Forgiveness Meditation

Engage in the practice of letting go of past judgments you have harbored against yourself and others. Do it as many times as you need to sense the peace that comes from letting go. It was recorded for my book, The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution, and my Eat for Life class participants. Enjoy!

Transcript

Here are the instructions for a forgiveness meditation practice.

Forgiveness practice can guide you to the understanding that all can be released and all is well in this moment.

Grieving and letting go of the past is an essential part of moving forward,

Of truly knowing you don't need to be any different than you are,

Do anything to be better,

Or look any different.

Forgiveness is not something that can be forced and you don't have to feel a particular way when you do this exercise.

Let the power of your intention and your willingness to even try it at all be enough to start.

Start by finding a comfortable sitting position and bring your attention to your body as a whole and the breath within the body.

Be aware of the sensations in your body from head to toe to fingertip.

As you scan the body,

Imagine tension leaving with each out-breath and light and energy coming in with each in-breath.

Let your mind and body relax.

After a moment or two of settling into your body and your breath,

Let your attention move to your heart center.

Breathe in and out gently from the center of your chest,

Your heart center.

Feel the energy of your beating human heart.

Take your time.

There is no need to hurry.

When your mind wanders,

Keep coming to the breath at the center of your chest.

Feel how precious it is to be alive and breathing in this moment.

Feel how precious you are at your very core.

And offer yourself these words.

Breathe them into your heart and let them infuse your body with forgiveness.

I forgive myself for all of the ways that I have been less than loving toward myself.

I forgive myself for all of the ways that I have been less than loving toward myself.

And let your past unkind and destructive thoughts and actions come into your awareness and release them one by one.

On the other side of the coin,

Let the things you wish you would have done and said but didn't come into your awareness and release them one by one.

Tell yourself,

I am so sorry for the hurt and pain that I have caused.

And in this moment,

I accept,

Love,

And forgive myself.

I am so sorry for the hurt and pain that I have caused.

And in this moment,

I accept,

Love,

And forgive myself.

It might feel good to place your hands over your heart center.

Feel the warmth and softness of your human body.

Feel the beating of your human heart.

Feel your common humanity with all people that seek understanding and forgiveness.

Breathe,

Relax,

And prepare yourself for the next phrase.

I forgive others for all of the ways they have been less than loving toward me.

I forgive others for all of the ways they have been less than loving toward me.

Then let the people whom you have not forgiven come to mind.

You do not have to condone the words they said or the actions they took which have been painful and hurtful to you.

But as each person or circumstance comes to mind,

Say to him or her,

I release you,

Your words,

And your actions that have hurt me.

I know that if I hold on to this hurt,

I will only be hurting myself.

In the service of my healing and well-being,

I forgive you.

I release you,

Your words,

And your actions that have hurt me.

I know that if I hold on to this hurt,

I will only be hurting myself.

In the service of my healing and well-being,

I forgive you.

Take another moment to gently breathe in and out through the center of your chest,

The heart center.

Feel the heart from which all love and forgiveness arise.

Let your mind and body relax.

Breathe out any tension and breathe in light and energy into the heart and the rest of your body.

Breathe relax and prepare yourself for the next phrase.

I forgive myself for all of the ways that I have been less than loving towards others.

I forgive myself for all of the ways that I have been less than loving towards others.

Let the past unkind and destructive thoughts and actions you have directed towards others come into your awareness.

As each person comes to mind whom you may have harmed,

Imagine there is a stream of light connecting his or her heart and yours.

Tell each person,

I am so sorry for the hurt and pain that I may have caused you.

And in this moment,

I ask for your forgiveness.

I am so sorry for the hurt and pain that I may have caused you.

And in this moment,

I ask for your forgiveness.

Take a few more moments to sit quietly with yourself,

Your breath,

And your beating heart.

Many different emotions may arise.

Let them wash through the openness of your heart center.

Breathe with them and let them move,

Shift,

And flow naturally.

And when you are ready,

Opening your eyes and taking in the sights of the room.

This is not something that happens just once,

But many times.

Peeling off the layers of emotions that may have hardened over the years requires patience and trust.

Give them time to soften and release.

Make forgiveness a part of your regular meditation or reflection for the day.

Reviews

Fantastic! Odd abrupt ending, but really helpful and evocative practice.

This was wonderful, thank you! Exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate having just your voice and a clear recording. I will be doing this again! With gratitude and light. 🙏🏼

Dear Lynn, thank you very much for this meditation! It was very helpful, most def need to work on with this. Thank you and I hope this finds you well!!!

Really helpful. Abrupt ending though

Again, many thanks.

Very helpful- made me realise how tough I am on myself. Thank you.

Wow, that was surprisingly powerful for me and I feel a true sense of freedom from the resentment that had built up. I highly recommend this. I will be implementing this one regularly to keep my heart soft.

Much needed meditation !! Thank you🙏🙏

What a lovely meditation! I can feel your heart and soul and every word you speak! Amazing meditation / thank you!

A difficult but helpful meditation to do. One I may revisit.

Thhank you. Very powerful I will need to do this many times but I have stated.

Thank you for opening a door.

Thank you. I really needed to hear your message today. 🙏❤️

I loved this meditation 🌸🐬🕊thank you

This meditation is so good I had to listen to it twice row!

Will need to do this a few hundred times more I think!

Beautiful 🙏🏻Thank you✨💫🦋🌟

Exactly what I needed in this moment

Thank you for this purposeful meditation. Wise words indeed.