Inner Peace through Forgiveness

A topic which is very critical to this time and place is that of “Forgiveness”. In fact, there are a lot of spiritual teachers talking about this concept. We all understand that it is important; but why so much emphasis on it right now?

There are a couple of answers to this question. The first is that Fear, Anger, Resentment, and Pain are all negative emotions which steal energy and peace from our life experience. Generally speaking, we only have a finite amount of life energy. When we use that energy in holding onto these negative emotions, we are using a tremendous amount of our life force to hold onto the past and therefore, we are decreasing our use of energy to create a world more to our liking.

Also, when we hold on to negativity, it drastically lowers our vibratory rate. Our vibratory rate is a reflection of where our Conscious and Unconscious minds are. If somewhere, often hidden deep inside, we are fixated on hurt, pain, resentment and guilt, then those emotions are adjusting our vibrations downward to reflect who we are and what we are thinking about.

Another important point to consider is that when we hold onto the past traumas, we are creating more interpersonal karma which will eventually have to be dealt with and resolved. In the past times, this was alright because we were here for an experiential process. As our world changes we must look closely and make a life course decision. Do we want to continue our experiential program or do we want to help Humanity and the world to move in a different direction?

There is one internationally known healer/teacher who espouses the belief that we are on the brink of a world change. That soon, our world will physically split into two possibilities and dimensions. On the one hand, we will have a world which will continue as it has for the past millenniums; a slow and painful growth through positive and negative experiences. The other option will be a world experience of new enlightenment based on the concepts of love and positive mental creation where the inhabitants hold and utilize a higher vibration. In this teaching scenario, where you end up depends on your vibration and your karma. Only those with very little karma can populate this new world.

One of the most effective ways now for us to change our vibration and karma is through “Forgiveness”. Where do you want to end up? What world would you want to populate?

It doesn’t matter if you believe this concept of our world’s future; what is important is that your life today and tomorrow is directly influenced by the thoughts and concepts which your Conscious and Unconscious mind holds onto. Therapists know this; we see this manifestation daily in our practices. As humans, if we are courageous and self-reflect, we see it in our own behaviors and in the world in which we live – the world which we have created as a reflection of what’s going on deep inside of us.

So the most important question: “How do you forgive?”

I was recently working with a middle-aged client. She piously sat in my office and said: “Oh, I’ve forgiven that old so-and-so. Now I just don’t have anything to do with them. They are just so mean and vindictive. They just refuse to take responsibly for their actions.”

Does this statement sound like true forgiveness?

My opinion is that we have been taught that to forgive all one has to do is to say “I forgive you”, while at the same time we are allowed to hold on to the pain and suffering which has been inflicted. We hope that someday our Conscious mind will forget the injustice that’s been inflicted on us or which we’ve inflicted on another human or even the world in general.

I disagree completely with that concept. We all know that the Unconscious mind does not forget so easily; that somewhere we are still feeling all the pain and sorrow. Our lives, behaviors and vibrations are constantly being modified and affected by this past.

In my experience and meditational training, I have come to realize and understand that HUMANS CAN’T FORGIVE!.

“What?”

Yep, that’s right. I can’t forgive, and neither can you. “Forgiveness” is a most precious gift which we can only receive from The Universe.

Our responsibility is to be willing to let go of this past experience and allow in the flow of “Forgiveness” from the divine. We must be willing, on all levels, to allow this flow to wipe us clean, so to speak. As hard as that can be at times, it also can be just that easy.

When we are motivated by self-reflection and an honest desire to change, then change and “Forgiveness” can happen. Only then! If we say “we’ve forgiven that old so-and-so”, then it’s really only a meaningless and futile gesture. We often consciously feel better about ourselves, but in truth we are still holding on to our pain and sorrow.

Don’t just take my word for it, take a moment and reflect for yourself. Meditate quietly on an unpleasant situation from your past where you’ve tried to forgive someone by your own forgiveness technique. Be honest now with yourself. Is all the hurt gone? Are you clear with this person or event? Are there still feelings of pain and discomfort? How does your body feel? Is there tightness and constriction when you contemplate the past event? Can you still hear those words that were addressed to or about you? Look deep with objectivity and courage. How do you truly feel? What emotions are lurking buried deep inside – perhaps overlaid with a self-protective covering of righteous indignation or a self-imposed covering of peace with the event.

