A few days ago, as I was busily working at my home office computer, I heard a loud and attention getting thud at a window looking out over my backyard. Surprised, based on the volume, that the window had not been broken, I shot up to find out what had happen.

Much to my dismay, my window was to be the final thing one of the local birds saw as it passed into the next world. As my mind raced with thoughts of helping this often welcome visitor to my backyard, within a minute or two, those thoughts were no longer pertinent to the bird. Days later, oddly enough, those thoughts still continue for me.

As much I have tried to rationalize the bird’s passing, reconciling the happenstance that occurs for all of us in this crazy world we call Life, my mind wanders to the continuity of memory - the stubborn persistence of the colors, emotions, smells, songs, circumstances, and people that have been part of both the good and seemingly less good situations of my life.

Even today I can still vividly remember the final moments of my sweet dog Killer’s life two years ago. I can still touch that well of sadness in a moment like I am standing there right now, right here. I can still recall the first time I got a raise at work over 20 years ago - the joy, the satisfaction, the excitement. It’s easy to hear a song and have an entire decade of my experience come alive in full techicolor. I am certain I am not alone in noticing the power memories can have over the present.

The trick, it would seem, is to be able to let it flow over and through you and not allow the past to overtake your vision of Now. When the past weighs more than the Now, it’s not always so great. Honestly, isn’t a heavy devotion to the past the basis of prejudice? It’s not a Now experience - it’s a decision, already made, based on the past, being pushed into the future. Sometimes it’s not even your past but rather the experiences of your parents, or your friends. Maybe it’s not even based in actual experience or any actual facts, yet the emotions stay alive.

I would be remiss to not admit that many good decisions come from past experience - that’s the essence of learning, really. But, I believe learning has to continue to retain its value. Instead of letting an up-to-date analysis of situations rule, it’s just too easy to fall back to what I’ve seen before rather than collect additional information to consider. It’s like a shorthand method to help me through the many yes-no options I have during any - dare I say, every - day. Easy to understand but relatively dangerous to do.

It’s not usually in my best interest to let a stale view of the world continue forward. I recognize that an epiphany, or even a more gradual evolution of Spirit, can’t happen if I cling to the past. To deal with this, I’ve begun using The Sedona Method to move away from being locked into a long gone emotional state, which allows me to move forward with renewed joy and hopeful insight. It’s a simple set of questions that help me to let it go. I am certain it will help me in my business, in my relationships, and my life. It’s what I’ve had to use to let the memory of that little bird fade.

So, what about you? Want to share a situation where releasing your past helped you? I’d love to hear from you.