Awareness Spirituality
Forgiveness
Awareness Spirituality: Forgiveness
In order to optimize your personal holistic, development-body, mind, and spirit-you must be fully aware of your self. You must also be aware of those around you. Relationships are gifts you give yourself. Relationships are gifts you give to others. Awareness Spirituality: Forgiveness is something every good relationship requires. Even the simplist events in our life require forgiveness. Consider all the times you hold tiny resentments about things. They eat away at you. Imagine what big resentments and hurt do?
More about Awareness Spirituality
This awareness spirituality means that you need to be alert, knowledgeable and watchful. Additionally, to be aware is to have knowledge about yourself, the environment, AND events that take place. This awareness spirituality is also known as transcendent awareness. It is not bound by time or matter. It may not even include rationale thought. In fact, sometimes the more we try to think about being more aware and we think about forgiveness, the farther we get from our goal. This is why prayer and meditation can help us become more aware spiritually. It is through this spiritual awareness that we can learn to forgive others and ourselves.
Awareness Spirituality: Forgiveness
You've probably heard how forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. That seems odd since just the act of 'forgiving' is something we grant to someone else, isn't it? Then how can it be something we give ourselves?
Simply put, when we hold resentment against someone, without forgiveness, that resentment just keeps building. The anger festers and it wears its way through your body. That's right-it not only wears on you mentally, it tears you down spirititually and physically. Therefore, forgiveness is something that promotes optimal holistic health.
Most world religions teach their practitioners about forgiveness and have for many, many years. These foundations have provided us with modern day traditions and practices for forgiveness. Yet, since we are human, we have emotions and some of those are negative against someone else. Our emotional response about an event or situation may be small and it may be huge. We are sometimes not even aware of resentments. If we aren't aware, we cannot even begin to think about forgiveness. Sometimes we need to forgive ourselves, and often this is the toughest. Self-awareness is not always easy. In fact, self-awareness takes energy and work that and can be painful. The result is worth it, though.
Prayer is one way to experience Awareness Spirituality: Forgiveness
Meditation is also a way to experience Awareness Spirituality: Forgiveness
"None of us can change our yesterdays, but all of us can change our tomorrow." Colin Powell
Self Awareness
Are you tied to you past? Have you ever thought about how much energy you put into analyzing, thinking about, re-living the past? Most of us spend a great deal of time in the past, and yet we can't do anything about it. In fact, if we are tied to the past, it holds us back. We cannot move forward. If you want to grow and have healthy, strong relationships, your past needs to be released. Of course, I'm talking about the resentments of the past. The goals are to feel closer, more caring and in cooperation with others. This means that you can't swallow your feelings-you must express them and move on.
Does this mean that you're going to trap the person who did you wrong, let them have it and go on? Sorry-the answer is NO. They don't even have to be involved. They can be, but don't have to. In "The Success Principles" by Jack Canfield, there are 6 steps to help you move on beyond resentment and onto freedom and success. He recommends talking to the person who you feel resentment toward, after you get their permission. Anger should be expressed calmly with the goal of resolution-not causing them pain and not for the purpose of revenge. That's right-this is not about revenge-it is about freeing yourself. If you cannot do this, then keep practicing and practicing. If you still feel any inching toward resentment, don't address them directly. Write a letter. It doesn't have to be sent.
Causing pain to another person will not bring you peace.
Jack Canfield sites the Stages of Total Truth. I really recommend his book, The Success Principles. Happy Reading!
Jack Canfield recommends you begin by expressing yoru anger and then move through each stage all the way through to the final stage of love, compassion, and forgiveness. The purpose is to free yourself from unexpressed emotions. I want to be clear that the purpose is not to seek revenge or hurt the other person. Here are some of the prompts he recommends. You should spend about the same amount of time with each category.
1. Anger and Resentment
I'm angry that...
I hate it when...
I'm fed up with...
I resent...
2. Hurt
It hurts when...
I felt sad when...
I feel hurt that...
I feel disappointed about...
3. Fear
I was afraid that...
I feel scared when...
I get afraid of you when...
I'm afraid that I...
4. Remorse, regret, and accountability
I'm sorry that...
Please forgive me for...
I"m sorry for...
I didn't mean to...
5. Wants
All I ever wanted...
I want you to...
I want(ed)...
I deserve...
6. Love, compassion, forgiveness, and appreciation
I understand that...
I appreciate...
I love you for...
I forgive you for...
Thank you for...
If you suspect that just trying to do this will cause an emotional disaster for everyone involved, don't go there. Write the list and move on. Perhaps some of your anger comes from family members such as parents who you feel don't welcome hearing about your feelings or thoughts. You believe they will become defensive. Trying to talk to them about your feelings will just give you more of what you want to get over. It is predictable and if history tells you this will happen, then why would you proceed? Find a healthier way, perhaps writing a letter that you do not send, to find your peace. Remember, you are not trying to change them, but it may well seem that way. Be very clear about your intentions.
How does forgiveness free you?
It seems like a lot of work just trying to get to a place of peace and freedome what the ties of resentment and anger. It is so worth it, though, because a lot of energy is used on negative emotions-a lot of energy. We become physically weak, our immune system becomes stressed. Isn't that enough reason? We don't think as clearly as we could. our choices are therefore not always reasonable. We can't learn as well. Our memory is altered. We begin to ponder meaning and purpose, only we're not thinking clear enough to make good decisions. Some people will try to medicate themselves with drugs, alcohol and our dependencies such as shopping and overeating. These are all ways to cover up the pain. It doesn't work, of course. These ways of coping and covering and medicating don't make it better at all-they only harm us more. Can you see why forgiveness is one of our spiritual needs?
Bottom line? Face it, deal with it, learn from it, forgive and move on whole and better for the whole expderience. In time you will begin to mentally thank the person for showing you another lesson and helping you to become a better person. This may sound odd to you, but consider this.
What about forgiving yourself?
I believe forgiving yourself may be more difficult for most of us than forgiving someone else.
Let's talk about self awareness spirituality and forgiveness.
When we say we need to forgive ourselves, aren't we really saying that we don't feel worthy of divine forgiveness? How can I forgive myself if I don't think God will forgive me? This is a narrow way of thinking and only snowballs into more self-destructive behavior. Perhaps the bipolar views of God can help explain how this begins. We know about the wrath of God and we know about the mercy of God. Just being a human means that we are not perfect. Your actions after a fall from grace are as much a part of your spiritual well being as your fall from grace. It is this fall from grace, the 'mistakes' we make, that give us the springboard to grow and improve. Our character builds as we respond to our life choices and life journeys.
This is a tough thing.
How do we become more self-aware? Honesty is the key. There are several ways to take a good close look at your life.
Begin by looking. You might want to write down the most memorable events of your life-your most potent memories-good and bad. Before you do this, reserve yourself some time, some space, some quiet time. Unplug the phones, turn off the TV and so on. Really give yourself some time without interruption. You might begin with some quiet meditation, contemplation or prayer. Whatever it takes to bring you peace and comfort of heart is fine.
Meditation boasts many holistic benefits. Click here to learn more.
Know everything there is to know about prayer? Click here to be sure.
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