Friday: Memories of Past Present and Future

I have a little saying: If I don't remember it, it didn't happen. I think that memory is the guardian of our happiness. Many of the miseries that we experience has to do with holding on to the past that cannot be changed and building up such a drama that we are truly traumatized and held back from moving with happy expectation into the future. We all reconstruct the past through the way that we focus on our memories. I prefer a happy past. That does not mean negative things happened; it means that I refuse to allow hurts of the past continue to hurt me now.


There is nothing more destructive to the body than anger. It raises blood pressure. It creates wars. And, when not faced and released, it creates resentment. Resentment is the demon of memories. The word resent literally means to re-feel something. When we allow past hurts to crowd into our day, we in effect, allow the pain that someone inflicted on us to hurt us again. I, for one, refuse to allow another's actions in the past to hurt me today.


I do not apply this principle to 20 or 30 years ago. I apply it to five minutes ago. I am not going to live in a state of chaos because someone accidentally insulted me or I perceived a word wrong. In human relationships, we always have buttons that can get pushed by our significant others and those who are less than significant. I choose to have control as to how I respond to button pushing. It might be impossible to uninstall all the buttons we have wandering around our mind, but we do have choices in how we respond.


I have developed some techniques to deal with diffusing my response to negativity that might help you:


1. Develop and maintain a sense of humor.


2. Refuse to be the cause of the problem. I say in my head or out loud: That is your problem!


3. Look at the issue and say: In one hundred years will it make a difference? Or, even next week will it make a difference.


4. I get by with a little help from my friends. If I am having trouble releasing something I talk with my friends. I may not even talk about what is bugging me. I may choose instead to use the Art of Avoidance and talk about something else that makes me happy.


5. If all else fails, I just say Bleep Off!


6. I delay engaging in the situation and come back to it later when I am not emotionally involved. Delayed reaction to a stimuli reduces it's impact and allows us to be more rationale.


7. I do something that makes me happy.


8. I turn on some really upbeat and happy music.


9. I journal my way through the incident to arrive at closure.



Today bring your memories into the happiness zone. Create some joyful things to recall in those days when you think back about your life. It is never to late to create a happy history.


http://manifestreality.com/avoidance.html