Welcome to active meditation,
Mastering the art of forgiveness.
In this meditation,
We contemplate and then practice the healing role of forgiveness.
To prepare for meditation,
We take some time to relax our body.
So take a few deep breaths.
Relax completely.
To help our relaxation,
We remove all expression from our face.
We let go of all the tension in our face muscles.
We then let go of the tension in our shoulders and let our body relax all the way down to the toes.
With each exhale,
A wave of relaxation spreads throughout the body.
Take a few more deep breaths.
Relax.
And with our deep breaths,
We relax our mind and emotions.
With each breath,
We allow our inner peace and quiet awareness to arise.
With each breath,
We suspend our worries and our current concerns of the day for the duration of this meditation.
Let them go now.
As we enter this more peaceful state,
Our awareness continues on a more subtle level.
We are mindful that there is a deep presence within us,
Of wisdom and goodwill,
A quieter awareness that is able to observe all but is not emotional,
A quieter awareness that observes everything but is not of the mind.
We truly are the silent witness,
Aware of our assorted memories,
Ideas and beliefs,
And our ability to stand apart from them.
Aware that we are not just our thoughts and memories.
We are the thinker,
The creator of thoughts,
The creator of our ideas.
We are the observer,
Aware that we are more than our emotions.
We are the creator of emotions,
The organizer,
The one who uses emotions to express our kindness and friendliness.
Resting in this detached state of being,
We are also conscious of a great benevolent power,
Steadily surrounding us,
Always present to support the best in us,
Always present to nourish our needs,
Always present as a source of energy,
Guidance and emotional support.
The art of forgiveness is one of the most humanizing of all our abilities.
It can soothe our hurts,
Remove irritations and heal resentments.
Forgiveness can repair relationships,
Brighten our day and restore our joy in living.
Forgiveness,
Unfortunately,
Is still a poorly understood practice.
Many presume that forgiveness is merely a way to demonstrate our good manners in words and gestures of kindness.
However,
Forgiveness involves more than simple efforts to offer sympathy and other types of emotional first aid.
Instead,
The main concern is healing these injuries,
Restoring confidence and dignity,
And correcting fundamental misunderstandings about what happened and why we reacted so negatively.
Forgiveness is much more than being nice and getting rid of anger.
It is the act of pouring out our mature understanding and acceptance,
That some unpleasantness and annoyance occurs in the life of everyone.
We need to remember that we sometimes annoy others,
And at other times,
We are the victim of irritation.
We must learn how to maturely work with these episodes of irritation,
Lest we allow our angry reactions to dominate our whole life.
When we are severely abused or neglected,
A different approach to forgiveness is needed.
The first objective in these more severe grievances is not total forgiveness.
Instead,
The initial effort is to tone down the outrage and diminish the burden anger imposes on our mood and mindset.
We need to carve out spaces in our outrage to continue normal relationships and activities.
We do this by setting firm boundaries about our outrage,
To whatever degree we can achieve.
This enables us to return to everyday attitudes and behavior,
To engage in the safe parts of our lives.
Complete forgiveness in these situations is a more distant goal that is possible only after reducing our anger to a level that can be affected by our reason and common sense.
Forgiveness is possible because it depends on understanding as much as love.
When these two forces are brought together,
They enable us to act with tolerance and acceptance.
Love and understanding are the active arms of forgiveness.
Love,
Understanding and love are also the great powerhouses and motivational forces that enable us to begin and sustain the work of forgiveness,
Not our anger.
It is steadfast devotion to a person or purpose that strengthens us.
Convocation to a noble purpose is what can make us courageous,
Not our hatred of enemies and bad ideologies.
Love,
Understanding,
Tolerance and acceptance are the quartet of forces that can dissolve our angry feelings and judgments about old events and those we accuse of harming us.
We will be involved in many situations that provoke our annoyance and frustration as we live a busy life.
We live in an imperfect world where the average citizen is not a saint.
Unless we can respond to most of these occasions with patience and tolerance,
We can gradually become overwhelmed by the slow accumulations of resentment and discouragement.
It is essential to learn how to be realistic in managing ourselves and our situation without succumbing to the temptations to be critical and angry.
Now to practice managing forgiveness,
We move to our wheel of consciousness.
This wheel appears as an image of a slowly spinning wheel.
We stand in the very center of this wheel,
Watching outer events slowly turning about us at a distance at the edge of our wheel.
Watching our emotions and our thoughts slowly swirling around us while we remain unmoving,
Quietly observing outer changes,
Outer disturbances at a distance at the outer edge of our wheel.
As we place ourselves in this focal point,
We appreciate that this position in the center also connects us with the wisdom,
The power,
And the love of our higher self.
We strengthen our bond with these powers by relaxing more,
By being grateful for the opportunity to improve this connection.
Take a few moments to reacquaint yourself with this connection,
Your higher self.
It is already present and building.
We allow these energies to quietly add themselves to our thoughts,
Feelings,
Desires,
And memories at the outer edge of the wheel.
We sense the enriching and renewing power of our higher self.
We recognize that with this detached awareness in the center of our wheel,
We have access to the power and insights that can free us from outer distress,
Discouragement,
And resentment.
In this expanded mindfulness,
We can also locate at the edge of the wheel someone you may not like.
Someone who may irritate you.
One who may cause regret in you.
Someone you may actively despise.
Someone you may merely overlook and avoid.
It does not matter what form your anger takes.
I'll be silent while you locate this person.
Now,
See this person in your mind at the edge of the wheel.
Look at them a while.
Try to perceive some light in them,
A little spark of brightness that you never notice.
Look at them until you see a light somewhere within them.
I'll wait while you do this.
Now,
Let this light expand until it covers them and starts to make them beautiful and good.
Now,
Let this light expand until it covers them and starts to make them beautiful and beautiful.
Now,
Let this light expand until it covers them and starts to make them beautiful and beautiful.
Now,
Let this light expand until it covers them and starts to make them beautiful and beautiful.
Now,
Let this light expand until it covers them and starts to make them beautiful and beautiful.
Now that you have seen the light in this person and watched it expand until it covers them,
Covering them totally,
Let's review.
How have we rationalized our anger about this person?
Why are we comfortable justifying our anger?
Why do we believe it is necessary to hold on to this anger?
Have we been totally honest with ourselves about our interpretations and conclusions?
Does our angry attitude about this person truly help us in any way?
Has our detached awareness and our position in the center of our wheel of consciousness changed our view of this person?
Has our detached perspective changed the way we may manage our reaction to people like this in the future?
Perhaps by being more understanding,
More tolerant,
More generous.
How has our communication with our higher self in our wheel of consciousness changed our standards for our outward behavior?
Spend a few moments pondering how practicing effective forgiveness may be helpful for your life.
I'll be silent.
I'll be silent.
I'll be silent.
I'll be silent.
Now,
It is time to return to our regular state of thoughts,
Feelings,
And actions.
To time and space.
Take a few deep breaths to establish the waking state.
And as we do this,
We know that we have made significant progress in developing a working relationship with our higher self.
I am aware.
I am.