Last year I was told a few times, from various sources (including a recently dead ex-girlfriend, via a medium) that I had to stop “living in the past.” And I was mystified. I did not think of myself as a nostalgic person, wistfully mourning the “good old days.” But the message kept being delivered to me and I am a firm believer that if three or more sources, very distinct from each other, all tell you the same thing, I assume the universe, or my spirit guides, or whatever, is trying to tell me something. When the ex-girlfriend came through (we went to our high school prom together!) I thought “Well, that’s that.”
The medium I was talking to was personal friend, and professional intuitive Ana Lisa (My Spiritual Friend). We kicked some ideas back and forth, and arrived at the following: “if you are reacting to current situations and difficulties with knee-jerk reactions you learned from childhood experiences, then you are not ‘here and now, in the moment’ but still reacting from the past.”
OK. Basic psychology to my ears, and being ‘in the moment’ is basic guru/enlightenment speak. And as an astrologer, I often see Saturn representing, among many other things, the emotional baggage we carry with us, from the past, that shapes our world view. Fair enough. How do I learn to ‘be here now?’
Shortly after that, I had an upcoming guest on my internet radio show called Patrick Paul Garlinger, (his website) and I was reading one of his books, Seeds of Light*, in prep to interview him. (the radio show interview) And there was a chapter called “The Human Inclination to Judge.” I cannot quote the entire chapter, but it essentially says we should stop judging things and situations. I was stopped in my tracks.
Not judge?!? I’m a Capricorn. I live to judge. How? Who? What? But reading on, it said learn to assess, not judge. Don’t assess things based on good or bad, but by whether you like it, or you don’t. By judging things, we start compartmentalizing and detaching ourselves from the oneness of things.
And I realized judging is often based on summoning up the past, examining a track record for information. And when we do that, we transport ourselves back into the past, and are no longer in the ‘here & now.’
So I tried to come up with an analogy. We see Joe entering the room, carrying a stack of plates. The last 12 times he carried a stack of plates, he tripped and fell three times. So Joe enters the room and often, many of us might think “Oh no! Joe might drop the plates again!” And in the Seth Material, Seth says thoughts like that send a telepathic message to Joe: “I expect you to drop the plates.” Not cool. And not ‘here and now,’ or in the moment.
So I have been playing with this “not judging” and I am surprised about how much calmer and relaxed I am. There are so many things I no longer have to have an opinion about! Carrying the past around can be a burden.
*an interesting book well worth reading, if you are looking into the nature of physical reality from a spiritual standpoint.
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NOTE:
My internet radio show, Cosmic Tuesdays, has moved to a new URL. It is still on every Monday from 9:30pm to 11pm, but it is at www.spreaker.com/show/cosmic-tuesdays. Join me for 90 minutes every Monday and we can have some fun together. I interview astrologers, psychics, palm readers, authors, yoga teachers, wiccans, aromatherapists, acupuncturists, energy channelers, NDE healers and all kinds of interesting people.
Very nice post, Anthony. Thank you! To add to that try North Node as another way to be present, be now and be making beneficial choices, rather than knee jerk reactions. Likewise try South Node as a focal point for the past experiences- it offers options, but left alone it tends to promote auto-pilot.
Excellent point…
It’s a bit of a paradox because we judge and learn from past experiences. If I have an issue with someone that I need to resolve I go through a process.
Firstly I get annoyed, and say all of the usual things. I can’t believe… What’s wrong with them, et cetera.
Secondly I think about the situation. I ask myself what happened as if I was an outsider.
Thirdly I think about my strengths and weaknesses and those of the other person.
Lastly I come up with a plan that I can utilise.
The key component is that I don’t have an expectation or a need for the other person to do anything nor do I need them to see my point. With some situations I just accept that we see things differently. I have been fortunate to have been on both sides of the bath room door. And realise a minute is not an objective measurement.
Del
Nice system you have!
To me, re: this sentence, the goal is to eliminate the word judge : “It’s a bit of a paradox because we judge and learn from past experiences.”
But this sentence nails it: “The key component is that I don’t have an expectation”