Sweep away the cobwebs

Sometimes we may feel as if we’re stuck on our spiritual journey and not making progress. What is it that would try to hold us back? It could be that the cobwebs of the past are blocking our spiritual view and entangling our thinking.

How often we’re tempted to mentally relive the past! At times we long for days gone by that seemed wonderful, when we thought we were happier, more purposeful, more productive. The good old days! When life was simpler, more fulfilling. When we were younger, thinner, more popular, or more successful.

We may also dwell, however, on some not-so-wonderful days. The flip side, or bad old days! When someone slighted or even abused us, emotionally, verbally, or physically. We may ruminate on unpleasant events in childhood or other periods in our life. Perhaps we’re reminded of failure or choices we now regret.

We may hold on to nostalgia, sadness, disappointment, grudges for years and years. It may even seem comfortable to cling to familiar yet erroneous patterns of thinking, despite the suffering they bring. But when we get bogged down by thoughts about yesterday, whether good or bad, we may not feel the presence of divine Love today, or see evidence of the healing Christ.

So how do we break free of the cobwebs of the past? 

Forcibly bottling up memories and unpleasant feelings, or trying through human will or mere positive thinking to free ourselves, is not the answer. Rather, the dynamic inspiration and peace that flow from God can counter this backward pull. After all, God doesn’t know us as victims of events or someone else’s actions, or even of our own behavior, past or present. Nor does God limit the good or the blessings He gives us today. 

Each of us in entitled to an active and purposeful present.

When I moved to California, I had a career in the entertainment industry that involved the development and selling of series programming ideas to the major television networks. The work was creative, fun, exciting, and paid well. Within a few years, however, I began to feel unfulfilled and spiritually empty. I questioned whether I should have left my New York roots and what I perceived as a more fulfilling career in advertising and marketing.

After examining my motives and concerns about the future, I felt led to place my trust in God, to make each day purposeful, regardless of any career choices, and to stop longing for the past. I began at the same time to dig deep into the teachings of Christian Science. I felt an assurance that divine Mind would direct me. I would listen, then follow divine guidance. 

Shortly thereafter, I received a call from a client I had worked for before moving cross-country. She wanted to know if I might be available to work with the ad agency’s new Los Angeles manufacturing clients. I readily accepted! The timing for the initial project allowed two weeks’ notice to my current employer. Once again, I was in the field of consumer product development. Travel around the country was extensive, but the real “development” began to take place in my willingness to share with clients the spiritual insights and ideas about Christian Science that I was gaining. 

Soon after, I took Christian Science Primary class instruction, joined a branch church, then served as a Christian Science chaplain in the Los Angeles County jails. This provided interaction with others of various ethnic and religious backgrounds and eventually led me into the full-time public practice of Christian Science healing. 

When thoughts about the past try to ensnare us, we can tune in to what our heavenly Father-Mother God has always known about us and everyone: that true identity is spiritual selfhood, not mortal personality or mortal history—either our own or someone else’s. Each of us is entitled to an active and purposeful present—an in-the-now experience that includes ever-present good. 

The past has no power to hurt us or to fool us into thinking we can’t experience joy, happiness, fulfillment, purpose—right this moment. No person, no circumstance, no condition can keep us from receiving all the good that God gives us now. And each of us can refuse to hold on to any mortal dream of what went on before.

Accepting and claiming our spiritual identity as God defines us—always loved, secure, whole, active, and blessed—sweeps away the mental cobwebs. We then can experience our God-endowed freedom and come into the glories of today, the ever-present law of divine Love.