Stay Out of the Muck!

 Let's face it, we've all had experiences IN THE PAST that were less than optimal.  Some of us have had terrible traumas, losses, and creations that set us into a tailspin of depression, anger, fear, loss, and upset. Some of these traumas have taken years to recover from and some of us are still recovering from them. Let us also acknowledge that right here, right now, you are right here, right now.  You are not in the past. It is over. Even if the trauma just happened minutes ago, it is still IN THE PAST. You can choose whether this is how you wish to continue to feel or do you want to feel better?  It really is your choice. Does choosing to feel better negate that the trauma happened? No. But why on earth would you choose to stay in feeling terrible, victimized, angry, hurt, etc.?  Are those going to help you on your path? No, not really. All they serve to do is keep you stuck.

Are we supposed to deny that these experiences and creations occurred?  Of course not. That would be untrue. Traumas are a fact of human life (not spiritual life). But there is a huge difference between fact and Truth. Facts are human, but Truth is Universal and indisputable. We must learn to discern the Truth of every situation beyond the facts. We must learn to move beyond facts and trauma. We must allow our hurts of every kind to heal and not keep tearing off the scab, physically, emotionally, psychically or spiritually. In my opinion, it is unhealthy to continually pick at those scabs or to allow anyone to convince us to do a psychic bloodletting to "heal." In medieval times they performed bloodlettings, thinking they would heal the patient.  For many, bloodletting led directly to death. This is not spiritual practice. This is human muck.

There are many ways to release painful experiences and fully heal and recover from them without ever having to get into the muck and mud of yesterday.  Ernest Holmes, the founder of Science of Mind, often reiterated the importance of choosing in each moment what it is we wish to experience. He taught that it was not necessary to stay focused on the pain or the hurts but rather that we must move our attention away from the areas we do not wish to continue experiencing. "We are all immersed in the atmosphere of our own thinking. This decides what shall take place in our lives," says Holmes. 

In the process of creation, whether it is in an art project, a building project, a house project, a recipe, or your life, where we put our attention is what gets created. If I'm painting a painting, I don't worry about the carpet not being vacuumed. I am not focused on the beads that could be made into jewelry. I don't put my attention on writing. I am focused and attentive to the process of painting. Therefore, a painting is made.

This is true for every creation. Where we place our attention is what comes into our experience. If we are placing our attention on fear and anger, guess what? We are going to be fearful and angry or attract situations which require us to experience fear or anger or fearful and angry people. If this is what you WANT then great. You've acheived your goal. But if this is not what you want, then you must turn away from the condition of fear and anger and focus on something else. 

It can seem difficult, especially if the muck you are stuck in is sticky and glommed on.  In the Bible, Lot shook the dust of Sodom and Gommorrah from his sandals so that he could move on into a healthier experience of life.  God commanded that he not turn nd look back. When he did, his beautiful wife was turned into a pillar of salt. Whether this is allegory or literally occurred, looking back does not sserve us. 

We can focus on a pet, a flower, take a walk, spend some time completely observing something in extreme details, breathing and meditating...there are a host of different tools and techniques for releasing your attention from the muck.  The tools actually are easy to use, they just require practice. If a tool requires you to go back into muck, it might be time to discard the tool and choose a different way. Tools that take you into the muck, keep you stuck.  Jesus didn't heal people by rebreaking their leg or even exploring why their leg was broken, but by commanding them to get up and walk!

What I know for sure is that what happened yesterday, while it may inform who you are, it is absolutely in the past.  The past does not equal the present nor does it equal the future. You can say no to anything you do not wish to carry forward from this moment on. You can say, "thank you" for bringing me to this point and then you can choose again. And if you don't like what you see when you open your eyes, choose again. And keep doing this until you get to the choice that you really want.  Do not get stuck in the muck. In fact, just stay out of the muck.  The muck is not where its at.

Though this sounds like a simplistic method, I know a number of people who employ it successfully and live very rich, happy and full lives because when something mucky does occur, they MOVE ON. They release it and let it go and choose something new and better.  You can do this also. I know that is the Truth.

(c) 2021 SZing, Spiritual Creator. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of Pixabay.