Forgiveness frees us from ourselves,
From our self-imposed prison.
So as you settle into this meditation,
Just bringing yourself into stillness,
Allow your breath to calm.
And as you focus on your heart,
Allow your breath to bring space into your heart.
Feeling your heart expanding with every inhale,
Softening with every exhale.
And have your awareness anchored at the space around your heart.
So those who are free of this self-imposed prison can in turn free others.
So in this meditation,
We're going to begin with forgiveness of ourselves,
Forgiveness towards ourselves for hurting ourselves.
So notice just for a few moments all the ways in which you have harmed yourself,
Abandoned yourself,
Not loved yourself,
Betrayed yourself,
Treated yourself less than the divine beautiful being that you are.
And allow yourself to sit with those images,
Thoughts,
And feelings for just a moment.
Knowing that all your actions towards yourself came or comes from a place of wounding and hurt.
Knowing that you have everything within you already to release and let go of these.
And saying to yourself silently,
I love you.
I'm sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.
I'm sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
And as you rest in this space of forgiveness,
Just notice what arises.
If you find it challenging or there's resistance to forgive yourself,
Just know that you can keep coming back to this.
Reminding yourself that all of the ways that you have mistreated yourself have come from a place of hurt.
Now we move our attention towards forgiveness to yourself for the harm that you have caused to others.
So notice all the ways that you've harmed others,
Abandoned others.
Notice once again that all these actions,
Words,
Behaviors have come from a place of wounding,
From a place of hurt,
From a place of shame and misunderstanding.
And saying to yourself,
May I forgive myself?
Allow yourself to receive this forgiveness.
Repeating also in your mind,
I love you.
I'm sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.
I'm sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
And if you struggle or find challenge in forgiving yourself right now,
Just state in your mind,
May I forgive myself?
And observe how you can hold yourself with grace and with tenderness in this moment.
Now we move on to forgiveness for others.
For those who have hurt or harmed us,
Betrayed or abandoned us.
Feel the pain you have been carrying from the past and allow yourself to release this burden.
Remember that forgiving others is not condoning their behavior,
Their actions or their words.
You do not need to know you are forgiving them.
It does not mean that you even need to welcome them back into your life.
It simply means you are releasing the shackles of being consumed consciously or unconsciously by the energetic connection of resentment that you've been carrying for so long.
And repeating silently to yourself,
I love you.
I'm sorry.
I forgive you.
Thank you.
I love you.
I'm sorry.
I forgive you.
Thank you.
Once again,
Just allowing yourself to pause here,
Pausing in this space.
And if you met challenges or resistance to forgiveness,
Perhaps just stating,
May I forgive you.
Allowing yourself to come back to this meditation whenever your heart calls,
Whenever you feel a need to release resentments towards yourself or others.
Learning to forgive yourself and others will be one of the biggest blessings you can offer to yourself and offer out into the world.
