If We Want To Be Free, We Need To Forgive

Forgiveness is an act of self-love, and it is also a powerful tool that we can lean into to set ourselves free to be in ever-expanding peace, joy, love, harmony, and wholeness - regardless of what another individual has done or not done, and regardless of what is happening in our lives.

I invite you to join me as we explore two powerful tools we can use to set ourselves free. As promised in the message, here they are:

I forgive you (add the name of the individual in question). I release my stories, judgments, and opinions of you. My forgiveness of you is total and complete, and I now see you as God sees you. I see you as a unique, perfect, whole, and complete being of Light and Love. I am free, and you are free.

All is well between us. All is well between our Souls. You have no Power over me. I stand in my authority. I set myself Free. I set you free

Transcript

Blessings and welcome to the path to freedom.

I always say the same thing in these introductions,

But there is really no other way of describing it.

That this is such a beautiful path,

This is such a magnificent path,

This is such a magical path where we continuously get to set ourselves free,

Where we continuously get to allow for the next great and grand version of whom we are to emerge,

Where we continuously get to soar,

To shine,

To glow,

Where we continuously get to allow for more good than we've ever experienced or ever imagined even,

To just flow into our lives with ease and grace,

Where we get to be in that space of ever-expanding peace and love and joy and harmony and wholeness and abundance and beauty and creativity and intelligence,

Where we get to release and let go of that which no longer serves.

So there's so many ways,

There's so many ways of describing this beautiful path.

It is all about awakening,

It is all about transformation.

I love being here and I love that you're here and so thank you for being here,

For being willing to go ever deeper,

Ever wider,

Ever higher,

To rest more and more fully into trusting the inner knowing that all is well,

Even in the midst of calamity,

Even in the midst of chaos,

Even in the midst of suffering,

All is still well.

And this was not at all what I had intended to say,

But I trust that it is all good as this benevolent loving presence that is all there is,

Is always expressing itself perfectly.

So these words,

They apparently needed to be spoken.

I want to invite you into this message,

Into this talk,

Into this space,

Which today is about forgiveness.

And I believe the topic is somewhere along the lines,

If we want to be free,

We need to forgive.

And it has to do with the releasing and letting go.

It has to do with releasing and letting go of that which no longer serves.

The resentment,

The animosity,

The judgments and the opinions that we have about ourselves and that we have about others.

Before we go into defining what forgiveness is,

I just want to give a brief background as to why this topic came into my awareness in the first place.

I was hosting a live gathering a few days ago on a completely different topic.

We were having a conversation around what is running us.

The stories,

The beliefs,

The notions that we secretly and sometimes not so secretly are giving permission to run us.

And in that conversation,

A number of individuals,

As they were sharing,

The word resentment came up with regards to themselves and with regards to other individuals and sometimes even conditions and circumstances.

And it made me realize that we need to revisit the topic of forgiveness because it is always relevant.

I mean,

As we move through life,

As things happen within us,

As things happen around us,

As things happen in our lives,

We are bound from time to time to get caught up by resentment,

By judgments,

By opinions as to what should and should not be.

What we should have done,

What we shouldn't have done,

What someone else should have done or shouldn't have done,

What should happen,

What shouldn't happen in the world and in our lives and all these kind of things.

And this is where this beautiful practice of forgiveness comes in.

So forgiveness,

First of all,

It is not about condoning the actions of another individual.

It is not about accepting what they did.

Just laying flat down on the floor and just yielding to the ignorance or whatever gave rise to them or ourselves acting in whichever way they acted or we acted.

But forgiveness is all about releasing and letting go of our judgments,

Our opinions,

Of the negativity within us so that we may be free to be in that ever-expanding peace,

So that we may be free to be in that ever-expanding love and joy and harmony and wholeness regardless of what another individual is doing and what they are not doing,

Regardless of what we did or did not do,

So that we do not give power to something or someone outside of ourselves or even ourselves,

Even the content that flows through our minds.

So that we take our power back,

So that we get to stand firm in being well,

In the knowing that all is well,

In being in joy and all of these things.

So that is what forgiveness is about.

And where wise,

I know that I have a track called A Powerful Evening Routine for ending the day in high vibration or something like that.

And in that I share a beautiful evening routine that I used to lean into a lot.

