Does Being In the Now Mean the Past Doesn’t Matter?

So, if you’re fully Present in the moment, does what happened in the past no longer matter? Given that the idea of “past” is an illusion anyways, how does it fit in?

From an energetic standpoint, what you put out is what you get back. So in that sense, what you did in the past is like an energetic karmic boomerang. The external world functions like a mirror to reflect back to you the energy you’re putting out into the world.

If you bought a house in the past and now live in it, you can live in the house in the Now, but the past purchase still plays a role in the Now that you experience.

Some people think that by focusing on the Now, all their past problems will magically be resolved on their own. Sorry, but this isn’t the case. In actuality, the power of Presence gives you a better springboard with which to deal with the issues from your “past.” Who you were in the past contributes, to a large extent, who you believe yourself to be now. Thus there’s a lot of past residue, so to speak, a lot of momentum.

What being fully Present allows you to do is to realize that right now, in this very moment, the problems you think you have don’t really exist other than in the mind. That is, you’re making it all up. It’s a big game of make believe. You’re making yourself believe it. With this realization, it’s much easier to let go of attachment to problems because we realize they’re much less tangible and solid than we imagined.

Additionally, this realization makes it much easier to change course in life. Without the burden of the past, life becomes much more innocent and pure. The ability to move in a new direction becomes very easy without the shackles of the past.

While the past often brings limitation and constriction, Presence brings freedom and a sense of spaciousness and openness.