Forgiveness
from the book Something in
this book is true,
by Bob Frissell
*
Forgiveness is the MASTER ERASE. It is necessary in the same way that
it would be necessary to clean out a closet filled with mothbitten clothes in order to
make space for a new wardrobe.
You have to let go of your old resentments and scores in order to make
room for your greater good. You can't have both, so you must choose and you must do so
with one hundred percent intention.
My first serious work with forgiveness was in 1981 when I was a staff
member at the old Theta House in San Francisco. Another staff member, Leah Holtzman,
created a very powerful seminar called "Forgiveness equals Fortune." It was so
because shortly after forgiving her father, she received an unexpected gift of $10,000
from him. She was impressed by that. "Hey, this really works!" she probably
thought.
That motivated her to create a seminar. I took it several times. What
follows is directly from her workshop.
*
...to cease to bear resentment against
...to give up resentment against or the desire to punish
...to stop being angry with
...to pardon, to overlook
..."give for" or to "replace" the ill feeling, to
gain a sense of peace and harmony
...to give love for yourself
Forgiveness is a simple YET SOMETIMES MISUNDERSTOOD WORD.
Compiled here are some enlightened and concise statements about forgiveness.
Catherine Ponder
"...If you have a problem you have something to forgive. Anyone
who experiences pain has a need to forgive. Anyone who finds himself in unpleasant
circumstances has a need to forgive. Anyone who finds himself in debt has a need to
forgive.Where there is suffering, unhappiness, lack, confusion or misery of any sort,
there is a need to forgive."
"...Resentment, condemnation, anger, the desire to 'get even' or
to see someone punished or hurt, are things that ROT YOUR SOUL AND TEAR DOWN YOUR
HEALTH. You must forgive injuries and hurts of the past and present, not so much for THE
OTHER PERSON'S SAKE as for YOUR OWN."
"...Hurt or hate of any kind scars the soul and works illness in
the flesh. The illness will not be fully healed while you continue to remain
unforgiving."
"...Forgiveness begins with the one who recognizes the offense.
When you get the offense out of your own heart, you have forgiven. The reconciliation
which you bring about within yourself will have its effect upon your brother, and there
will be an automatic forgiving on his part toward you."
"... Genuine forgiveness IS NOT A CASUAL ACT. The
word means a 'cleansing' or a blotting out of transgression. It takes time and persistence
for true forgiveness to invade the subconscious levels."
"...You may not consciously be aware of what or whom you need to
forgive in the past or present. It is not necessary that you know, though often it will be
revealed to you, as you invoke forgiveness. The only requirement is that you WILLINGLY
SPEAK WORDS OF FORGIVENESS AND LET THOSE WORDS DO THEIR CLEANSING WORK."
"... To forgive means to 'give for' to 'replace' the ill feeling,
to gain a sense of peace and harmony again. To forgive literally means to 'give up' that
which you should not have held in the first place."
"... If only one person WILL DARE TO FORGIVE, the problem
can be solved, regardless of who else is involved, and whether anyone else wants to
forgive. THE PERSON WHO DARES TO FORGIVE GAINS CONTROL OF THE SITUATION. You may
not have appeared to have any prior power to solve the problem, but suddenly there will be
a change. The person who forgives WILL FIND A DIVINE SOLUTION APPEARING."
"... YOU MUST FORGIVE IF YOU WANT TO BE PERMANENTLY
HEALED. Health CANNOT BE ACCEPTED BY A BODY THAT IS FILLED WITH THE POISONS GENERATED BY
UNFORGIVENESS."
"...WHEN YOUR GOOD IS DELAYED, that is the time to forgive.
Forgiveness can sweep aside all that has delayed you in your race toward good."
"... The forgiving state of mind is A MAGNETIC POWER FOR
ATTRACTING GOOD. No GOOD THING CAN BE HELD FROM A FORGIVING STATE OF MIND."
"...If Jesus had not dared to say on the cross, 'Father, forgive
them for they know not what they do,' he could not have experienced resurrection.
"... Forgiveness is all powerful. Forgiveness heals all ills.
Forgiveness makes the weak strong. Forgiveness makes the cowardly courageous. Forgiveness
makes the ignorant wise. Forgiveness makes the mournful happy. Forgiveness can unblock
whatever has stood between you and your good. LET IT!"
A Course in Miracles
"The unforgiving mind is full of fear and offers love no room to
be itself."
"The unforgiving mind is sad without the hope of respite and
release from pain."
