The Problems in our Pasts

This full moon in Scorpio has an interesting opportunity for all of us to examine our pasts, and ‘clean house’ so to speak; and I must admit the past few days have done nothing short of furthering my feelings of need for this. I have had countless unprovoked conversations about friends looking to burry their past, and myself have fallen victim to looking to past feelings to find a foot hold into some social scenes.

 

Scorpio is the Western Zodiac sign of inward thinking. Often people born under the sign of Scorpio are very intensive about getting to the deepest truth of things and people. So then when the deep emotional moon is in the sign of Scorpio it gives us all the deepest want to clean our house, and to penetrate ourselves for our truths.

 

Over the past few days I have noticed not only in my own card readings, but also in the events surrounding my life that there has been a large universal neon sign advising me to look deeper into my past and clean away the physical items and thought processes holding back new opportunities for the future. Not only have I been giving this advice, there have also been numerous accounts and unprovoked talks about others I know looking to let go of their own past and put it to bed. Often avoiding people, places, and situations that would cause remising.

 

Shame is a dangerous feeling and emotion, and it is very easy to fall prey. We are humans and often will find ourselves making mistakes, and those mistakes can haunt us sometimes for years after we have made them. For those of us whom are more conscious of our words and actions, these mistakes can be something as small as a word, or as large as an act against a loved one. These can leave us feeling vulnerable both to our standing with those we make an indiscretion towards, as well as to ourselves.

 

It is much simpler to let go of long dead memories and transgressions. Still these transgressions can sometimes turn into thought processes and behavioral patters, and these even when put to bed, can sometimes come up out of no where and rear their ugly heads. Even the Yoga Sutras have taken these possibilities into account calling these thought processes samskaras, or memory impressions left on the mind. Although through meditation these impressions can be subdued, they are never really gone until enlightenment where they are ‘burned’ so that they can not reactivate. It should be noted that no matter what samskaras, can not be erased or removed, they can only be rendered inactivated.

 

So then if these smaskaras are not burned there are times when even the smallest trigger can bring about these thought processed back to the for front of our minds. We can be triggered then to repeat past mistakes and behaviors, even if knowing in our hearts that we should not. There is even a story about a very realized sage that had gained the ability to hold his breath for years on end. In an effort to avoid any temptation or attachment he decided to live under water. Once being there for some time, he saw two fish mating. After seeing them – even though he spent this life in celibacy – a very old smaskara of lust from previous lives reawakened and he left his life as a monk in favor of a life of physical pleasures. Though this story we can see that even the most vigilant can be lead a stray at the smallest trigger.

 

Nonetheless no one should be held by their past. Either by a chain or by a memory. Yes we should all make amends to the best we can, and we are always left to our own karma. Still karma is just the equal reaction of our action, and that reaction can be lessened by the future actions. Yes we will be given an equal just reaction, but instead of feeling a loss alone by better actions in the future and a repented heart, we maybe able to face those losses with friends instead. Just as we can work from the inside to change, it should also be accepted by those we choose to surround ourselves with that we are trying to change; and maybe we are actually getting to the point where we are.

 

At some point we all are given baggage in this life that we are forced to carry around with us. Just because we have mistakes, and thought processes that are founded far in the past, does not mean that we have to allow them to drag us down. Nor do we have to allow others to drag us down with our pasts. If we slip in our path, we should be getting back up again and trying harder than before. With a clear mind and a strong heart, we can move mountains and change who we are and who we show the world.

 

Practice in Peace and Love ❤