Forgiveness is a powerful concept. Many people are simply unaware of what happens to the body and mind when we hold on to grudges. Forgiveness is healing and allows us to let go of negative energy. It also releases energy that takes up internal space within our being. I liken the release to an apartment building. Imagine you have a building, and most the tenants are peaceful and clean. However, there is one tenant that is mean, nasty and dirty. If you kick the dirty tenant out, you will free up space for a new tenant to move in.
Forgiveness is the same concept. Except with forgiveness it’s at an internal level. You free up space within your being. The practice of forgiveness will allow you to let go of old thoughts, habits and energies. Then new, more useful, and healthy habits and energy will have time to move in. Forgiveness isn’t hard, and is something you can practice daily for best results.
A Study on Forgiveness Showed it Has Health Benefits
You can practice it anywhere at any time. The practice isn’t hard and isn’t perfect. Karen Swartz, a John Hopkins Psychiatrist, speaks on how letting go of grudges is good for your health.
Karen goes into detail about how forgiving is not the same as forgetting. She says, “I think people sometimes have an expectation of forgiveness that it’s absolution. Forgiving isn’t giving absolution where you say, it’s done, we never have to think about it again. If someone’s done something really thoughtless, you think about them differently. You trust them differently. You have a different relationship with them.”
Forgivness Doesn’t Mean to Forget
You see, forgiveness doesn’t mean you forget what happened. It doesn’t mean you allow patterns to replay themselves. And it’s not really for the other person, forgiveness is for you. It’s to help you move forward into new possibilities in life. And there is no wrong or right, you only forgive when you are ready too. No one can tell you when that time is. You’re allowed to have anger and hold on to it. But when you are ready, forgiveness is the key that will unlock the door to freedom.
Forgiveness is something that I have practiced for 4 years now. I use an affirmation that helps me with forgiveness. It’s an adaptation from the book The Power of the Sub Conscious Mind by Joseph Murphy. The affirmation goes like this, “{Insert Person’s Name}, believe in you, I love you, I forgive you… I release you and I let you go. All the blessings of life are yours and mine. You are free and I am free. It is wonderful.”
Then I imagine releasing that person from my consciousness. Almost like they are floating away and our link is being severed. Attachment is attachment, even if the person is still in your life. It’s better not to be attached to anyone. It’s not a healthy energy, and is draining to both people. Holding on is the same thing as attachment.
Forgive Yourself Too
Also, this practice is important to perform with yourself. All of us, have performed actions and behaviors we are not happy with. It’s part of the human condition, to hurt each other from time to time. As the saying goes, “Hurt people, hurt other people. And tend to leave chaos in their wake.”
So I would make sure to practice forgiveness with yourself first. Then perform the practice with other people. Spend 15 minutes a day, if you can, practicing forgiveness. You’ll likely find that in time, you’ll notice a different feeling of lightness as you forgive more people. It’s a very powerful practice that you can perform anywhere at any time.
Then I imagine releasing that person from my consciousness. Almost like they are floating away and our link is being severed. Attachment is attachment, even if the person is still in your life. It’s better not to be attached to anyone. It’s not a healthy energy, and is draining to both people. Holding on is the same thing as attachment.