"The unforgiving mind is torn with doubt, confused about itself
and all it sees."
"The unforgiving mind is afraid to go ahead and afraid to
stay."
"The unforgiving mind does not believe that giving and receiving
are the same."
"...Without forgiveness the MIND IS IN CHAINS, believing in its own futility. YET
WITH FORGIVENESS does the LIGHT SHINE THROUGH THE DREAM of Darkness, OFFERING IT HOPE, AND
GIVING IT THE MEANS TO REALIZE THE FREEDOM that is its inheritance."
"...The illusion is that there is something to forgive. Those who
forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness
are binding themselves to them. Forgiveness is the means by which illusions
disappear."
"...Through your forgiveness does the truth about yourself return
to your memory. Therefore, IN YOUR FORGIVENESS LIES YOUR SALVATION."
"...Forgiveness wipes away the dreams of separation and of
sin.Forgiveness sees that there was no sin; therefore releasing it."
"...Forgiveness sweeps away distortions and opens the hidden altar
to the truth. Forgiveness stands between illusion and the truth."
"...Forgiveness is required, it is not inherent.
FORGIVENESS MUST BE LEARNED."
*
... I forgive myself totally and completely.
... I forgive myself for past errors.
... As I forgive, I am forgiven.
... I am now willing to forgive myself and others for hurting me.
... As I forgive others, I forgive myself.
... As I forgive, I see the truth.
... As I forgive, my mind is released from the chains of resentment and
negativity to the rewards of love and positivity.
... I am now willing to consider forgiving my mother/father/doctor who
delivered me.
... I totally and completely forgive the doctor who delivered me.This
affirmation is always true.
... I totally and completely forgive (put in person's name).
... I forgive (name) for (whatever you want to forgive them for).
... Forgiveness is my salvation.
... I forgive my mother/father/doctor for their ignorant behaviour
towards me at birth and during my childhood.
...I now release, renounce, forgive and free all my unpleasant past,
all my imagined future, all thoughts and attitudes of separation and all human
relationships into the Light ot the Holy One.
... I freely forgive. I loose you and let you go. It is done. It is
finished forever.
... I fully and freely forgive. I loose and let go. I let go and let
God do his perfect work of healing in my mind, body and affairs.
... All that has offended me, I forgive. Whatever has made me bitter,
resentful, unhappy, I forgive. Within and without, I forgive. Things past, things present,
things future, I forgive.
... I forgive everything and everybody who can possibly need
forgiveness in my past and present. I forgive positively everyone. I am free and they are
free. All things are cleared up between us now and forever.
... I forgive everything, everyone, every experience, every memory of
the past or present that needs forgiveness. I forgive positively everyone.God is love and
I am forgiven and governed by God's love alone. God's love is now adjusting my life.
Realizing this, I abide in peace.
*
I. Make a list of people you are willing to forgive. Next make a list
of what Leah called "fortunes to receive." For each person you forgive, you
create space for your greater good. Make a list of what you are willing to receive.
Conclude your list with the following affirmation: "This or
something better now manifests for the good of all concerned and in divine order, for I am
willing to consciously receive all the gifts God has given me."
II. From the list of people you are willing to forgive, make a list of
whatever it is that you resent about that person, are angry with that person about, are
blaming that person for, and hate that person for.
This is not an intellectual exercise. To the best of your ability, get
in touch with the feelings of resentment, anger, blame, and hatred. Allow yourself to feel
them fully. You can do this as a written exrecise or as an oral exercise - either with a
partner or to yourself in the mirror.
Next, forgive the person for everything on your list.That is, go
through each item on your list and either write, say it to yourself in the mirror, or say
it to your partner who is being that person for you: I forgive you for _________.
Forgiveness comes much more easily when you begin to realize that no
one really "did it" to you and there is no real satisfaction or redemption in
revenge or showing someone up. There is no sanctuary in it either, only more vulnerability
and danger. It is a classic case of false cause; those you have been blaming have just
been running their multi-generational pattern on you because they were at the effect of
their parental conditioning, who were at the effect of their parental conditioning, who
were at the effect of theirs, etc., and you bought into it because you were at the effect
of yours. Do you want to keep riding the roller coaster?
Beneath this endless cycle of effect lies the fact that we are all
innocent, we are all children of the One Spirit, all under its protection. Forgiveness is
a way of unravelling the ball of "false-cause" yarn, leaving you at the core of
your innocence.
© Bob Frissell
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