A Course In Miracles Forgiveness Exercise In 2 Parts

This is a two-part exercise. You need a pencil and paper for the first part. Draw a cross on it. What you do next is explained on the audio. The information you learn in the first part of this exercise is taken into the second part, which is a guided forgiveness exercise. The two exercises together help you forgive another and find peace.

Transcript

Okay, So for the start of this exercise, There's two parts to it. I'd like you to think about someone you know quite well, Someone who there's things you appreciate about them, And also qualities that you dislike, Things get on your nerves. And I'd like you to sort of draw this box, You know, With these lines horizontal and vertical. And in the top left, The qualities I like about, And then put the name in, Say Jim R, And over here are the qualities I dislike about Jim. And then you list, As many as you can think of, I'll give you a couple of minutes in quiet now, Just to write down, Doesn't have to be these of course, The things you like about this person. And on the right are the things where you lose your peace. It's not just an observation about the person, You actually get upset. So again, It doesn't have to be these, But just write down, See if you can get at least three, Four, Five. I'll give you a couple of minutes to do that. Thank you. Bye. Good. So I hope you got a few there. Now once you go back to the top of the list, And cross out the name in both sides, And write your own name there. I know it's a rotten trick, Isn't it? So on the left are the things that you like about yourself. Time to celebrate. Now you may have these stronger or weaker in you. I mean, If you chose Jesus as the person you have trouble with, Then you'll find that you have some of the qualities of Jesus, But obviously quite not as strong as him. But the workshop exercises is about the right hand column. These are the things that in some form are inside you. You don't like them, You deny they're there, And you project them out. Now your ego's may rush in immediately and say, Well, I don't like John because he smokes, And I don't smoke. But what happens when you're around John and he's smoking, And you don't speak up, You feel perhaps John doesn't value you. And does that mirror your lack of self-worth? Perhaps Mary is an angry person, Always shouting, And you've never shouted in your life. But do you have anger? Is it a quiet anger? Is it never expressed that way? If someone upsets you, Do you not speak to them for two days? That's the way your anger works. Or you might say, Well, John's a beast, And I'm not a beast. But are there bits of your body that you find rather fat and you don't like and you feel guilty about? Take a moment with that list on the right. Can you see that in some way it refers to yourself? You see it has to if it upsets you. It's different if you're like Jesus and says, Well, Mary, You're a hateful person. It's just an observation. And Mary's hate does not upset Jesus. But if it upsets you, Then it's your issue. It's your forgiveness. So let's take a moment with that right hand side, And if you've got questions, You can bring them up. This is an exercise the ego hates, Of course. Which means it's a good exercise. For some people, The left hand column is the hardest. These are the things that are positive about you. And you may have such a negative self-image, You say, I can't believe I have these qualities. It can't be true, Michael. If you recognise and appreciate them, To some degree, You do have them. Well, That's also homework. If you want to look at that another time. But what we're going to do now is we'll move on to a short forgiveness exercise. And then I'll pair you up afterwards for those impairs, Who want to be impairs, And give you a chance to share about it. So what I'd like you to do now is just relax, Close your eyes. Just take a few deep breaths, If you'd like to mute all your microphones. So we'll start with a few deep breaths. And then take in a deep breath and tense all the muscles in your arms, In your leg, In your body. And as you breathe out, Just let it all go. Become aware of any sounds around you, What you're sitting on, The pressure, Your feet on the floor. You're moving into the now moment. And now let's take that person that was in the right hand column. See if you can imagine him or her standing in front of you. Feel them there, If you're not a good visualiser, Like they're in the room with you. And now see this beautiful light pouring down onto them. See the light surround this person as a blessing. And see this person start to smile. This lovely light is helping to heal them, To make them smile. Remember they're another prodigal son on the same journey as you, All making these seeming mistakes. And as this light grows around them, See the person happy and perhaps even laughing. They may not have felt like this for a long time. And now say to this person, I have no right to say, You must be different. I have no right to say, You must be different. This is acceptance. And now pray for this person to be healed and find peace. The same healing and the peace you want. Send out your prayer now. Invite your guides to be with you. Hold your hand, Hold their hand. Now, If you can say to this person, Thank you for being a mirror and showing me I have behaviour similar to yours. Thank you for being a mirror and showing me I have behaviour similar to yours. And now lastly, If you can, Go over to that person and give that person a hug. If that's not possible, That's okay. Take what time you need to finish the exercise. And when you're ready, Just come back into the room.