Memories

What we perceive, believe, and react to may not be totally accurate. We believe that our opinions, memories, and concepts are always true and correct. At times, we may be wrong. When we allow our ego, concepts, and opinions to become fact, we limit our choices.

We believe our memories are true, but they may not be. Past events are not necessarily exactly what is true, and definitely not true for what is happening now. We try to use our past memories of events to protect ourselves, but instead we may be hurting ourselves and those around us.

Clearly seeing and looking at what is happening in the present is the key to making good decisions.

Are your reactions or other mental activity needed or not needed? If it is not needed, ask yourself if it is helpful or not helpful. If it is not needed and is not helpful, maybe it would be better to just let it go. Choose a better path or just give yourself a minute and take a break. A good way to relax is to give your attention to your breath, or to your senses in the present moment, even visualizing a positive image can give you the time needed to make a better choice.

You can develop strong focus and learn to simply watch and understand what your mind is up to. One exercise that helps with these skills is to learn to focus on something simple like your breath, know when your mind wanders away, and evaluate with simple understanding to see if what pulled your attention away is necessary or not and if it is helpful or not helpful. If it is not necessary and not helpful, consider letting it go and come back to focusing on the breath. It might be strong and come back, but each time it does you can see it for what it is and let it go, it will become less and less strong. These skills can be used throughout the day to grow understanding and to help you pick good options and let go of what is unhelpful.