6.03.2007

Stepping Out of Your Story

From the CwG newsletter:

Each of us has a "story" that we're living. It is the story that we tell ourselves (and others) about who we are and how we got to be this way and how we wish life to be from now on. Every time we get our feelings hurt, or find ourselves disappointed in something that someone else has done or said (or not done or not said), we are getting into our "story." Every time we set ourselves up with expectations or requirements (of ourselves or others), we are getting into our "story." Every time we find ourselves reacting and responding to another (or to ourselves) from a place of hurt or damage (real or perceived), we are getting into our "story."

Our "story" can literally run our lives. Indeed, for most people it is the only thing that does. We come from our story when we face incoming data, and we go to our story when we send outgoing data. Take our "story" away and we all but disappear.

The time comes when people simply decide that they no longer wish to identity themselves with their "story," but now wish to "come from" a new set of data when they engage life itself. This process of "dropping their story" is not an easy one, but it can be done. It is a matter of stepping aside from the story and realizing that "that was then, and this is now." It is a matter of actively choosing to never again mortgage a future moment to a past one.

The trick to stepping outside of your story is to drop the need for any story altogether. This could only occur if you were completely clear about Who You Are and Who You Choose to Be. You would have to understand that you are, indeed, a local manifestation of Divinity. You would have to understand that there is no disconnection between you and God. You would have to be aware that you are a Soul traveling through life with your body, but that you are not the body itself.

Once you identify yourself in this fashion you will easily see that there is nothing you need to be perfectly happy, completely at peace, and embracing always the joy and the wonder of your True Self. Then you will have no need to continue living inside of your story, because you will see clearly that it is bringing you emotional rewards and psychological content that you no longer need or require. This will create a huge shift in your ground of being and will alter your experience of life forever.

Here is a little exercise that you might enjoy: start off tomorrow morning by entering your day as if you had no prior data about any aspect of your life whatsoever. Pretend that you know nothing about your past -- especially any aspect of your past that you once perceived to have caused you injury or damage. Move through the day as if nothing that is happening Right Now has anything to do with anything that happened Before. Even if something that is occurring right in front of your face reminds you greatly of a previous encounter with life, ignore the Old Data and move forward through the present moment without judgment or any reaction to the prior experience. See if this is possible for you to do. If it is, you have learned Detachment, and that is a very good skill to acquire.

Every sunrise, indeed, every new moment of every day is truly a New Beginning in which you may, just as the book says, re-create yourself anew in the next grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held about who you are. You may begin life over again Right Now, and nothing is stopping you from doing that except yourself. The process is actually easier done than said! ~ NDW

8 comments:

cjm said...

Oooh, that's a good one. Other than the exercise, the part I liked most was "never again mortgage a future moment to a past one." I'm certainly not detached but I think I'm making really slow progress towards it.

Anonymous said...

All very well said. I'm going to need that advice this week!

lattégirl said...

Detachment! I am also working toward it.

But what do you do when emotional detachment from your story means detaching yourself (physically and emotionally) from the human beings who are part of yesterday's story? What happens when there's nobody left around you?

Jillie Bean (AKA Bubba's Sis) said...

But I believe we learn from our past, and we need our "stories" because they shape who we are. We cannot be newborn every day - the naivety would not necessarily be a good thing.... Certainly we should not dwell on the past or try to live in it, but we should learn from it and move on, don't you agree?

StaceyG said...

I think that if we can detach from the people and events from our past that hold us back, that is a good thing. If you really like everything about yourself, then don't detach. I think the point is to get rid of unhealthy things that prevent you from being who you want to be, not necessarily to "forget" what has happened in the past.

lattégirl said...

And things that happen right NOW? I had two things rile me today, and I had a hard time letting go of them. Took me about 12 hours, actually. I am not happy about the way I responded to those stresses.

I keep feeling like I'm Tony Soprano and you're my therapist.

Tracey said...

Wow...and you know why I say that.

Jillie Bean (AKA Bubba's Sis) said...

Yes, I can see what you're saying - learn from your past, but don't live in it or dwell upon it for it can drag you down.