Question: “How do we release our attachment to the pain we have experienced?”
The past is just that, it’s in the past. So it cannot be changed, altered, or removed no matter how hard we want it to. Past, present, or future events or situations will always be positive, negative, or neutral. As a situation is happening, depending on how we react and respond, can change it to any of the three outcomes (positive, negative, or neutral).
To handle past events, there is only one thing we can and should do to “remove” or release our pain from it – acceptance. Because there is nothing we can do about the past, there is no need to constantly dwell on it and wishing on the should have’s and but’s and if only’s.
The best we can do is meditate on the painful experience, accept it and accept that there will be no change in it, and move on. By dwelling on the past like that, we would be missing out on happy and peaceful moments in the present. Meditating on the situation and accepting it might take several sessions, but it will get easier to accept and let go.
Smile and be well!