What really strikes me is this isn't a mere psychological thriller but it makes a lot of sense in our daily lives. Perhaps, many of us wish we could be like Evan (played by Ashton Kutcher) jumping back in time and change our past behaviour to influence our present situation. Wouldn't that be nice ?
I pen an article, Mind over Matter (read here) to the local press some time ago and it briefly describe the process of this transformation. Time is relative as it is constantly moving. It was 10 mins ago when I first decided what to put in this blog post and now it had passed. So, the present had become the past and the future will soon be our present moment and it will keep on revolving round and round the clock.
That means, if we aspire to make $10,000 a mont/healthy relationship/a promotion (not yet happen , so is in the future), then what can we do now (the present moment) to alter our behavior so that in time to come we will have what we want?
By jumping back to time , a time when we fared badly (say at an interview and not getting the desired job) and that affected our confidence and heighten our self doubt. This memories that we had about the past did not go away, it is stored in our brain and the next time we are facing a similar situation, this negative experience will show up in our mind to remind us how unqualified and how bad we were. Enough repetition of it , we start to believe it is truth.
The solution is to return to that time and review the contents of the experience. Put on a new backdrop to the scene, one that you like the ending to be, i.e., turn out well at the interview and you were offered the job ! You may think that is cheating or being dishonest or even unrealistic, if you attempt to try it in the first place.
However, if you stick to it, keep reviewing the contents, editing and weaving in new positive changes like an editor would do , constantly thinking of the desired end point that you want. Once completed, relive that experience and feel all the sensation - sight, hearing, feelings, touch, smell, etc that brings out the flavor of it.
In time to come (future or present), when you faced a similar situation, the mind will recall back this "refurbished experience", the one that you had consciously altered and now you are smiling, beaming with joy and confidence, feeling excited and eager to take on the new role ahead. The trick is to magnify the positive over the negative so much that the dark part of what you don't want is completely overshadow and to your mind, it is treated as if it has never happened before.
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43.18-19
Dwell on the past - refers to spending a lot of time thinking about the unpleasant, ruminating like a cow with its mouth full of grass. To forget means to deliberately cease to think of something or failure to remember (referring to the unhappy past you had). Uncertainty, worries, anxiety, depression, stress, etc are energy sapping, poisoning your mind like toxic waste and if taking up too much space, the good ones will have to compete harder.
Isaiah 65:17
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
Behold means to observe, to watch, contemplate and witness. How can one see clearly if this new image (new heavens and earth) is not bring to his consciousness? When we make a conscious effort (awaken) to welcome the new future, one filled with hope and faith, the past will trail so far behind that we have not remembrance of it at all. That is progression, change, transformation!
To do this process, requires a leap of faith. Take the baby steps, giant leap forward.