The obsessive thoughts that paralyze you during the day & have you staring at the ceiling at night, the unsaid words & missed chances that churn around like a whirlpool in your stomach, that’s regret.
Why is it that regret be can be so debilitating? Sitting around your neck like a hangmans noose, feeling tighter the longer it’s there. What purpose could it possibly serve when it can hijack your peace of mind with more stealth than a ninja?
Carl Jung says it quite simply ‘what you resist persists’. A dog doesn’t lament over a missed opportunity or bad decisions. A cat enjoys the moment, lounging on a soft cushion with no concern as to where it’s next meal will come from. Of course it’s easier for animals to live in the ‘now’ because they don’t have an ego. The problem with us humans is that because we have forgotten the art of ‘stillness’ in body & mind, we operate through ego which is the louder voice that we hear & our intuition, inner voice largely gets ignored.
When we make decisions in haste based on lack, anxiety, confusion or fear we might not immediately question our decision but eventually with clearer vision & hindsight we see how we could of taken a different path.
Our souls incarnate to learn lessons, to grow, we are set up to make mistakes, that’s our purpose for being on earth so we really are just following a repetitive cycle of failure & growth so it’s a feat, a truly marvellous achievement when a soul rises above its current limitations. It’s our goal to rise above karma & live according to dharma. The ones who do live like this are guides, shinning lights for those of us stuck in the cycle of suffering.
So how does one break free from the cycle of creating new karma?
1. Practice stillness through meditation, yoga, tai chi or Qi gong.
2. Live by the attitude that what you don’t deal with now, (however insurmountable it may seem) you will have to deal with at a later time, be it this life or a subsequent one.
3. A clear mind = a clear work & living space & clears the path for new energy to flow in & old every to flow out. Get rid of physical clutter, including those relationships that no longer serve you.
4. When something goes wrong, instead of blaming external causes ask how YOU contributed to the issue & what the lesson is.
These small steps will enable you to evolve faster though there is no rush as we all evolve at our own speed, but who wants to suffer needlessly?
Namaste.
