Letting go of guilt

Do you feel guilty about something? Even though guilt makes us feel bad, it is actually a good thing. Guilt is a signal, a message. It tells us that we should do something differently. But sometimes we get stuck, and we can't let go of guilt. Remorse and regret paralyze us - and that is the exact opposite of what feeling guilty should do. When you are in that state, letting go of guilt and moving on is what needs to be done. There are many possible reasons why you might feel guilty, but in the end it all boils down to you thinking that you haven't done the right thing, and that you regret the consequences of that. You can not turn back the wheels of time. In most computer applications there is an "undo" command - but in our lifes, there is no such button. What is done, is done. But the good news is: it has all happened in the past. Richard Bandler, co-founder of neurolinguistic programming (NLP), often says: "The best thing about the past is that it's over." And that is a very useful attitude to have. It doesn't mean that you erase the past from your memory or pretend that things didn't happen - but it means that you use the past only to learn from it, but not to dwell on it. No matter what it is that you feel guilty about - you can make things better. Maybe not in the direct way - you can't "fix" a tree that has burned down. But you can plant new trees, nurture them, make a garden. It's not that you replace the old tree with another one - some things can't be replaced. But you accept the reality of it not being there anymore - and look at the reality of what is there now. And then you find a way to make the best out of what is there now. But again - this can only happen when you're letting go of guilt. As long as you are holding on to it, as long as you can't shake it off your leg, it will hold you back and drain you of emotional energy. We can not always make a conscious choice to say: "Ok, I will stop feeling guilty now." We don't have that kind of control over our emotions, there is no "on/off" switch for feelings. Our conscious thinking and our emotions come out of two completely different areas in our brain. Feelings are an evolutionary much older function of the brain, in the back of our head. Whereas rational thinking and making decisions are mental functions that involve largely the frontal lobes, an area in the front of our heads. Of course, these functions are interwoven, and that is why hypnosis is such an effective way of overcoming guilt. It kind of a translation program. It translates from the language of your conscious mind into the language your subconscious mind understands. Hypnosis against guilt is also good because you can listen to hypnotic suggestions whenever you want, wherever you want. This is good because it's in the nature of guilt that emotions come and go, and then they return sometimes - and you can adjust the "dosage" yourself, to make it fit your own needs.