Forgiveness

Forgiveness is one of the most important lessons that we are here to learn.  Forgiving yourself and forgiving others eliminates new Karma.  Forgiving yourself can change everything in your life.  Shame, blame and guilt leads to extreme physical illnesses, emotional problems, depression, fear of success, isolation, intimacy problems... you name it, it can manifest!

There's no point in burying a hatchet if you're going to put up a marker on the site. 
                                           ~Sydney Harris

Forgiving does not mean forgetting. You can forgive yourself yet not lose the lesson that was learned from whatever you are down on yourself about.  Forgiving someone who has harmed you does not mean that you forget the harm.  You must remember some things in order to avoid them in the future!  However, holding hatred and pain in your heart can destroy you.  It can ruin your life.  It can cause you to create new Karma that will have to be dealt with, one way or another, one lifetime or another.

The stupid neither forgive nor forget; 

the naïve forgive and forget; 

the wise forgive, but do not forget. 
                   ~~ Thomas Szasz

There are links here to other sites, featuring different techniques for finding forgiveness in your life.   Ultimately, it is up to you to find your way to forgiveness.  If you can do it, it will be as if a cloud has been lifted from your life.  By merely coming to this page, and reading to this point, you have likely made at least a subconscious commitment to this.  It needs to be done, and now is the time.  If you need some personal support in this, you can write to me.  If you need to tell someone who will be totally non-judgmental what you have done that you need to forgive yourself for, I'm here for you.  We ALL have our 'skeletons', and no one is better than you are.

These links will open up in a new window

Cancer on line  forgiving yourself and others

SunSparrow  A healing meditation

Infomainiac  Words of wisdom

Bobby's Story  Learn something from a cat

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. 
                                          ~Mahatma Ghandi

"When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: 
power over our sleep, our appetites, 
our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. 
Our enemies would dance with joy if only they knew 
how they were worrying us, lacerating us, and getting even with us! 
Our hate is not hurting them at all, 
but our hate is turning our own days and nights into a hellish turmoil." 
-- Dale Carnegie  How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

"In the long run, it's not a question of whether they deserve to be forgiven. 
You're not forgiving them for their sake. You're doing it for yourself. 
For your own health and well-being, forgiveness is simply the most energy-efficient option. It frees you from the incredibly toxic, debilitating drain of holding a grudge. 
Don't let these people live rent free in your head. 
If they hurt you before, why let them keep doing it year after year in your mind?" 
-- Doc Childre and Howard Martin 

"How does one know if she has forgiven? 
You tend to feel sorrow over the circumstance instead of rage, 
you tend to feel sorry for the person rather than angry with him. 
You tend to have nothing left to say about it all." 
-- Clarissa Pinkola Estes 

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