LEAVING BEHIND YOUR PERSONAL HISTORY

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Having a personal history keeps us from now.

This is a radical idea perhaps, but I am asking

you to consider the possibility of totally

eradicating your personal history from your

consciousness and simply living completely

in the present moment.

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The first thing that might pop into your mind,

as it did into mine when I began to consider this

possibility, is that it is impossible.  I do have

a memory, and it would be folly for me to pretend

that I am not the product of my past.

What I am asking you to develop is a "forgettery"

to go with your memory.

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The point is that as a result of being a

product of your past, you are dancing to a tune

thrown at you by others.  In order to take the

step up toward your sacred quest, you must

toss out the idea that you are unable to take

those steps in the first place.

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In Tales Of Power, Carlos Casteneda is

indoctrinated in the ways of the Nagual, the

spiritual master who lives in a world much

different than that of average people.

His teacher, don Juan, says to him,

"One day, I discovered I didn't need personal

 history, so, like drinking, I dropped it."

As Carlos contemplates this idea, he is told

that if he can learn to erase his personal history

he will be free of the encumbering thoughts

of others.

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When people know our personal histories

they exert a certain amount of control over us.

They expect us to be something that we have

always been, or that we have been taught to be.

If we don't live up to their expectations they

become disillusioned about us.  Then we

take on the guilt of disappointing those who

have been such loyal sponsors of our lives.

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However, there is a simple alternative

that can be put into practice in a moment of

satori, or instant awakening.  You can drop

your personal history right now.  Just drop it.

To put it quite simply, if you don't have a story,

you don't have to fit it.

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Of all the enlightened beings I have met

and have read about, the one similar quality

they seem to possess is that they are not in any

way tied to their past.  They are free because

they don't rely on the way things used to be

to define their lives today.

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From Your Sacred Self

by Wayne W. Dyer

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