roger Posted July 22, 2017 Someone on Twitter posted, 'just start over'. To really begin anew, to really make a fresh start, I think we have to let go of the past and forgive ourselves for past mistakes. I've made a lot of mistakes and my past includes very much darkness and suffering, but I feel that it doesn't have to be difficult to know that it's okay, forgive yourself, and see today as a new beginning. If there is a God, He/She understands us and loves us unconditionally. I'm feeling good about letting go of the past and beginning my new life. 13 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted July 22, 2017 Yeah, I have often said that "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." However, I wonder if it is possible to actually "just start over". The reason I say this is because there is a lot of stuff in our unconscious mind that comes to the fore any time it wants to. We have little control over this. But I agree with you Roger, forgiving our self (and those we have offended if we can) is a first step out of the "old" you and into a "new" beginning. Ah!, the letting go. Important. We can't change the past. Acknowledge we screwed up and get over it. But remember, those random thoughts are going to hit us when we least expect. Generally when we are with a negative attitude and this just makes it worse. We need to stay with the light. We can buy a couple flashlights to help us if needed. (Or keep friends close for support.) 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miffymog Posted July 22, 2017 Go for it. I'm in someways overcoming an unpleasant past, and it does mean there is a enthusiasm towards the new future 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Owledge Posted July 22, 2017 Ad Been a good, virtuous person all your life and gotten miserable because of it? It is not too late to start over and become an asshole! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RiverSnake Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) It's not a matter of "starting over"......but rather a process of transformation.....a process of "BECOMING" something different than what you were before....so that you no longer even resonate with past versions of self. Edited July 22, 2017 by OldSaint 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifeforce Posted July 22, 2017 I can definitely relate to this, roger. I've been in this situation many times. The darkness and suffering can more often than not, be a catalyst for change. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bubbles Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) Go ahead Roger and read carefully what Marblehead wrote: he said in a very simple and clear way what most of us take sometimes a lifetime to understand. This is why cultivation is most needed: to support and nourish this fresh start every single day and dry up the unconscious part of us. It is work, but it is also a love affair with the ultimate potential of women and men. Edited July 22, 2017 by bubbles edited: change 'life' to 'lifetime' in the first sentence 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beingnature Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) If you want to let go you first have to grab things it can be hard but others also managed to do so... wish you all the best on your journey! Edited July 22, 2017 by NATURE BEEING 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted July 22, 2017 3 hours ago, bubbles said: Go ahead Roger and read carefully ... I hesitated in "Thank You"ing this post as I felt like I might appear to be promoting myself. But what you said following that is very valid and worthy of a thanks. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted July 22, 2017 14 minutes ago, NATURE BEEING said: If you want to let go you first have to grab things I heard you the first time Lao Tzu. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allinone Posted July 26, 2017 On 22.07.2017 at 10:21 AM, roger said: Someone on Twitter posted, 'just start over'. To really begin anew, to really make a fresh start, I think we have to let go of the past and forgive ourselves for past mistakes. I've made a lot of mistakes and my past includes very much darkness and suffering, but I feel that it doesn't have to be difficult to know that it's okay, forgive yourself, and see today as a new beginning. If there is a God, He/She understands us and loves us unconditionally. I'm feeling good about letting go of the past and beginning my new life. you thought me something. I read from other thread that you are weak and tried out some things. so just now i recon what type of sensation in me is weak and i naturally jump on it like a beast. So sry if have teased you a bit. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted July 26, 2017 Starting fresh is great. We should continually do it. To me, that doesn't excuse us from our responsibility for past misdeeds. To truly close the book, we should make amends. Otherwise we're using the God Forgives Me card as a reason to screw others over and move on as it nothing happened. I don't think we learn anything if we leave messes and pain for others to clean up. We grow by doing the time due to our crime. Otherwise we're not fresh, we're the same as before, escaping from our responsibilities. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roger Posted July 26, 2017 4 hours ago, allinone said: you thought me something. I read from other thread that you are weak and tried out some things. so just now i recon what type of sensation in me is weak and i naturally jump on it like a beast. So sry if have teased you a bit. I forgive you sincerely. My view is that every choice we make is either one of love, or fear. It's very important to choose love, rather than fear. The entire quality of one's life, and largely their future, depends on it. Pride can make it difficult to choose love, but we need to for ourselves, others, and the world. Every choice matters. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Owledge Posted July 26, 2017 36 minutes ago, roger said: I forgive you sincerely. My view is that every choice we make is either one of love, or fear. It's very important to choose love, rather than fear. The entire quality of one's life, and largely their future, depends on it. Pride can make it difficult to choose love, but we need to for ourselves, others, and the world. Every choice matters. We can also be the decisive factor in other people's choices, which is an essential characteristic of love - connection, dissolving of barriers. Some act in the service of fear out of convenience, others out of inconvenience. Spot the difference and your love can fall on fertile soil. ( There doesn't seem to be much of it though. The field has been run by takers for very long, and still is. :-/ ) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windwalker Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) On 7/22/2017 at 0:21 AM, roger said: Someone on Twitter posted, 'just start over'. To really begin anew, to really make a fresh start, I think we have to let go of the past and forgive ourselves for past mistakes. I've made a lot of mistakes and my past includes very much darkness and suffering, but I feel that it doesn't have to be difficult to know that it's okay, forgive yourself, and see today as a new beginning. If there is a God, He/She understands us and loves us unconditionally. I'm feeling good about letting go of the past and beginning my new life. a book you or others might find interesting to help to understand what this might mean " start over" Written by a good friend and fellow traveler on the path of the dao. Quote Focusing Emptiness is about how the significant choices we make in life can be colored by the trauma we experience in childhood. It is about how we split off our most vulnerable parts, and how these parts can sometimes fall into a fantasy world where real world choices become entangled with the fantasy world designed to protect us. If you have ever looked back on your life, and wondered why you made that particular decision, that decision which turned your direction at that critical fork in the road, then this book will touch something of deep recognition inside you. http://focusingemptiness.com/index.php/about-the-book For myself it helped to clarify a path I was already on, and understand why my own starting over never really was. The starting over was an attempt by something deep inside me trying to fix something. The choice of being able to start over was a "fantasy" as there is really no starting over only a continuation of moving towards being an authentic person. best of luck Edited July 26, 2017 by windwalker 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stonehouse Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) There are a few slogans in the Tibetan Mind Trainings of Lojong that articulate this idea of "starting over" in each moment: Quote Slogan 28: Abandon all hope of success - Don’t get caught up in how you will be in the future, stay in the present moment. but... Quote Slogan 51: This time, get it right - practice your commitments. and, of course Quote Slogan 56: Don’t wallow in self-pity. or Quote Slogan 59: Don’t expect applause. Edited July 26, 2017 by Stonehouse 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
