Forgiveness. Forgiveness is the most empowering and loving thing you can do for yourself.
When we choose to not forgive someone, we are choosing to relive and feed the hurt, pain and anger of a situation – over and over in our mind, emotions and body. In effect, we are choosing to continue the hurt that, in some cases, another person started or, other times, that we did to ourselves. This can lead to all types of dis-ease, such as depression or illnesses.
But when we forgive, we release the bond and connection we have with the pain and hurt. We release our emotions related to the event. We release the hold the other person has on us, if the pain was caused by another, and begin to move past the situation. And all that leads to healing.
Forgiveness can be difficult if we’ve held onto a hurt for a long time. In that type of a situation, a number of techniques can be used to start the healing process:
- Be mindful. When you start reliving a hurtful situation in your mind, recognize what you are doing and stop. Take several deep breaths and send love to yourself.
- Ask for help. Ask a close friend or family member, or even a higher power, to help you recognize when you are holding onto something and then help you release it.
- Write. Write down all your feelings, memories and fears associated with the situation. Get everything onto paper, and then create a ceremony to release the hurt and eliminate it from your life. Burning the paper is a great way to do this while asking for love to come in its place.
- Say it. Look at the person who hurt you and say, “I forgive you.” If you beating yourself up about something, look at yourself in the mirror, making eye contact, and say the same words.
What other ways have you brought forgiveness into your life?
