Guilt

Guilt is one of the strongest forces that drive our emotions in our lives. It causes great turmoil in our minds. It is our own self punishment. It is used to negatively control us from our actions. It is also used by others to manipulate people. It is control, either on ourselves or others. It triggers the ego by placing blame. Blame on ourselves or passing it to other people. Guilt is the sister of blame. They walk hand in hand using negativity to manipulate our lives. The ego is weak and uses guilt to protect itself. How could you do this to me? or I am a bad person for doing that? Either way it is about control. It is the blame we use to trigger the guilt we feel. It is never a positive result or a lesson that was learned. It sits there keeping you awake at night eating at your soul. Your ego is in control, punishing you because it knows best. You do not have to own what has happened and you should be punished for what you have done. Living in the pain of a past moment instead of moving forward. Guilt can keep us spinning in the past but, it does not have to. We do not have to feel guilty or pass guilt to others. We can learn and forgive for the moment. This frees us to move toward our abundant lives. No matter what you have done or what others have done to you, guilt will not work. Yours and their ego will not allow them to be harmed. Even in some small way if it works, the ego will just start blaming others and the cycle continues. The cycle of control through punishment. Punishment of others and self will never result in new actions or behaviors. If it does, it will not last, and the action or behavior will be repeated. To break the chain of guilt by being present in the current moment, by learning what triggers the guilt and by forgiveness. If you can do these things the ego cannot use guilt to manipulate you. Guilt cannot affect someone if they understand why something has happened and they are secure to know they are trying their best. Guilt always creeps in if there is a doubt in self and others. Remove the doubt and forgive the past. If you do not you will be at the will of your blaming ego. Thinking it knows best for you. If you are not at fault or you, are you will get punished either way. Punishment does not equate to happiness. Let go of the pain to move to a more abundant life free of guilt.

Here you are, in the now. Whatever has happened has happened. The past swirls around you holding you using guilt to cause turmoil in your mind. Your only thought is to try to get rid of it by using blame. The whys and hows of something that has past. But you lay there spinning trying to formulate the answers to questions that you cannot answer. Away you go into the punishment of the past. Take a moment and realize you are in the present. That what has gone before cannot be changed but what lies ahead can. The answers you seek will never be said. Let go of the reasons of the past. The only thing that still lives there is punishment of guilt. The present moment is all you have, and guilt does not belong here. Guilt only distorts the views of the present moment. If you can come to realize that this moment is all you have and you can move forward will set you free of guilt. Guilt is the chain of the ego and the past so, letting go of both will bring you to where you can make an impact. If you can take this moment and use it to become better, in some small way, it will change the pattern of the process of guilt. It can move you from blame to action. Also, focusing on you in the present instead of blaming others will set you free to move your life forward as well. You can only control you in this moment, using guilt will never result in a happy life. The lesson of the past was learned in the past and now you can move forward in the present to your abundant live.

What did you learn? This is where we decide if we need to be in the past or present. The lesson cannot cause us guilt if we can learn from it. If you had something happen in a past relationship that hurt you deeply. You spend sleepless nights reliving the events and you either start blaming yourself or the other person. The guilt of the lesson spins around you. What was it you learned from the experience that can help you grow? Was it the habits of their past or the habits of yours that created the hurt? Now it is time to grow. You grow by learning. Life is a path of growth forward. Each lesson is a step toward your abundance. Living in the guilt of the past is us being afraid to take that step. Not all lessons are positive ones, but they are lesson just the same. The ego does not want to be taught. It knows better and will try to manipulate you by guilt. Concentrate on the present moment where you can learn and grow. When the sleepless nights arise and the blaming starts, just remember you cannot control what has happened, but you can learn from the lesson and move forward now. This will give you the peace instead of the punishment where you can forgive and move forward.

The hardest part of the path to remove guilt is forgiveness. Forgiveness is the love we can give ourselves. Even if you were hurt by others, forgiveness will set you free of the hold of guilt. It is easier said than done but, it is the saw that cuts the chain of the past. If we can forgive the guilty party, then there is no perpetrator. The ego cannot attach itself to blame. Forgiveness is being at peace with anything that has happened. Guilt holds on without it. Take time to be with yourself and let go with forgiveness. You don’t even have to tell anyone you are doing it, as long as you know you did. You forgive yourself for mistakes, you forgive yourself for being hurt, and you forgive others for what they have done. It is then your soul will be lifted to move on. The heavy weight of guilt will not have you pinned down. Love yourself because you can. There is no guilt when you love yourself unconditionally.

The punishment of guilt is a tool of manipulation that egos play with our minds. It can be either our egos or others and it is the control it seeks. If we can let go of the chains of the past by being in the present moment, learn the lesson of the past and forgive unconditionally, we can move our lives forward toward our abundant life. If we do not place blame and not look for a perp in the past we will have not attachment to the guilt. Understand you are not perfect and that is ok. Perfection will never be achieved without the lesson from the mistakes we learn. Embrace your imperfections by loving yourself. Using guilt is not excepting the beautiful person who has flaws. Our lives where never meant to be a straight path, the twist and turns of the mistakes are our guides to the right direction. Guilt is your ego saying it is in the driver’s seat and it will try to steer you back to that straight path, only to learn the lesson again. Let go of the need for guilt with your forgiveness and move your wonderful life forward not chained by the past.  You abundant life is waiting for you free of guilt by embracing the journey.