@ Brandon – I completely agree with what you’re saying here. Our past is a blend of so many different experiences, and honestly, even if we had “great” childhoods it’s all relative. People who had a comfortable upbringing may think they had a terrible childhood, when in reality it wasn’t all that bad in comparison to the norm.

@ Myrko – People can deny it as much as they like, but until they come to accept this truth, their potential for growth will be extremely limited. Only once you’ve released yourself from the chains of your past are you free to CREATE the life you desire in the future. Until then you’re just playing out the same old story and your efforts will ultimately go to waste.

You’re absolutely right. These past experiences can condition us to have a number of limiting beliefs, and this is just one method to release ourselves from those beliefs. As you said, this is a critical step in personal development. As long as we allow the limiting beliefs to remain, they will sabotage our efforts endlessly.

Thanks for the comments guys, and thanks so much for the support.

@ Mike – I appreciate the honesty of your comment. I can understand how you would feel that way.

At first I found it hard to believe myself, but after running through the exercise with seemingly “trivial” past painful memories (getting into an argument with my father, a fight in 6th grade with my best friend), I could sense the slight negative charges attached to them.

Our past (memories of experiences, emotions, situations) plays a major role in shaping the decisions we make today and in the future. The experiences I described above seem trivial to me now, but when they actually happened back in the day they were a huge deal to me. Rather than facing and dealing with these experiences emotionally when I was much younger, I know my mind has slowly absorbed the pain and filed away the memories gradually over time. This doesn’t mean the memories cease to exist, and it doesn’t mean that the negative energy associated with them has dissipated on its own.

We all have disagreeable things happen to us at all stages of our lives, and many times we are unprepared to deal with the emotions we feel when these things happen. The mind has learned to cope with such experiences on its own. Given this, I believe everyone should do an exercise like the one outlined in this article, or utilize some other spiritual practice to purify the mind. This is also the basis of Vipassana Meditation, and was taught at the camp I attended nearly 5 months ago. I wrote an article about my experience a while back if you’re interested in reading more about it.

Thanks for the comments guys!

Rahul

Your story about your experience in class is very humorous. I remember one time in class where I had a similiar incident but people called me “farter” because I farted during reading time.

To say that I was humiliated would be like saying that Texas is big… Texas is huge!!!

Thanks again and find peace my friend

John

Thanks for the comment!

This is very interesting. I can see how being humiliated by your teacher in front of the whole class can be traumatizing. You know, dealing with demons later in life has often led people to much more energetic lives. I see how it can release potential mental energy. Good post.

Cheers,
Jeremy