Most people want their lives to move forward and feel like they are making progress. But so many people believe that events from the past have bound them. Though time goes on, we are unable to escape the past. We are unable to go past the past.
This is caused by two characteristics that are interrelated in some way. The first is ego, either the conceited kind, where we believe we are always right, or the disheartened one, where we contrast ourselves with others and engage in rivalry. The other is the relationships we make, which turn into bonds and make it nearly impossible to advance. The ego bases its sense of self-worth and joy on the outside world.
We seek security and happiness in our relationships in order to have a sense of belonging. Since we accept the other as they are at the beginning of a relationship, it is filled with light and joy. Happiness, however, vanishes once we begin placing restrictions on a connection because not everyone will share our point of view. We then lose our regard for ourselves. Relationships end at that point. We then go on to another one, and the process repeats itself because we are putting our sense of worth on someone else or outside circumstances.
Unawareness of our true selves is the basis of the issue. We fail to recognize that we are the spiritual being, the soul, within and that we identify with the body, in body consciousness.
What unites us all is that we are all the same, beings of spiritual energy, beings of light, and it is this experience that enables us to let go. We can then be free from expectations and have full acceptance of our situation, our strengths, and our weaknesses. Then we can let go of external supports and realise that we were never created, and we will never be destroyed. In this way, we stop living in the past and live in the moment.
Even so, we have a duty of care to look after all things and maintain relationships of benevolence. So, as we shift our awareness, it has such a powerful impact on everything around us. In this way, we contribute to a better world. We cease telling others how to live their lives, but remain happy, light, and easy, with no thoughts of the past and no expectations of the future.
We need to spend significant time with the self in the awareness of being a spiritual being of light. Each day we can remind the self of our identity, filling the self with powerful and positive thoughts, which emanate vibrations of peace and benevolent energy to all around us.
Parmjit Basra has over 35 years in management and is based at the Brahma Kumaris Meditation Centre, Leicester, UK.