In all honesty,

I have sort of fallen away from it,

Not because I wanted to,

But because I am so dead tired when I go to sleep.

I have been for these last few months that I barely have time to lay my head down on the pillow before I fall asleep.

But in any case,

In this evening routine,

There is that space where we get to forgive,

Where we get to bring into our awareness another individual that we are holding on to resentment towards,

That we are holding on to judgments and opinions towards.

I remember hearing at one point an old Native American saying that goes something like,

Holding on to resentment or judgments or animosity is like swallowing poison,

Hoping,

Wishing that the other will die.

Because even though it's very normal and it's very in alignment with the egoic structures that want to place blame outside of ourselves,

That want to place ourselves or hold ourselves as victims to circumstances,

To conditions,

To other individuals,

To whatever and whatnot.

So it's very normal for us to hold on to negativity,

But it doesn't do anything.

It doesn't accomplish anything.

It doesn't serve anything.

Well,

It serves something.

It accomplishes something.

It serves and it accomplishes us feeling bad.

It serves and it accomplishes us fostering and facilitating and allowing for an environment,

An inner environment where illness,

Where disease may thrive,

Where lack and scarcity may thrive,

Where a sense of not being enough or having enough may thrive.

That is what holding on to resentment achieves.

It's holding on to resentment basically saying that there's lack of something.

It's basically saying that there is scarcity of something.

It is basically saying that we are not enough.

We are not enough to be in peace,

To hold peace,

But we need something outside of ourselves to be in a particular way for us to be in peace.

So it is all about lack.

It is all about scarcity.

It is all about separation.

It is all about us not being enough.

And obviously if that is what we're holding on to,

If that is what we're keeping alive and active within ourselves,

That's going to be our experience.

That has to be our experience.

So moving into forgiveness is setting ourselves free.

It is us expanding our consciousness.

It is us raising our vibration to the level that more and more good may flow into our lives,

Where more and more abundance may flow into our lives.

Because when we stay in the knowing that all is well,

Regardless of what is happening around us,

When we stay in peace,

Regardless of what is happening in our external conditions and circumstances,

Regardless of what another individual is doing or saying or being,

What we in essence are saying is that we are enough.

We have everything we need.

So we move into a sense of abundance.

We move into a beautiful sense of opulence,

Of all needs met,

Right?

So we're wise to,

On a very regular and consistent basis,

Move into a space of forgiveness,

Which once again,

Just to reiterate and just to,

What is it called?

Just to,

I don't remember what it's called and it doesn't matter,

But that it is about us releasing the negativity,

Us releasing the judgments,

Us releasing the opinions,

Us releasing the stories,

The beliefs as to what should and should not be.

So I want to share a beautiful,

I don't think I've shared these before,

Well,

I may have shared one of these before,

But I want to share something.

One is a beautiful prayer that we can lean into.

And the other is a set of statements that we can also lean into to assist in us setting ourselves free.

So let's begin with a prayer.

I believe it's called the forgiveness prayer.

And to be honest,

I have no idea where this comes from.

It may come from Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith,

But I'm not sure.

So do not judge me if I'm mistaken.

But this beautiful prayer,

It goes like this,

And I'm going to read it and then we're going to go into what it means and how to work with it.

So this is the prayer.

So I forgive you.

And here we add the name of the individual,

Be it ourselves,

Be it someone else or a condition or a circumstance.

I forgive you.

I release my stories,

My judgments and opinions of you.

My forgiveness of you is total and complete.

And I now see you as God sees you.

I see you as a unique,

Perfect,

Whole and complete being of light and love.

I am free and you are free.

All is well between us and all is well between our souls.

So this is a beautiful prayer that we can lean into any time that we become aware that we have been hijacked or held hostage by judgments,

Opinions,

Points of views as to what should and should not be,

As to what another has done or did not do,

As to what we did or did not do.

We can lean into this prayer.

And so what happens as we repeat this,

So the way to work with it,

A way to work with it is to first of all make sure that we are in a space where we feel comfortable,

Where we feel safe and where we know that we will not be disturbed for a few minutes,

Right?

So that we have that sacred space.

Oh,

I'm reminded right now as I caught a few days ago.

So before we move into the exploring how to work with this prayer,

Let's take a couple of deep breaths.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Another deep breath in and breathing out.

