Change your perspectives in the way you view life, end of life, and death to become empowered to live an intentional and aware life
MIND-BODY-SPIRIT
Reasons Memory Matters... ...continued from page 73
Hemali is a holistic Physical Therapist, Author, Speaker, Intuitive Quantum Energy Healer, Akashic Records Reader, Reiki Master Teacher, Channel, Spiritual Mentor and Death Doula. She is a Life and Death Coach. Hemali Teaches and certifies in Reiki Level 1, 2, Advance, Master and Karuna Reiki. Facilitates International Retreats. Hemali offers one-on-one and group sessions in her studio and virtually.
ory’s shadow, and create a story we wish were true instead of acknowl - edging the very human successes and failures that make us who we are here and now. But it is a dangerous human habit, one that traps us in a tape loop of confusion, denial and nostalgia. Memory should not be a soothing sedative, although it can bring us great joy to remember the heights and pleasures we loved. Even the challenges we faced are part of life’s loving lessons that guide us to our deepest calling and gifts. In our private lives, nostalgia for past stability edits our memory down to a Hallmark movie. Even the blessings of the present feel inad - equate in comparison. Like a cheerful Facebook page, selective memo- ry “writes over” the past and heightens paralysis and disappointment. It even seeps into our dreams and aspirations, turning our attention back to “better days” because of the added stress on our everyday lives. In an effort to comfort ourselves with nostalgia, many of us (me in - cluded!) attempt time travel by binge watching old TV series and mov - ies. Our stories grow small and outdated; our energy turns inward. Our ideas become smaller, too. Those who agree with us, or mirror our beliefs about these better times become our new and sometimes only friends. We push away those who disagree or challenge those beliefs, because we forget the civil art of building bridges, preferring to hide behind the comfort of nostalgic certainties. Like dementia patients, we become increasingly isolated, afraid and vulnerable. We move in and out of clarity, and over time feel less pres- ent. As we withdraw from the world, we move away from the purpose that feeds and satisfies our souls. We envy the “brave” ones who un - derstand that all our life experiences polish us like diamonds, connect- ing us to new friends, paths, and adventures. When we let go of the myth of glorious high school or college, or some other “perfect” time (culturally or personally!) as all happy all the time, we free ourselves to see experience as a prism, not a frozen photograph. Isn’t it possible that the dark passage through a job loss or an illness can bring us into a greater light? What if our complex lives give us complex joys? When we remember our lives fully, we see our true values and answer the call to adventure. Our strengths and gifts shine a light into the world. Remembering the Past Safeguards the Future “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana In 1948, Winston Churchill famously revised Santayana’s 1905 guideline as, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to re- peat it.” Whichever version resonates with you, the bottom line is that revisiting and understanding our past challenges helps us create a bet- ter world today. Currently, history is not only being hidden, it is being rewritten in hopes we will remember it differently, no matter what the facts were. In schools, history books are being revised to edit and reframe what we’re teaching our children. That very past has multiple versions ac - tive in our daily conversations, when we talk about history at all, de- pending on our political and personal perspectives. And even recent events are hard to see clearly as deep fake AI “memes” and propagan - da pop up on social media hours or minutes after they happen. Remembering what we have learned and what we have experienced helps us pay attention to these strategic attempts to make us forget. The result of forgetting history is we doubt our own memories; and if we give in to the pressure to conform, we forget ourselves. Vaclav Havel wrote, “The real test of a man is not when he plays the role that he wants for himself but when he plays the role destiny has for him.”
https://heal.me/hemalivora • www.hemalivora.com www.facebook.com/coachhemali www.youtube.com/c/HealingCorner www.amazon.com/stores/hemali%20Vora/author/B09CVWVVZ3 www.instagram.com/_happy_healthy_u hemalivora1@gmail.com
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74—PATHWAYS—Spring 26
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