Hello,
So grateful to be meditating with you today.
Hopefully you have found a comfortable position.
If not,
Go ahead and pause this and help yourself find a place where you can be still,
With a tall back,
Alert,
And relaxed.
What comes to mind when you think of forgiveness?
Dr.
Sydney Simon explains that forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges,
Harboring resentments,
And nursing unhealed wounds.
It's rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.
What energy do you want to free up and put to better use?
Today I'm not talking about forgiving someone else,
But what if today we focused on forgiving ourselves?
Proverbs 23 verse 7 says,
As we think in our hearts,
So are we.
How often do we do or say something we wish we wouldn't have and then proceed to beat ourselves up,
Saying all sorts of horrible things about ourselves,
Things we would never say to a friend or a loved one?
What's interesting is that studies actually show that shame does not work.
Beating ourselves up,
Saying those negative things,
It actually doesn't work.
When we feel shame,
The centers of the brain having to do with growth and learning actually shut down.
So often,
Shame equates behavior with being.
If I do or don't do something,
Then I'm worthy of love or acceptance.
That's not what Jesus says.
Jesus says,
A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another as I have loved you.
We are to love others and ourselves as he loves us.
He loves us perfectly.
No matter what we've done or not done or said or not said,
He still loves us.
Life is the school of becoming.
What you think either brings faith and momentum or darkness and stagnation.
Forgiveness,
Then,
Is a source of power.
Forgiveness is a gift.
Simply by shifting the way we talk to ourselves,
The things we think,
Can help us accept this gift and gain that power.
So whether there's a huge horrible thing that you have done or just a small experience that you regret or have negative feelings around,
I'd like to invite you to bring something to mind.
Maybe it's a way you reacted negatively to one of your children or maybe it's something you said to a colleague.
Maybe it's even something you did when you were younger.
I'd like to invite you to bring it to mind,
That experience,
And set it out in front of you,
Almost like it's on a stage or on an island.
Just see if you can bring that picture to mind,
That experience,
That moment of what you did or what you said,
And just observe yourself in that situation.
And let's just start by becoming aware that we haven't forgiven ourselves for that.
Just see if you can recognize that you've been beating yourself up about it or feeling shame around it,
Trying to hide those feelings away.
But just see if you can notice those feelings with a curiosity.
Please don't let judgment creep in or shame,
But just become aware of your feelings.
Feel your feelings.
You can simply just state the facts.
I am feeling regret or I wish I would have never gone to that party.
Whatever it is that's coming,
You can simply state it to keep yourself out of judgment and out of shame.
I am feeling sorrow.
I feel whatever it is,
Knowing that it's okay to feel those feelings,
To have those feelings.
And then,
After you have brought that experience to mind and become aware of the feelings associated with this memory,
I would invite you to remember He loves you,
Almost as if someone's putting a warm blanket on you from behind.
See if you can just envelop yourself with that love,
With His love,
As you look at this experience,
Remembering as He has loved you.
You too can love yourself.
Then I'd like to invite you to say to yourself these words,
I am still learning and it's okay.
Look at that experience or situation in front of you and say to yourself,
I am still learning and it's okay.
Then see if as you let go of some of the negative energy around that situation,
That you can feel His love around you,
Trusting that life is a learning experience and realizing that it does you no good to hold on to the negative feelings around that experience.
I am still learning and it's okay.
Take a deep breath in,
Filling yourself with His love.
And as you exhale,
See if you can let go of just a little bit of that regret,
Seeing if the negative feelings around that experience can just kind of fade away as you look at that experience from a learning perspective.
I am still learning and it's okay.
Remember,
Forgiveness is a gift.
Forgiveness is a source of power.
And when we choose self-compassion over shame,
Then these experiences can be for our learning and growth.