Exactly.

The next important point to contemplate is that you and your experiences are the most important aspect in the world. Literally, the world revolves around you and your thought processes. Whatever tape, emotions or experiences which you house in this body is what you are attracting or bringing into your life experience. So what does that mean? Simply put, it means that true “Forgiveness” isn’t something that we can give to another, It can only be received by us for our own experiences.

A friend recently said to me that she could forgive someone else. She understood that self-forgiveness was important but she often just didn’t really think it was worth the time and effort. I say that self-forgiveness is all that there is; all that is important; all that can truly happen.

We must be willing to let go and ask for self-forgiveness for attracting that experience into our lives. We must be willing to let go and ask for self-forgiveness for holding onto that pain. We must be willing to let go and ask for self-forgiveness for not learning from the experience and moving on to a better and brighter life.

It’s all about YOU and only YOU!

Playing the “Blame Game” removes our responsibility and gives us an unstable feeling of peace. That peace is not Inner Peace. Inner Peace only comes when we take responsibility and action for what we think, feel and hold-on-to. That’s the only way. Your inner self, thought patterns, experiences and karma are yours and yours alone. If you are holding onto something, then only you can make that change. Only you can mold and affect your life experience.

We must give up the ease of being the “victim” and take the responsibility of making the change for a better outcome and a change in behavior. We’ve all heard it before, we create our own reality. Often that’s hard to accept when we look around ourselves. But accepting that responsibility, letting go of the emotions attached to our life experience and asking for “Divine Forgiveness” is the ONLY way to positively change what’s happening to us and allow us to find that elusive Inner Peace.

Now the last aspect to explore on “Forgiveness” is that the idea that emotions clump together. We hold emotional memories in our bodies. When we experience a negative emotion, even a minor one like irritation, the body stores it with other similar negative emotions. So the irritation we experienced is clumped together with other painful emotions. That is why often a small disagreement with someone else can bring in to the mix other seemingly unrelated emotions. Our simple disagreement can turn into a much larger and much more complicated discussion. I experienced this recently with a sibling disagreement. What started off as a small disagreement over being inconsiderate turned into a two week rift which included childhood memories, pain and angst.

This is important because as you start working this process, you might find that being willing to let go of a slight pain brings up deep pain from years earlier. Just know that this is normal. Keep on releasing and asking for “Diving Forgiveness” for all memories and emotions that arise.

My suggestion, especially until you get comfortable with this process, is to start daily looking at that day’s experiences and see what pain you might have caused or you experienced. Be willing to let it go and then call on the Divine for “Forgiveness”. As you do this, you’ll find that you are also clearing out and releasing old pains and resentments. Start by going after the small stuff; believe me the big stuff will come thundering through! The Universe and the Higher Self want us to be clean and unencumbered. Once we start the process, no matter how small, more will follow.

And the end result? You’ll free up a tremendous amount of life force and energy so that you can become more of a conscious co-creator of your life experience.

By the same token, as our emotions clump within our bodies, they also are projected outward and begin to clump and gain strength through thought projections. With enough clumping and emotion driving these projections, they start clumping with other peoples experiences and then begin influencing other humans. As some of humanity is less able to resist this massive influx of clumped negativity, we find situations where individuals start acting out and even having very negative behaviors that affect all of humanity.

Senseless killings or uncontrollable shooting sprees are a direct result of each of us holding onto and projecting our own negative emotions. So just as we must take individual responsibility for our own experience, we must also take individual responsibility for horrific events within our universe. Yes, I am saying that the pain and hurt we hold onto is, at the same time, fueling another person to commit tragic actions against other humans and the earth itself.

By the same token, our individual clearing practice also clears and affects the whole of humanity. We are responsible. Only when we take individual action can we decrease the inhumanity that exists. A heavy responsibility to bear, but that’s the way it is. We are not alone and our emotions affect all living creatures.

Inner Peace through forgiveness is a collective experience. As we each move forward and change, the “Whole” changes. While we are definitely the center of our own world, we are also inextricably connected and constantly influencing all of humanity, all life forms, Gaia and the Universal Mind. A big responsibility, but one we knew and accepted before we incarnated.

Remember. It all depends on you!