For this article, I would like to start with a quote that resonated with me from the first day I heard it.

"Forgiveness is understanding."
-Jonathan

There's a lot of truth in those words. Forgiveness is a lot deeper than just simply saying to yourself "I forgive this person" or "I forgive myself."

To truly forgive, we must first go through the process of understanding why whatever happened, happened. Holding yourself in guilt for something you've done in the past, or hating someone else for something they've done to you, is a huge block to your spirit and growth as conscious human being.

We've all had moments in our lives where we've been tested. Either by you doing something, or someone doing something to you. Some cases are much more extreme than others, but those are what need to be forgiven the most. No matter what you have done, no matter what someone else has done to you, it's very important that you learn why it happened and forgive it.

Understanding Why it Happened

Find a place where you won't be distracted. Preferably outside in nature somewhere, but it can be anywhere where you're comfortable. Close your eyes and remember all the memories you have where someone has hurt you, all the memories of you hating yourself, and also all the memories where you may have hurt someone else, and write them down.

When you have your list, go through them one by one in your mind. Envision yourself being in those moments and really feel the emotions of it. Then ask yourself why did this happen? What was the reason I needed to go through this? What did I need to learn from this? What was the true reason why this person did this to me or why I hurt this person?

One reason could be that you were meant to experience that, heal from it, forgive that person or yourself, so that you can relate to others who are in a similar situation. When you've overcome something, you're now more credible than anyone else could ever be to someone, in terms of helping them solve their problem.

There could be many reasons why someone hurt you, or why you may have done something which created guilt inside of you. One of which is how people are influenced, and manipulated into doing things which under normal circumstances, would never do.

If you think about it, a lot of our thoughts and therefore our actions, are influenced by what we involve ourselves in daily. This could be TV, video games, magazines, people, movies, religion, etc... Was someone truly born into this world, with the idea that they would rape someone? Did they have those thoughts as a child? Or was that something which overtime, they were programmed and manipulated to think and act upon? Did that person suffer a traumatic event in their lifetime? Which led them to be more subjected to outside influences?

Everything someone has done to you, and everything you have done which was destructive, was because of influence and manipulation to your mind. Not just by things like television, but also from entities not of this physical realm. Why? Because the more people hate each other, and the more people hate themselves, the more energy they absorb. The unfortunate events, and the situation the world is in today is no accident.

Knowing this, you can begin to understand why people do what they do. Why you did what you did. And why someone did something which caused you to hate them. Only by understanding why it happened, can you truly forgive it for happening, heal, and move on with your life.

Benefits of Forgiveness

The more you go through certain moments in your life, understand, forgive them, and heal; the more the true benefits begin to emerge. These moments which create hate, fear, shame and guilt in you, block you from your spirit. These moments, until forgiven and understood, remain in your field of consciousness. It creates an imprint on your DNA which sticks with you, blocking your spirit from communicating and guiding you. And by going back to those moments, and healing yourself, you erase that imprint from your DNA.

The more and more your spirit can communicate and guide you, the more you will see what you need to do to improve and grow. You'll begin to understand things which you were not able to understand before. You'll be able to see through lies, deceit, and manipulation with ease. You'll start to become more conscious and aware of your connection with everything in existence, and how it communicates with you on a conscious level. Your spirit is ALWAYS guiding, teaching, and protecting you. But these fear and hate emotions disconnect you from that.

Conclusion

No matter how extreme the situation is, it is of most importance that you forgive it. Forgive everything which was done to you, that you did, and all the moments you hated yourself. Let the person know you forgive them, that you know it wasn't their fault.

There's no need to think that the Creator will punish you for anything you've done. The Creator knows all, it's well aware of the strong influences over peoples minds and actions here on Earth. Don't think it will hold anything against you, or that you will be sent to "hell". Only religion will tell you that.

It's also not an excuse, to go out and just do whatever you want to people thinking you won't be affected either. When you're connected to spirit you won't be doing that anyway. But when you know this, you need to be responsible and always do your best to help people.

Author's Bio: 

Sean Burrows loves to learn and discover new ways to improve the quality of peoples lives. He studies personal development and health rigorously, and shares his life's lessons, and creative ideas through his Self Improvement blog.