So this is a way to reset.

And I don't know about you obviously,

But I know about me and I'm feeling complete shift.

Where I was a little bit worked up before taking these breaths,

I now experience more peace,

More calm,

I'm more relaxed.

And so this is a profound practice that we want to incorporate in our days as often as possible that we want to lean into as often as we can remember,

Which is vital in this forgiveness work that we're being called to do.

So let's go back to how to work with this prayer.

So the first step really is for us to find that space where we know that we will not be disturbed,

Where we know or where we feel safe and secure so that we can without inhibitions lean into this beautiful practice.

And so we begin by taking these breaths.

So to allow for space to open up between us and the judgments,

So that we may give ourselves permission to release our attachment to them,

Right?

So let's take another deep breath in and out,

Another deep breath in,

And from this space of now being non-attached,

It does not mean that we are not experiencing the judgments,

It doesn't mean that we don't experience the emotional reaction to whatever someone else has done or did not do,

It simply means that we're no longer attached to it.

So from this space of non-attachment,

We begin to read this prayer out loud.

We begin to read this prayer out loud,

And I'm going to be sure to add it into the description of this particular message so that you can copy it.

So we read the prayer out loud,

I forgive you,

And then add the name of whomever it is that we are forgiving,

Releasing the negativity around.

I release my stories,

Judgments,

And opinions of you,

Meaning I set myself free to be in peace,

To be in joy,

To be in harmony,

To be in love,

To be in wholeness,

Regardless of what you did or did not do,

Regardless of what you're doing.

My forgiveness of you is total and complete,

Meaning I release every strap of judgment,

I release it all for now,

And I now see you as God sees you,

Meaning I see you as the unique,

Perfect,

Whole,

Complete expression of who and what you are,

That you are,

Recognizing that ignorance,

That unawareness,

That unconsciousness,

That the ego is the one acting out.

It is not the true essence of this individual,

But it is the unconsciousness within them that is running them right now.

So I see you as unique,

Perfect,

Whole,

Complete being of light and love.

I am free,

I'm setting myself free,

We are setting ourselves free,

And you are free.

We're setting them free to be who they are,

Where they are,

To be at whichever level of consciousness,

Of awareness that they are.

We're not requiring anything from them,

We're not asking them to be someone or somewhere that they're not,

But we're setting them free to be exactly where they are,

Who they are right now.

All is well between us,

Yes,

All truly is well.

Because when we release our judgments,

When we release our stories and thoughts as to what should and shouldn't be,

Then what is left is all is well.

Everything is nothing until we make it something,

And by holding on to judgments and opinions,

We make that which is nothing into something,

Right?

All is well between our souls.

And so we move through this prayer,

We move through it once,

If we're still experiencing the judgments,

The negativity,

The animosity,

The blame,

We move through it again,

And again,

And again,

And again,

Until we begin to feel the release,

Until we begin to feel the joy,

The peace that is welling up from within us.

And once we feel that we are free,

Once we feel that all is well between us,

Once we feel compassion beginning to take over,

And compassion simply means the understanding of lack of understanding,

So once we begin to realize and truly feel that the only thing that is happening is the egoic structures within them,

And we're just getting in the way of that,

So it's not personal,

Whatever they did,

It's not personal,

It's not about us at all,

It is all about them,

And where they are in consciousness,

Where they are in awareness,

And once we begin to feel this,

Once we begin to feel that peace,

Then we can move back into our days,

And when we become aware of being hijacked again,

We move back into this prayer,

We lean into it again,

And we do this as often as possible,

We do this whenever we remember to do it.

Cool?

Beautiful.

So the next tool that I want to share,

It is made up of four very powerful statements,

With the purpose to serve in the exact same way that the prayer does,

To set ourselves free,

For us to take back our power.

So I'm going to read them,

And then we're going to similarly explore what they mean,

One by one.

But first,

Let's take a couple of deep breaths,

Breathing in,

And breathing out,

And if we want to exhale with a sound of ah,

We're welcome to do so.

Breathing in again,

And releasing,

Ah.

So these four statements,

They are,

The first one,

You have no power over me,

The second one,

I stand in my own authority,

The third one,

I set myself free,

And the last one,

And I set you free.

All right,

So what do these mean?

The first statement goes,

You have no power over me.

