Why did you carry that women with you, back at the stream and then leave her till her village?" The young monk felt cheated and was quite rude in his questioning. The Old monk calmly answered, “My young apprentice, I have left that girl behind at her village because she needed my help, but have you left her yet?"
This story made me really understand the concept of letting go clear as crystal. It's all about doing what you have to do or bearing with what you have to, and then just letting it go. Releasing all energy, thoughts, emotions and feelings associated with it. Clearing the mind of its shackles and finding that elusively obvious Mental Peace.
2) The second technique I've found, that helps me let go of a lot of negative things, is to create and use a very strong Positive anchor. Look into your past and find a feeling so strong and positive that it still possesses that feeling and energy to re summon happiness and bliss. Just remind yourself of that thought, that moment , that feeling and use it whenever you need to let go of something unpleasant. I personally find that LOVE works the best here. I remind myself of the beautiful women who’s waiting for me back home and how no negativity can measure up against the happiness I feel when I'm with her. OR no matter how bad things get, i have my music and friends, to bring back the joy in my life.
In these moments, the negative past is like a heavy rain cloud trying to float up into the endless azure skies of heaven. It's just not happening. Remind yourself that no matter what happens, it doesn't have to make a difference and just LET IT GO.
Our time is NOW. To be as radically honest as I can. There is NO such thing as the past and no such thing as the future. They just don't exist. Think about it. Do they really matter? It's not like you can do anything, except think, about them. All we can truly do and control is to live in the NOW and , the PRESENT. Why waste time thinking about things that don't exist? True mental piece is when you’re free from the burdens of time and are free to just focus on THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW. Now is all we have and all we'll ever have. So let everything else just go...
Many times I've found myself so in love with someone, that'd I'd have trouble being without them. I'd feel disturbed, uncomfortable, out of place in their absence. I guess obsessed would be a good word for it. But there have also been many times, where my mental peace was disturbed not by negativity, but indirectly by my own positive actions. Winning the Basketball tournament 2 years in a row, my past had made me confident for a 3rd win. Beyond confident, I was teetering between arrogance and superciliousness, both of which weren't a good side to be on.
All these states always left me feeling depressed and sad at the end of the day and after some serious time out and meditation, I realized the key to freedom from the past.
There is no magic formula to achieve sustained and serene mental peace it. It's really all about Just LETTING GO OF THE PAST. Just let it go... Every time something happens that agitates you, just be glad nothing worse happened and LET IT GO . Every time someone tries to put you on the spot, bless them for spending so much energy on you and just LET IT GO, Whenever you make a mistake or falter somewhere, its o.k., pick yourself up and LET IT GO, Whenever You achieve some great feat or great goal, Good for you, don't hold on to it and become egotistical. Be modest and humble and thank god for the strength and then LET IT GO, as well. Every time something happens that makes you feel fearful, anxious, uncomfortable, depressed or unhappy. Just remember all the good times you had in your life and LET THE BAD GO. Now I know that letting go can be difficult and to be honest, initially it is. But there were two things that really cemented the power and thought of "LETTING GO" in my mind.
1) Let me start with a story I once heard. "There were two monks traveling through the Jungles, heading for the monastery at its end. One of them was an aged and wise Master Monk. The other was his young pupil, still under training. On there journey across a stream, flowing through the forest, they came across a beautiful maiden with her cloths in tatters. She had been robbed and was unable to walk. Upon further inquiring, they discovered that her village lied on their path. She begged them to help her. The young monk was captivated by her beauty, but knew it was against their code to touch a woman. The Master Monk, not wasting much time, lifted her and carried her to her village. They safely brought her to her village, and then left for their destination. Throughout the journey, the young pupil was filled with questions and condemnation for his master’s actions. Upon reaching the monastery, the pupil asked the master, “Master, Why did you carry that women with you, back at the stream and then leave her till her village?" The young monk felt cheated and was quite rude in his questioning. The Old monk calmly answered, “My young apprentice, I have left that girl behind at her village because she needed my help, but have you left her yet?"
This story made me really understand the concept of letting go clear as crystal. It's all about doing what you have to do or bearing with what you have to, and then just letting it go. Releasing all energy, thoughts, emotions and feelings associated with it. Clearing the mind of its shackles and finding that elusively obvious Mental Peace.
2) The second technique I've found, that helps me let go of a lot of negative things, is to create and use a very strong Positive anchor. Look into your past and find a feeling so strong and positive that it still possesses that feeling and energy to re summon happiness and bliss. Just remind yourself of that thought, that moment , that feeling and use it whenever you need to let go of something unpleasant. I personally find that LOVE works the best here. I remind myself of the beautiful women who’s waiting for me back home and how no negativity can measure up against the happiness I feel when I'm with her. OR no matter how bad things get, i have my music and friends, to bring back the joy in my life.
In these moments, the negative past is like a heavy rain cloud trying to float up into the endless azure skies of heaven. It's just not happening. Remind yourself that no matter what happens, it doesn't have to make a difference and just LET IT GO.
Our time is NOW. To be as radically honest as I can. There is NO such thing as the past and no such thing as the future. They just don't exist. Think about it. Do they really matter? It's not like you can do anything, except think, about them. All we can truly do and control is to live in the NOW and , the PRESENT. Why waste time thinking about things that don't exist? True mental piece is when you’re free from the burdens of time and are free to just focus on THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW. Now is all we have and all we'll ever have. So let everything else just go...