Yom Kippur - Find Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the focus of this meditation coinciding with Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement. Join Julie Potiker as she helps you release resentment and anger towards others and yourself...through forgiveness. The meditation finishes with the beautiful sound of the Shofar.

Transcript

This is a forgiveness meditation for Yom Kippur.

Let's find a comfortable seat.

Feeling your bones settling,

Feeling your mind settling.

Let's take three breaths in for four,

Hold for four,

Out for six or eight starting now.

Letting your breath now find its natural rhythm,

Relaxing your forehead,

Relaxing your eyebrows,

Relaxing your eyes,

Behind your eyes,

Releasing and relaxing your jaws.

Imagining a slight smile to the outside corners of your lips and dropping that down into your throat and in your neck,

Relaxing and releasing,

Letting your shoulder blades move down your back gently,

Dropping that smile down into your heart,

Releasing and relaxing your abs,

Letting your hips melt into what is supporting you,

Relaxing your thighs,

Your knees,

Relaxing your calves,

Your ankles,

Relaxing your feet.

Let relaxation flow from both shoulders down your arms to the tips of your fingers,

Softening your hands.

You may want to place a hand or hands on your heart where you find it soothing or anywhere else that you find soothing,

Just for a couple breaths as a reminder that you're giving yourself love and care and compassion during this time.

Feeling the warmth of your hands.

And then relaxing and releasing your hands to where they're comfortable.

Now breathing gently into the area of your heart,

Letting yourself feel all the doors closed and all the emotions you have carried because you have not forgiven others and not forgiven yourself.

Let yourself feel the pain of keeping your heart closed.

Now breathing gently,

Begin asking and extending forgiveness,

Reciting the following words in your mind,

And allowing the feelings and images that may arise to go deeper as you repeat them.

The first exercise is forgiveness of others.

I have hurt and harmed others through commission or omission,

Betraying or abandoning them,

Unknowingly or unknowingly causing them suffering,

Perhaps out of my pain,

Fear,

Anger and confusion.

Let yourselves visualize the ways you have hurt others.

See and feel the pain you have caused out of your own fear and confusion.

Let yourself feel your sorrow and regret.

Sense that you can release this burden and ask for forgiveness.

Picture each memory that is associated with these events and then repeat in your mind,

I ask for your forgiveness.

I ask for your forgiveness.

Repeat this process for each case that you can think of where you may have harmed someone.

I'm going to be quiet for a few moments for you to participate in this deep work.

I ask for your forgiveness.

Now taking a slow,

Deep breath.

We're going to change gears and practice forgiveness for ourselves.

Letting your breath find a natural rhythm again.

Contemplating these words,

There are many ways that I have hurt and harmed myself,

Have betrayed or abandoned myself knowingly or unknowingly through thought,

Word or deed.

Drop into your one precious heart.

Feel your one precious life.

Allow yourself to feel and see the ways in which you have harmed or hurt yourself.

Not taking care of yourself.

Not protecting or erecting boundaries that you know need to be there.

Maybe allowing anger or resentment to fester and hurt your well-being.

Maybe not taking care of your mind and body in the way in which you know is more healthy and more helpful.

Picture and remember these transgressions and feel the sorrow you have carried from this and sense that you can release these burdens.

Extend forgiveness for each one of them,

Slowly repeating in your mind for the ways I have hurt myself through action or inaction out of fear,

Pain and confusion.

I now forgive myself.

I forgive myself.

I forgive myself.

Taking the time to really think about all the ways in which you might be speaking harshly to yourself.

Because of not meeting your exacting standards or not behaving in the manner in which you hope to behave.

Perhaps feeling anger or impatience.

I forgive myself.

Any times where you felt jealousy,

Hatred,

Disgust,

Aversion,

Release,

Releasing,

Letting go.

I forgive myself.

I forgive myself.

Now taking a slow deep breath,

We're going to change gears for the last category of forgiveness.

These are situations that are sticky and there were people who have harmed us.

So we're starting out the same way,

Acknowledging that we may have been harmed,

Abandoned,

Abused,

Knowingly or unknowingly in thought,

Word or deed.

Allow yourself to picture these situations.

Feel the sorrows you have carried and sense that you can release this burden of pain when your heart is ready.

Try saying these words in your mind.

I remember the ways others have harmed me.

Out of fear,

Pain,

Confusion and anger.

I've carried this pain in my heart and body too long.

I am going to try now to release that pain by saying in my mind to those that have caused me harm.

You could say I offer you my forgiveness or you could just say I release these toxic feelings.

I release these toxic feelings from my mind,

From my heart,

From my body.

I release them.

This you do for yourself.

This you do for yourself,

For your health.

This you do for yourself.

This you do for yourself.

Releasing,

Division,

Divisiveness,

Othering,

Hatred,

Releasing,

Releasing.

Let yourself gently repeat these three directions of forgiveness.

Forgiveness to others you have harmed,

Knowingly or unknowingly.

Forgiveness to yourself for the ways you knowingly or unknowingly harmed yourself.

And lastly,

Forgiveness or releasing the hatred or the grudges or the toxic feelings for others who have harmed you through their anger,

Confusion,

Fear and pain.

If you're not ready to forgive in any of these categories,

Be gentle with yourself about that too.

Gently placing the words on your heart.

So with repetition,

Someday when your heart is ready to open,

The words will fall in and you will feel a release,

Allowing you to let go of past hurts so that you may start each day with a full and loving heart.

The forgiveness prayer found in some versions of the siddur that can be recited daily reads like this,

And I quote,

I forgive all those who may have hurt or aggravated me,

Either physically,

Monetarily or emotionally,

Whether unknowingly or willfully,

Whether accidentally or intentionally,

Whether in speech or in action,

Whether in this incarnation or in another,

And may no person be punished on account of me.

Close quote.

May we have a good final ceiling in the Book of Life.

Gomorotima Tova.

And now instead of listening to the chimes to end the meditation session.

Today we listen to the sounds of the shofar.

Ah,

Thank you so much for your practice.

Julie Potichar for the balanced mind meditation center.

Thank you.

Reviews

Thank you

Perfect way to start my Yom Kippur🙏🏼🙏🏼
Todah! G’mar Chatima Tova.

Such a lovely practice for Yom Kippur! I recommend sharing this meditation with family and friends who might not go to services or feel ambivalent about the holiday. Thank you so much!

I was searching for a meditation on forgiveness in honor of people close to me who celebrate Yom Kippur. I’m so grateful that I found this one. The content and guidance were thoughtful and gentle and had a deep impact on me. I especially appreciated the answer within the meditation to the question I had about what to do if I don’t feel ready to forgive. This is one I repeated already and intend to return to. Thank you, Julie.

Exactly what I was looking for today. Thank you.

thank you so much, couldn’t make it to services and this was a perfect thing that i need for yom kipper

Beautiful and cleansing meditation for yom kippur 🙏

This was so lovely and exactly what I needed today. Thank you so much. 🙏🏼

left my soul feeling much lighter. thank you, g’mar chatima tova!

This was just what I needed on their Yom Kippur

Toda raba. Perfect meditation for me on this holy day and beyond. 🙏

Thank you 🙏

Exactly what I needed today - a very meaningful practice on this day. With gratitude.

Perfect. Loved this. Thank you.

beautiful. thank you.