So we are recognizing,

Acknowledging that no one,

Or no thing,

Has power,

Any power over us,

No one can make us think or feel anything that we do not give them permission to make us think or feel.

So in essence,

What we're saying is that we are taking our power back.

We are saying that this that is happening outside of me,

This individual,

This condition,

This circumstance,

It has no power to make us feel or think anything,

But we are taking the power back.

We are taking our power back so that we may be free,

So that we may be in peace,

So that we may be in love,

So that we may be in joy,

So that we may be in harmony,

Wholeness,

Right?

The second statement goes,

I stand in my own authority.

We all have sovereignty over our own minds.

We have supreme authority over our own minds,

Over our own thoughts,

Our emotions.

Once again,

Everything is nothing until we make it something,

And by virtue of the judgments that we hold on to,

We make it something.

But now we reclaim our own authority,

We reclaim our sanity,

Acknowledging,

Recognizing that we,

And only we,

Have authority over ourselves.

The third statement goes,

I set myself free.

So this is just to affirm,

Declare,

And decree that we are free.

Whatever is going on around us,

Whatever someone else is doing or not doing,

Whatever they did or did not do,

And this works just as well with current events as historical events.

So we can absolutely bring something from our past into this now moment,

Going through either one of these tools to release and let go of our judgments,

Our sense of being victims,

Our being held hostage by that event,

Right?

So we're setting ourselves free.

And once again,

The last statement is,

I set you free.

So once again,

We are extending the freedom to the other individual,

To the condition,

To the circumstance,

To be what it is.

So we're not withholding,

We're not making our love conditional,

Our forgiveness conditional,

But we're moving into unconditionality.

Setting them free,

Just as we're setting ourselves free,

We're setting them free to be who and what and where they are.

In essence saying that I know,

I know that you,

Right in this now moment,

Are a unique,

Perfect,

Whole,

Complete expression,

Emanation of the benevolent loving presence that is all there is.

So these two are beautiful tools that we are so wise to lean into on a daily basis.

If you haven't listened to that track,

It's called A Powerful Evening Routine,

To End the Day in High Vibration or something like that.

If you haven't listened to it,

I invite you to do so,

Because it is crucial that we take our power back.

It is crucial that we forgive,

As Jesus said,

And actually,

I don't even know what that means,

But when he said,

Forgive 70 times 7,

I don't know what that means,

But to me,

It sort of means to live in the space of forgiveness all of the time,

To continuously release the negativity that we are holding on to,

So that we may be in peace,

So that we may be in joy,

So that we may be well.

And whenever we raise our vibration,

Whenever we expand our consciousness,

The whole universe rises up to meet us here,

To meet us here.

I'm not going to go into it today,

But it is absolutely a topic for another day,

That when we experience a sense of lack or scarcity in our lives,

That is sometimes intimately connected to our inability to forgive,

Because if we're not in this way of forgiving,

What we're saying is that someone owes us something.

We are lacking something,

We're missing something,

And that outpictures itself sometimes as a sense of lack,

Scarcity,

Financial otherwise.

So that's for another day,

But I felt compelled to share it,

So I have.

The invitation for us,

Obviously,

Is to move into,

To lean into these beautiful practices,

Either one or both of them,

On a daily basis,

At least daily basis.

Sometimes,

If we're going through intense emotions,

Intense reactions,

Intense negativity,

We may need to do it over and over and over again,

Every day,

But at least once a day.

And a beautiful question for us to ask,

To augment and support this invitation is,

Am I holding on to negativity?

Am I placing blame outside of myself?

Am I holding on to judgments and opinions?

Am I in a sense of being a victim?

These are versions of the same question,

Inviting us to become aware of where we are in consciousness.

Let's take one deep breath in,

One last round of deep breaths.

So breathing in,

And breathing out.

One last breath in,

Breathing in.

Thank you so,

So much for tuning in,

For participating.

If this resonates with you,

I invite you to share it with anyone who you feel might benefit from hearing this.

Until we meet again,

I,

As always,

Absolutely bless,

Bless,

Bless our ways.

I bless,

Bless,

Bless our days,

In the full knowing that all is well,

That something wonderful is happening,

That everything is working for our highest good,

That perfect preparation and unfolding is always,

Always happening.

With much love,

And many blessings.

Namaste.

Reviews

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