It can be hard to forgive people who you think have wronged you.
And if relieving yourself of the burden of carrying that hurt and the pain and the grudge is something you desire,
It can take time to let it go.
To process it.
I invite you to settle in to a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down.
Closing your eyes or softly gazing them downward.
Taking a nice deep breath in,
Filling up the belly.
And a slow exhale out.
And again,
A nice deep breath in.
And exhaling.
And one more time.
Nice big deep breath in,
Without any push or any strain.
And as you exhale,
Sending relaxation throughout the body.
And as you settle into your comfortable position,
Inviting all of your muscles to relax.
Just sinking into the surface beneath you.
Feeling aware of your arms resting by your side or feeling sensations of them touching parts of your body.
And feeling them get heavier as they relax further.
Feeling the back fully relax and let go of tension.
Feeling the surface beneath you support you.
And just allowing the body to melt into that surface.
While at the same time remaining alert.
And again,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Bringing to mind a setting in which you feel at peace.
Visualizing that setting.
It could be in the midst of a beautiful luscious green meadow.
It could be a walk along a winding stream.
It could be floating in a pool or in the ocean.
What brings you peace?
Continuing to breathe in peace and calm.
Feeling to allow the body to further relax on each inhale and exhale.
Simply enjoying yourself in the moment.
And as you notice thoughts floating by in your mind,
You notice a memory.
A memory of someone close to you that did something to you that hurt you.
Something you have not forgotten nor forgiven.
And for this practice,
That memory would not be something traumatic.
Start with something small as part of the practice.
And if you're ready,
Just let that memory float by.
Effortlessly letting it go.
Taking the sting out of the memory.
Forgiving what happened and letting it drift away.
As it drifts away,
Continuing to ride with the natural flow of the breath.
Feeling the calm and peace of the environment you're visualizing yourself in.
Perhaps even feeling the release of the burden you've been carrying.
That came with holding on to that memory.
And that came with holding on to the emotions associated with it.
Sensing how this feels in your body.
It may be that this is simply an introduction to the concept of letting it go.
Or maybe that you feel like you've let some of it go,
But still have some work to do.
And that's just fine.
Or perhaps you're ready to connect with that person in another way in forgiveness.
Or reconnect with that person in forgiveness.
And noticing what that feels like in the body.
Continuing to breathe in and out.
Breathing in.
And breathing out with a slow exhale.
Breathing in and out.
In and out.
And whenever you're ready,
Letting go of the image in your mind.
Extending your awareness to your surroundings.
And slowly opening your eyes.
And reflecting on this meditation on reconnecting in forgiveness.
