Hi,
This is Padma Gordon and today on Living From the Heart I would like to offer you a meditation on forgiveness.
And to begin this meditation I'm going to read to you from my new book which is called Being Together – Practical Wisdom for Loving Yourself and Your Partner.
So,
With that,
Let's begin.
It is not enough to know that love and forgiveness are possible.
We have to find ways to bring them to life.
– Jack Kornfield In the vast tapestry of being human,
Threads of forgiveness and generosity are intimately woven together.
They are bonded in love.
When we forgive,
We free ourselves from the fetters of anger and hurt.
We make room for being alive.
In order to free yourself from hurt,
You need to move toward it.
But moving toward hurt is usually not our first impulse.
No one likes to feel pain.
When you are courageous enough to open to what doesn't feel good,
You shift your way of interacting with the hurt.
The pain no longer has power over you,
And you can breathe again.
Paradoxically,
Moving toward your own pain allows you to choose love over hurt and freedom over entanglement so your heart can open to loving.
So,
Letting your eyes close and finding a comfortable position for your body with a long spine.
And now let's breathe together.
Taking generous breaths.
Every breath takes you inside.
Connecting you to your heart.
To your own generous heart.
That's right.
Your primary relationship is with yourself.
So breathe.
Breathe.
And with every breath,
Forgive yourself.
Forgive yourself.
You are lovable.
You are worthy.
And every breath can take you deeper and deeper into self-forgiveness.
And self-forgiveness is an act of radical self-love,
Which in my experience can be profoundly healing.
Profoundly healing.
When you forgive yourself,
You open your heart,
Set aside your judgments,
And release internal arguments about how you could have,
Should have,
Or might have done things differently.
The reality is,
If you could have,
You would have.
You responded in the best way you are able in the moment.
You are human.
We are all human.
We make mistakes.
And when mistakes happen,
Which they will,
Practice self-compassion.
Self-compassion.
And self-forgiveness.
Self-love.
Self-soothing.
These,
My friends,
Open the doorway to freedom.
They are a way of freeing yourself from everything that's between you and truly loving.
When you forgive yourself,
You feel resourced and calm.
So breathe right now.
Notice how it is to breathe this breath of self-forgiveness.
Yes,
Accept yourself as you are because acceptance plays a pivotal role in forgiveness.
Forgive yourself for the big things and the little things.
Rest into acceptance.
Every breath is a breath of self-forgiveness.
Forgive yourself for the times you didn't show up the way you might have liked to.
Forgive yourself for moments when you blurted things out unconsciously.
We all do it.
Open wider with every breath.
Forgive yourself.
And right now,
Let us bask in the warm light of self-forgiveness together.
I will hold the space.
Breath by breath.
Forgiving yourself.
For you are lovable.
You are lovable and worthy.
So breathe it in.
And I will call you back in a little while.
We can rest here.
And ever so gently,
Bring yourself back into the room.
That's right.
And place one hand in another,
Feeling your hands.
These are the hands of self-forgiveness,
Loving hands of self-forgiveness.
And give them a little squeeze.
Now every time you squeeze your hands,
Feel how self-forgiveness can echo through your body,
Reverberating,
Washing you clean.
And taking a nice breath,
And gently allow your eyes to open and see through fresh eyes.
See through fresh eyes,
The eyes of self-forgiveness,
The eyes of love,
The eyes of love.
