Lesson 7: “I see only the past.”

The past seems very real the way we collect information there and use this to interpret the present and what we anticipate for the future.

Therefore, the past seems like something that is totally real when we let the ego see things.  It is shocking to think the past is not real because seeing the past is how we figure out what is happening in the present.  It seems like we need the past to give us knowledge about how to approach the present.

The problem is that when we make the past real and we believe that it is fully real, the ego then judges everything that happens in the past.

The past is filled with the ego’s view of things. Then we get inundated with judgment because this is what the ego does with the past.

This judgment prevents us from being highly functional in our lives as they are. 

The Course reminds us to notice when we are judging the past because this judgement is a block to Love’s presence. 

The Course asks us to appreciate that the past is unreal.

When we do, we change the relationship we have with the past. 

The Course teaches us to see that the past has happened, and look at all that transpired there.

We gather information, but we do nothing else except evaluate what happened there. 

We make no judgements about anything that happened.  This is the way to have a healthy, light and God-centered relationship with the past.  We give it to God to interpret.  We don’t suffer over it in any way.

The Course simply wants us to open our eyes to what the past brings for us.  The past is always associated with the ego and ego’s agenda.

The past is simply a story- ridden with judgement. 

This is why the Course teaches us to see the past for what it is.  We often end up letting the past decide our present and the nature of the future when we make the past about the land of the ego.

The Course invites us to simply understand the past is a stumbling block to our becoming free from the attack thoughts and energy of the past. 

God can help us rid our minds of all the struggle of the past when we surrender our attachment to living in the past.  

We must simply realize how much weight we give the past in determining how we feel.

Therefore, we want to make every effort to be sure we don’t give the past power to create the present.

  This would be a huge error.

Just don’t let the past be more than something we collected for our higher good so that we give it to God.  

We don’t want to allow the past to be anything but a pleasant memory that allows us to be freed from the past permanently. 

Then, we can then stay focused in the perfect present.