There is a difference between just believing something and actually living it. It's often said that "Those that can, do; those that can't, teach". Well this about sums up what it's like to understand a spiritual or metaphysical principle, but not apply it to your personal life. You can be a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about Yoga or Meditation, but fail to manifest prosperity in your life. This is sad, but it does happen quite often. I, for one, prefer to observe how a person behaves and then draw my conclusions as to their teaching. I hope that all of my friends and associates will also support me in putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak.
The ego is a powerful force in our life; often overriding our Higher Power in our decisions on how to live our life. Focusing on our past, the ego engages the assistance of our subconscious to convince us that we are making mistakes by not paying attention to the past. This is perhaps the greatest obstacle to our spiritual progression and success. By dragging us back to the past, our ego batters us with memories of failures and pain that actually did occur, often decades ago. By replaying the tapes of these events, our ego is insistent in reminding us just how vulnerable we are to both our own decision-making and the wiles of the world.
The truth of the matter is that there is absolutely nothing we can do to rectify the mistakes we made in the past, or ease the pain we felt back then. By dwelling in memory (both bad and good) we wallow in thoughts that should have no power on us now. The good memories revolve around pleasure, which we certainly wish to feel but has no value in our present life. The present, the NOW, is the only place where we have control. By dwelling on the "could have" or "should have" aspects, we are wasting precious moments in our present life. So, for instance, if we want to rectify a past event, we have to do it in the present moment. Calling into remembrance a past mistake, we might be able to deal with it in the present if the person or situation still exists today. If the person we wish to reconcile with is dead, then we are just wasting time in damning ourselves, or them, for a past transgression.
Instead, there is a much better way to deal with life. By living in the NOW, in the present moment, we have full power to deal with any situation that comes our way! Our Higher Self, our spirit guides and evolved masters exist only in the NOW! They cannot go back to fix what happened in the past. We have to understand this basic fact of universal reality: We are one with the Universe and the Universe is constantly evolving! Karma is a law that moves forward, not backward. The ego is a part of us that means well, but is so connected to our subconscious that it often confuses past with present. The past is over; the present is the place where we have control and where miracles happen! Our spiritual guides and evolved masters only exist in the present. The oneness of the Universe is also in the present moment, in the NOW.
So, now that we understand that the past is gone and the future is ahead, we can realistically understand that we should remain in the present moment 100-percent of the time. We can intellectually teach others that there is a oneness in the Universe, but, unless we practice it ourselves, the lesson is shallow. It's up to all of us, as teachers and practitioners of metaphysics and yoga, to live what we KNOW and practice what we believe, thereby putting it into action. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Actions define who we are". By putting what we KNOW into action, we are being honest to our calling as "Heirs of God's Kingdom".
Blessings!
Alfred P. Voto, M.Msc.
