Self-Forgiveness The aim of the exercise is to accept more fully some part of yourself that you dislike or perhaps even hate.
To try and become more friendly and accepting of this part.
Even perhaps to the point of seeing that it no longer serves you.
As you accept these parts of yourself they can heal.
The keynote of this exercise is,
Whatever you resist persists.
Whatever you accept will heal.
In this exercise you will be asked at one point to welcome the help that is ever present for all people all the time but which we often forget is there.
This help may be known by many names such as Higher Self,
Spirit,
Soul,
Holy Spirit,
God,
Jesus,
The Goddess.
I will use the term Spirit but please feel free to use whatever name or term you feel most comfortable with.
This symbol represents a presence that is all wise and loving with absolutely no judgment of you.
It simply seeks to correct your errors of thinking and return to your memory the beauty of who you really are.
This presence sees what we call sins as merely nightmares which it seeks to awaken us from.
We'll start this exercise with some relaxation.
So get comfortable,
Lie down if you wish but if you're feeling sleepy it's probably better to sit up.
Take some slow deep breaths.
And now as you breathe in tense both legs and as you breathe out release the tension in the legs.
And now do the same in the buttock area.
As you breathe in tense the buttocks and as you breathe out let them relax.
And now repeat this procedure for the stomach area.
Breathe in,
Tense and then release the tension as you breathe out.
As you breathe in next tense both arms and make fists of the hands and then release.
And now as you breathe in squeeze the shoulder blades together and relax.
Check if your neck is relaxed.
Rotate your head if necessary.
Lastly the muscles of the face.
Breathe in,
Make a face and then relax.
And now silently come backwards from 20 to 1.
Feel yourself becoming more relaxed as you count.
You cannot be healed unless you accept help from outside yourself,
What I'm calling spirit.
We have our work to do to become aware of what needs to be healed and to be willing to release the pain.
But we do need help in that last stage.
Send out a prayer to spirit in which you welcome and invite his presence to be with you.
The help is always there but needs your invitation as it will never act against your free will.
As you send out this prayer of invitation if it helps you can visualize this help coming down as a ray of light shining upon you or as a felt presence that surrounds you now.
Or perhaps some loving being whose hand you hold.
Recall a time when you experienced yourself acting or thinking in a way that you cannot accept.
Something you'd be ashamed to admit to another.
Perhaps it was hatred,
A desire to hurt another.
Or maybe it's something about yourself you dislike.
For example your sadness or weakness,
Cowardness,
Lust,
Pride.
Bring it to mind and use one word to describe it.
If nothing comes to mind ask spirit to show you an aspect of yourself that you need healing.
We will move into the exercise now which will be in three parts.
For the first part I will give you a sentence in which you will include your word such as hatred,
Lust and you will then repeat the sentence over and over to yourself in the silence.
The sentence is this.
I accept this feeling or thought of and here put your word in like anger.
It doesn't have to change or go away.
I accept it.
I'll repeat the sentence.
I accept this feeling or thought of,
Put your word in.
It doesn't have to change or go away.
I accept it.
As you start to repeat the sentence you may feel a lot of resistance.
Just watch this,
Accept it and notice if it becomes easier.
Perhaps you will smile a little at yourself after a few repetitions.
I accept this feeling or thought of.
It doesn't have to change or go away.
I accept it.
Now see the feeling as a small distressed child in front of you.
This is not your inner child but a symbol or picture of this feeling.
The child may well want to talk to you.
It's very important to listen to its story.
It is as if this child has been locked away in a cupboard of your mind and now you're willing to let it out and listen to it.
Try and comfort it.
However it may be angry at you and not want to receive your comfort and reassurance.
But just continue to accept it the way it is.
You've created this child and in some way it serves you.
And now just listen to its story.
Why you have this pain.
Why you have kept this in your life.
The child knows and it will explain why you made it.
How it serves you.
If it will allow it,
Pick up the child.
Hold it in your arms.
You may have felt this against your heart but continue to listen to its story.
If it's been crying you can try and dry its eyes.
It may still refuse you but it may be a little softer towards you now as you've shown that you can listen.
When the child has finished its story ask yourself are you willing to release what this child symbolizes?
Is it time to release this pain from your life?
If that feels appropriate remember the help that's around you.
You may perhaps want to visualize the angels that are there to lovingly take the child from you.
But also you may not be ready yet to release the child.
It may seem such a familiar part of you.
Either decision is fine.
If you're not ready to release the child then see it grow very small and put it into your heart where you can look down upon it with acceptance.
Await in the day when you can release it.
Accept how far you have come in this exercise.
Learn that you can repeat it again at any time.
