A Course in Miracles says “The ego invests heavily in the past, and in the end believes that the past is the only aspect of time that is meaningful.”

“Remember that its emphasis on guilt enables it to ensure its continuity by making the future like the past, and thus avoiding the present. By the notion of paying for the past in the future, the past becomes the determiner of the future, making them continuous without an intervening present. For the ego regards the present only as a brief transition to the future, in which it brings the past to the future by interpreting the present in past terms.”

A Course in Miracles

“According to the teaching of the Buddha, the past is still here with all its pain and suffering. But if we know how to come home to the present moment [the garden of Eden] and touch the present moment deeply, we can also touch the past, and we can heal the past. When we heal ourselves, we heal our ancestors.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, from Together We Are One