Forgetting the argument of reality vs. solipsism one can certainly agree that what matters to us as humans is our perception of the past. Then, paradoxically we are used to the phrase, “Perception is reality.” Maybe for the same phrase under solipsism would be “Reality is perception”?
To move on let us define the ‘past’ as the reality we have lived through. The power of our mind allows us to change our perception of what has occurred. Thus, if we believe in the phrase ‘perception is reality’ then we can indeed change the past.
We run into many situations in life that create striking changes to our version of the past and unfortunately most of them are completely out of our control for good or for bad. The valued employee that you discover has been embezzling from your company for years, the spouse you loved so dearly that you just find has been cheating on you, or maybe even inanimate examples like the house you have considered to be so safe and warm is now teetering on structural issues because of termites or a sinkhole. Maybe you have not had any of these experiences directly, yet I believe they can be related to by similar events of your own life. These examples are focused on events where a good past suddenly can turn bad and the same can be said about situations where one is locked in a past in which a wrong was committed and it is actually the story of the past that is incorrect — or perhaps better said, chosen unwisely. In other words we can effectively call the ‘past’ our chosen story of what happened. (The Upside of Anger is a movie where this is the central theme)
In summary, new information can quickly change our perception of the past and thus the reality we call our life. The real power comes to be in the supposition that there might be a way to do this consciously. In other words, why wait for life to connect the dots for you when you can do it now? If you find yourself being limited by your story of the past and can link that story to specific definitions of your personal reality — then change it! If you know it can change outside of your control then find a way to make it change within your control.
Through simple reframing or in depth exercises of scrubbing out old memories (or at least dulling them to insignificance) changing the past is possible. A phrase I have heard so many times from Anthony Robbins is, “The past does not equal the future.” Tony focuses on multifaceted approaches crossing all learning modalities. When applied with diligence you can indeed change things in an instant. For those looking for a more linguistic approach the Landmark Forum is an amazing transformational opportunity focusing on the background language of our minds.
Whatever the approach I find it amazing the results one can achieve in changing a life going forward either by accident or through intent and design. The question I never knew to ask (for Landmarker’s the thing I did not know, I did not know) was why is it possible to change our story of the past in the first place. The answer hit me as I caught up on my reading while traveling recently — reconsolidation.
In Tech Review there was an article about using a drug to erase fearful memories. (The article I actually read was about manipulating memory but access to it is not public) Its theory centers around the discovery that the simple act of remembering a past experience requires that the memory be consolidated once again. Amazing! A reason for what works already without the support of drugs! The short part of the article by Emily Singer that hit me was:
Brunet and others believe that this phenomenon has to do with a process called memory reconsolidation. The idea is that after someone calls up a memory, it has to be stored in the brain anew. During this process, the memory is in a changeable state. The concept of reconsolidation is still controversial among neuroscientists. But if the theory is correct, and if researchers can figure out just what happens to brain cells and the connections between them when a memory is recalled, it could help answer one of the biggest questions in neuroscience: how memories are physically saved and updated in the brain. It could also explain the malleable nature of memory. “It gives us a new perception of a component of memory we didn’t understand before–how the imperfectness of recall may come about,” says Eric Kandel, a neuroscientist at Columbia University and winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in medicine.
Think of the power this creates. Memories come in many different forms, from facts, to faces, to emotions. Building on the knowledge and experience of the past is important, yet to be limited by events of the past can destroy the untapped potential of a life going forward. As a special message to control freaks out there — why would you ever let that happen?
So, as you might hear in Jeopardy…
A: Reconsolidation
Q: Why is it not too late to have a happy childhood?