Forgetting

There is a curious experience we have as we grow into new stages of development. We forget what it was like to be in our prior stage. This is very simply because we remember prior experiences from where we are now, not from how we were when the experiences happened.

For example, when we think back to events when we were 12 years old, we remember from where we are now, not from how we were at the time. We recall our preteen experience as an adult. This is true throughout our life. We give our teen children advice from our adult perspective, not from theirs. This is a good thing, but it’s useful to be aware of this.

This principle is also true of spiritual experiences. Past experiences arose in the circumstances of the time. Recalling them now is a memory, not a current experience. This is why holding on to them is an impediment.

After we’re clearly awake, it similarly becomes difficult to remember what it was like to be ego identified. It feels like we’ve always been awake. We can remember the struggles and pain but not how it was to be caught. And then we see someone struggling in that place and are better reminded.

The same is true for Unity about Self Realization. The separate illusory world becomes an intimate part of myself. Other is no longer part of the reality so how can it be remembered?

When we then experience in consciousness what it is like to be another person, a tree, or bird we get a sense of their experience but not their perspective. We see it from how we are not how they are.

Brahman is inclusive of the prior stages which helps. But it’s still a very distinct perspective that drains out the previous one. Each stage has its own sense of self and the world, its own distinct reality.

And similarly, in golden ages we forget how it was to be in a darker age and how we rose out of it, leading to its eventual return. Equally, we forget about golden times in the dark age. Today we have only small bits of ancient legend, mostly seen as myth. We see ourselves as the most highly developed culture in history despite all the suffering in the world.

We also see this pattern with past lives. Mostly, they’re forgotten. If we recall, we remember from how we are now. This offers us a fuller perspective than we had at the time. It can also shed light on our current circumstance but as always this is due to insight from how we are now.

In time we grow and heal then can remember our past traumas without the charge and pain they once carried. The past stops haunting the present yet we know the fullness of our path home.
Davidya