Welcome to this compassion and forgiveness meditation.
Just get comfortable where you are,
Slowing down your breathing and grounding with the surfaces that are supporting you.
Breathing in through your nose and out through your nose,
Signaling to your body that you are safe here right now.
That your parasympathetic nervous system which regulates rest and digest can now be the dominant nervous system here.
Often when it comes to forgiveness,
People can tell us to have lots of compassion for the people that we're angry with or disappointed in,
Whatever it may be.
However,
Think of this when there's a young child or maybe even you as a young child.
That God hurt while playing with other children.
Is it helpful to say,
Ah,
But think of the other children,
They had so many good reasons to hurt you.
Can't you have compassion with them?
Or is it more helpful to first attend to the hurt,
Letting it know that you see it,
That you're there to support it.
And then maybe later down the line,
Saying,
Hey look,
Maybe they did this for these reasons and they're not completely evil.
So it's the same thing for us.
And let's tune into this.
When you bring to mind the person and the situation that you want to forgive and let go,
Can you first attend to the part within you that is hurt?
The part within you that needs to be held?
So just connecting to that space.
Really feeling what is here in terms of sensations and emotions.
Not judging anything,
Not pushing anything away.
Just creating that space as the parent does for the child.
Not judging anything,
Not pushing anything away.
Just creating that space as the parent does for the child.
Just being curious what is here.
And breathing into whatever emotions and sensations come up.
Knowing that you're grounded by your breath,
It keeps you safe,
It keeps you anchored.
I see that you're hurt.
In a child,
I see that you're hurt.
And I'm here to hold you,
Not to change you.
Not to change you.
Not to change you.
But to say it's okay,
I hear how you feel.
You've really tried your best,
You did not want to do anything wrong.
You really wish things didn't turn out the way that they did.
But that's beside the point.
It's okay.
Whatever you're feeling can be here.
Maybe I've suppressed,
Maybe I've pushed things away.
But now they can be here.
And I'm not just doing this so that I can forgive the other person.
I'm doing this because I care about the hurt part within me.
And maybe as a positive side effect,
I will forgive the other person and let go of that weight that I've been carrying around with me.
I may have the intention to forgive the other person,
And that's a really beautiful heartfelt thing.
My priority is to be with this hurt part.
So taking a few more deep breaths here.
Really deepening this connection of being held and heard,
Acknowledged,
Embraced.
Whatever is coming up right now is perfect.
We don't need to push anything out,
We don't need to force anything to come to the surface so that we can heal quicker.
Whatever is happening now is what our system is ready for.
How safe we feel.
This can take some time,
And that's okay.
What matters is showing up and being here.
And now ask your inner child this part within you,
If there's anything that it wants to tell you.
And as you acknowledge with love what your inner child is sharing with you,
You now also have the opportunity to share something with your inner child,
With that hurt part within.
That stops you from forgiving because it can't bear being overlooked like this.
Maybe you'd like to tell it how you've been trying your best.
You've not meant to ignore.
Maybe there are some things that you'd like to change going forward.
Building this relationship that you have together to form more trust.
To feel more safe and accepted,
Seen and embraced.
Just taking three more deep breaths,
Just letting go whatever wants to let go right now.
Thanking your body,
Thanking your process,
Thanking this part within you and all parts within you.
Being grateful for the lesson that's within this,
Even if it is incredibly uncomfortable and painful.
Knowing that you will grow and re-establish the connection to this youthful,
Innocent,
Carefree part within you,
Which is going to make your life so much better and joyful.
And as you do that,
More of the weight that you've been carrying around with you in terms of grudges,
Resentment toward other people,
And maybe even yourself,
Can start to release over time.
Just bring your attention back into your body and the surfaces that have been supporting you throughout this.
And they will continue to support you as you go about your life.
Thanking the space that you're in,
The shelter,
The food that's given you the energy to do this,
The water.
And when you're ready,
Come back into awareness of where you are.
Have a beautiful day or night.
Much love.
