The Forgiveness Factor

One of the things I’ve discovered as a Hypnotherapist who specializes in past life regression is that each one of us is here to learn a specific lesson so that our souls can evolve. Many, many people have been assigned the lesson of forgiveness.

It’s not hard to see how this is so. Just look at where the opposite of forgiveness does its damage. Hatred and resentment start wars and feuds that continue for generations. Anger creates violence and crime, breaks down marriages and gives rise to physical illnesses.

Whether forgiveness is your primary lesson this lifetime or not, everyone benefits from the forgiveness factor.

What is Forgiveness?
Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you agree with what happened. It means that you have an understanding of the situation that caused your hurt or anger, and you can let it go. Forgiveness is about taking back your power.

By and large, people behave in the only ways they know how. Sometimes they have been sent by the universe to teach us a valuable, though painful, lesson through their behaviour. Forgive them for the role they agreed to play.

Forgiveness must be true. It must come from the inside. The forgiveness must be so profound that the situation that caused your hurt truly doesn’t matter. Through a carefully choreographed hypnosis session you let go of the hurt. Yes, just like that, it goes. And forgiveness and understanding takes its place.

When it’s truly gone, you’ll know. You’ll feel lighter, more at peace. Carrying anger and resentment with you is like carrying a sack of coal. It’s dark and heavy and weighs you down.

Beginning the Process of Forgiving
List three people you have not forgiven and what you have not forgiven them for. For each person and event, perform the following steps:

1. Close your eyes and picture the situation that caused the need for forgiveness. Picture yourself rising above it and seeing it from a new angle. From today’s point of view.

2. Acknowledge your part in the situation. If you are a child at the time, note that, and allow that although you felt the pain, the person giving the pain probably was behaving the only way they knew how. Bring understanding to the situation. Comfort that child in your mind. And recognize that you are not the powerless child anymore and you can make choices. Adult choices, on how to feel and how to behave.

3. Bring closure to the situation by first forgiving yourself, then the other person. Acknowledge that life has moved forward since the time of that event and you wish to let go of any anger or resentment.

The Power of Forgiveness
In his book, The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness, Greg Anderson describes a bitter enmity between himself and a co-worker, where both men attacked and undermined each other’s work. Within three months of the new co-worker coming on board and the battle beginning, Greg was diagnosed with lung cancer. A month later, his co-worker was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Coincidence? Greg thinks not.

Greg goes onto explain that forgiveness played a huge role in his recovery. He knew that forgiving his co-worker was important so he drove to his house, where the man was resting in bed. He apologized sincerely for the hurt he had caused. His co-worker also apologized and both men cried. Greg felt a great weight had been lifted.

Though the doctors had given him just 30 days to live, Greg started to recover from that day forward. More than 20 years later, he is still cancer-free.

Forgiveness is a powerful force that can liberate your soul. It brings a fresh start. Give yourself a gift. Forgive someone today.