You don't think you do, eh? We politely beg to differ. How much time do you spend:

• Reviewing the past?
• Analyzing yesterday's mistakes?
• Glorifying or maligning your childhood, high school years, frat/sorority days?
• Telling your children that you know better thanks to your extensive life experience?
• Trying to get back to the way you were?
• Crying about old hurts and traumas?

If you're like most humans, Spiritual Chicks included, you probably spend a lot more time than you think living in the past. And most of us consider this a good thing. We ask ourselves: "How are we to move forward if we don't know where we've been?" True, and a healthy review of past events, experiences and feelings is helpful on the spiritual path. But as a steady, on-going diet, it keeps us stuck. When we focus all of our energy on people, places, situations and things from history, the past becomes like a vampire that sucks our energy in a vain attempt to keep itself alive. But in reality, the past is dead and powerless. The only power that exists is in the present moment. We can focus our energies on the Now anytime by simply becoming more aware of our thoughts. When we find ourselves obsessing about some long gone moment in time, let's laugh and get back to the business at hand. The cemetery can be a nice place to visit, but we certainly don't need to live there.