That dirty lens can really distort what we see!
So many of our experiences seem to hang around with us. Have you ever talked to someone who was clinging to some story from the past, telling it over and over but never seeming to be able to move beyond it? I think some people in support groups like to tell their story over and over because it allows them to continue to think of themselves as a victim and they don’t see their way clearly beyond that state.
Or do you know someone who is ‘not talking to’ someone else because of something that happened years or even decades ago? And isn’t it laughable when they can’t even remember exactly why they made that decision but they’re sticking to it? We trip ourselves up this way all the time. We cling to something from the past until it is like a pair of old pajamas, comfy but probably so ragged it should be relegated to the rag pile.
Why are we so ready to stay with the comfort of the familiar even when it isn’t truly that comfortable? We do it all the time. We choose the familiar when we have a choice because we know what it feels like and the ‘new’ has an unknown quality about it that might be worse than what we know. How are you doing this in your Life today? What is the ‘old pajamas’ in your Life that you are holding onto beyond its useful time?
In a literal sense, mine is an old [at least 25 years old!] Redskins nightshirt. You can probably read the New York Times through it but it’s my comfort choice. What’s your metaphorical Redskins nightshirt?
When I work with some clients, they are amazed at the ideas that are clouding the lens through which they are looking at Life. We make decisions about what to believe when we are little children and those decisions continue to shape the way we see ourselves and our lives. We relate to our families and friends and co-workers and we take in, at an unconscious level, what we perceive to be their attitudes toward us. We may not even be correct in these assessments but we make decisions based on these mind-reads and they continue to have an emotional impact on us. And we do not understand what is going on at the level of the unconscious mind if we don’t shine a light there and examine it.
Spend some time asking yourself if you have any ‘old pajamas’ in your Life. What are you clinging to, what story or belief or thought about yourself, are you holding onto because it is familiar, even though it may not be in your highest good to continue to hold it? The answer can be startling. I’ve seen people remember something that happened when they were 5 or 7 or 11 that has colored how they see themselves since that time but they were unaware of that influence. You might have relationship or business or spiritual issues that are stemming from some belief that you have held in your unconscious mind for most of your Life that you didn’t realize was at work on your emotions and your decisions in the present day.
Take a look around the closet of your mind and decide what you are ready to relegate to the rag pile. Get some help with this if you need it. ‘Old pajamas’ don’t need to be the only ones you wear!
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Mystic Messages 
BOOK LIGHTS: from “The Prophet’s Way: A Guide to Living in the Now” by Thom Hartmann
January 12, 2011 — Rosemary“Try it for a day or two: notice the world in the now. Whenever you notice that your thoughts have dragged you off into a not-now-world, use that as a reminder to look around, listen to the world, and feel the presence of here and now. And in that moment, try saying, “Thank you.”
It sounds simple, but is not; this is a very difficult teaching. It’s also – perhaps because of its difficulty – extraordinarily powerful.”
from The Prophet’s Way:
A Guide to Living in the Now
by Thom Hartmann
This is a great exercise to help us stay focused on the Now and to let go of that which distorts our vision, our dirty lens. Feel the richness of ‘here and now’ and revel in The Light!
Rosemary
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