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For some time now, I have been blogging about Memoir and Mindfulness, but I haven’t recently described why I believe this path is so important and what is the ultimate goal.

So, here goes. The “short” version.

Memoir and Mindfulness are helpful only in so far as they can help you to know and accept yourself. The goal is to move forward into a life relatively free from fear and regret, onto a path of evolution toward a larger wholeness of being. But the past is all you know. The past has shaped how you view yourself and your journey. To be on the path of liberation, one must first “claim the past,” that is, dive deeply into your past, its prouds and its sorries, embrace it fully, and by doing so learn to accept, forgive and love yourself. Silence about your past is not a healthy option. The most powerful, effective way to break the silence is to write (or tell) your story. That is memoir. As I like to say, memoir is deeper than physical therapy, more fun than psychotherapy, and cheaper than retail therapy.

Unless you “claim” your past, you are forever it’s prisoner.  If we have not fully explored and owned the past, we are forever sucked back into it, or consumed (unconsciously) in covering it up. But “claiming the past” alone is not enough. We must also learn to live fully in the present. Because that is where we discover the wonder of life. The past is over; the future may never be. Now is real. Now, in fact, is the only thing that is real. If we want to move beyond our own ego, we must fully feel and celebrate the life force, in the present moment. It is when we realize that all of life lies in the stillness between two breaths, that we can let go of our incessant striving and anxiety, and relax into the wonder of being. Now.

There is no single road that guarantees arrival at the destination. The meaning is in the going.  If the spiritual journey http://www.markmatousek.com/calls to you, follow your own path. Memoir and mindfulness are there to assist, should you so desire.