Forgiveness meditation.
Forgiveness practice is a practice of intention,
To turn the attention to looking at the ways that we've caused pain and harm to ourselves or to others,
Or in ways that others may have caused us suffering.
And to make the intention to see if we can release the holding,
The resentment,
The hurt,
The blame,
The anger.
To look at the ways that the heart closes in response to pain and rejects and separates and pushes away others or ourselves.
This practice is suggesting it is possible to release,
To let go of some of the pain,
The shame,
The burden.
Because in the way that the heart closes,
In those times we are the ones who are suffering.
Forgiveness practice is also acknowledging we're not perfect.
We make mistakes and we make the intention to acknowledge,
To learn,
To forgive,
To prevent harm in the future.
It doesn't condone actions or words that cause suffering.
We're simply looking at and asking,
Despite pain and suffering that may have been caused by ourselves or others.
Is it possible to not put somebody out of our heart?
So in the practice we use phrases that express this deep wish to forgive ourselves and others.
So I'll repeat those phrases and let the words sink into your heart,
Into your body.
So beginning by establishing a comfortable posture where you can sit with ease,
Relaxed,
Upright,
Bringing the attention to the heart center,
Feeling the breath move in and out of the chest.
And we begin by looking at the ways that we've harmed ourselves.
So for all the ways I may have caused harm to myself,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
By what I have done or have not done,
By what I have said or not said,
By what I have thought or not thought,
The way that I've talked to myself,
Treated myself,
The way I may have pushed or overridden or been cruel or punishing because of fear or anger or confusion.
I ask for forgiveness as much as is possible in this moment.
So maybe calling to mind a way that you cause pain to yourself through your self-talk,
Through your actions,
Feeling the pain of that,
Difficulty,
The struggle.
Suffering yourself this phrase,
This intention of forgiveness.
For any way that I have caused harm to myself,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
Through what I have done or have not done,
Through what I have said or not said,
Through what I have thought or not thought,
Because of fear,
Anger,
Confusion.
I ask for forgiveness or I offer myself forgiveness as much as is possible in this moment.
Feeling these words,
Sentiments,
Saddle in the heart.
Sometimes we can sense a spirit of forgiveness underneath the words or beyond the words.
Where we hold ourselves with a loving,
Caring attitude.
Where we forgive ourselves for our mistakes,
Our blindness,
Our reactivity.
And out of that forgiveness comes the intention to not engage in ways that are harmful to ourselves in the future.
I offer myself forgiveness as much as is possible in this moment.
And now calling to mind ways that you may have harmed others.
Ways that you may have caused pain and suffering,
Hurt others through your actions and words,
Thoughts.
Taking a moment just to sense that,
Sense how that feels in the heart.
Doing this without blame,
Without judgment.
And then asking for forgiveness in this way.
For any way that I have caused harm to another,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
By what I have done or what I have not done,
By what I have said or not said,
By what I have thought or not thought,
Because of my own fear,
Anger,
Greed,
Confusion,
Selfishness.
I ask for forgiveness as much as is possible in the moment.
I ask for forgiveness as much as is possible in the moment.
It helps to call to mind specific people or incidents.
It's a gesture of opening the heart,
Acknowledging any wrongdoing,
Any action that was painful.
For any way that I have caused harm to another,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
By what I have done or not done,
By what I have said or not said,
By what I have thought,
Because of fear,
Anger,
Desire,
Confusion,
Selfishness.
I ask for forgiveness as much as is possible in the moment.
Remembering to breathe into the heart,
To release the habit of self-judgment,
Punishing,
And to remember that as we ask for forgiveness,
It also holds within it our intention to not cause harm in the future,
To learn from our actions,
Our mistakes,
The ways that we have hurt others.
And the more we fully let that reality into our heart,
We feel the pain that unites us,
The less likely we will be to cause pain in the future.
For any way that I have caused harm or suffering to another,
Consciously or unconsciously,
Through what I have done or not done,
Through what I have said or not said,
Through my thoughts,
Because of my own blindness,
Fear,
Anger,
Selfishness,
I ask for your forgiveness as much as is possible in this moment.
And lastly,
We turn our attention to the ways that we may have been harmed by others,
Where we were feeling pain or suffering due to the actions of others,
Their words,
Their thoughts.
For any way I may have been harmed by others,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
By thoughts or words or actions,
Because of fear or anger,
Confusion or selfishness,
I offer forgiveness as much as is possible in this moment.
Remembering,
We're not condoning any actions that cause suffering or harm to another,
But we're seeing if we can release the tightness,
The contraction,
The closeness of the heart,
Which simply continues our suffering.
And we also acknowledge there are times and things where it's not possible to forgive,
Or only to forgive a little.
We make the intention to see if we can not reject anybody out of our heart.
For any way I have been harmed by another,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
By their thoughts,
By their words,
By their actions,
By what they said or didn't say,
By what they did or didn't do,
Because of their fear or anger or confusion,
Their greed or selfishness,
I offer forgiveness as much as is possible in this moment.
Staying present to this person,
To the harm caused and the simple intention to forgive,
Using these phrases,
For any way I have been harmed by another,
Knowingly or unknowingly,
Through their thoughts or words or actions,
I offer forgiveness as much as is possible in this moment.
And if you wish to continue the practice,
You can allow other people to come into your heart and mind.
Those that may have harmed you,
Those that you've caused suffering for,
Or other ways that you've harmed yourself.
You can continue to use these phrases that express the deep heart's wish to forgive,
To let go,
To move on,
To learn,
To grow.
And as you bring the meditation to a close,
Remembering to bring this quality into your day,
In all the small and large ways that we may cause harm to ourselves or others or be harmed,
To offer this gesture,
This intention of forgiveness,
So we may live with an open heart.
