Space For Inner Peace - A Buddhist Forgiveness Meditation

This beautiful Buddhist forgiveness meditation creates space for peace - at first with yourself. This wide and non-judgmental open space is the only place, where forgiveness for others can grow.

Feeling everything coming up through the three steps, you sow a precious seed of peace - inside and therefore also outside: The peace we feel within ourselves is a treasure and the greatest contribution we can make to peace in this world. Namaste.

Music: Ashot Danielyan

Transcript

Hello,

And thank you for being here and taking the time for this meditation.

This forgiveness meditation loves to support you in creating space for inner peace and therefore also peace on the outside.

And you already deserve credit for this.

You can't go wrong.

I am Kaitana and I will guide you through this meditation step by step and will always take breaks so you have enough time.

If you wish you can also get a journal to make your notes,

Write down memories that might pop up during the meditation and of course you can repeat this meditation as often as you wish to find more peace and lightness and let go of heavy emotions.

So let's begin.

Find a meditation posture that is comfortable for you,

Either lying down or sitting.

If you feel safe enough,

Close your eyes.

Feel the ground beneath you that carries and supports you.

If you are sitting,

Straighten your spine relaxed towards the sky as if a delicate thread is pulling your body upwards.

Relax your shoulders,

Perhaps it helps if you roll them a little back and forth.

Loosen your jaw.

Get in touch with your breath and imagine how you draw it deeply out of your pelvis,

Through your stomach,

Up through your chest and gently breathe out through your nose.

Repeat this a few more times at your own pace.

Draw your breath deeply out of your pelvis,

Through your stomach,

Up through your chest and breathe out through your nose.

Thoughts that want to distract you can simply pass by like clouds in the sky.

Just draw your attention gently and lovingly back to your breath.

Maybe you can connect with yourself with a warm and curious attitude for what might come up.

You may imagine how your heart expands a little more and a little more as you breathe and you let this warmth and goodwill shine brighter and brighter like a light and find yourself in a more open,

Non-judging inner space as best as you can do at this moment.

Continue to breathe calmly and deeply,

Deeply from the pelvis through the whole body.

Now let a situation appear before your inner eye with which you are at odds with yourself and cannot find peace.

Perhaps you reproach yourself things that you regret today,

Perhaps a decision that you now know had negative consequences or a reaction to another person that torments you,

Perhaps a habit,

A characteristic or a pattern that you can't get rid of even though you try hard.

This can be a small everyday matter or something very big for you.

Choose the situation that comes to your mind first.

I will pause now.

Take your time.

If you need more time,

Just stop the meditation as long as you wish.

Once you have found your situation,

Give space to the feelings that arise.

They all may be there.

Now lovingly address yourself with the following words and if you wish,

Place your hands on your heart.

If I have knowingly or unknowingly harmed myself through carelessness or my own blindness,

If I have harmed myself,

Hurt or judged myself,

Made myself small or treated myself disrespectfully,

I am now opening up as wide as I can to forgive myself in this present moment.

And if I can't yet completely forgive myself right now,

I forgive myself that too,

Trusting that I always did my best with what I had and always will do my best and find peace.

Keep breathing deeply as I repeat these words twice more and turn to yourself like you would to a loving friend.

If I have knowingly or unknowingly harmed myself through carelessness or my own blindness,

If I have harmed myself,

Hurt or judged myself,

Made myself small or treated myself disrespectfully,

I am now opening up as wide as I can to forgive myself in this present moment.

And if I can't yet completely forgive myself right now,

I forgive myself that too,

Trusting that I always did my best with what I had and always will do my best and find peace.

If I have knowingly or unknowingly harmed myself through carelessness or my own blindness,

If I have harmed myself,

Hurt or judged myself,

Made myself small or treated myself disrespectfully,

I am now opening up as wide as I can to forgive myself in this present moment.

And if I can't yet completely forgive myself right now,

I forgive myself that too,

Trusting that I always did my best with what I had and always will do my best and find peace.

Finding peace and openness with allowing yourself to make mistakes,

Because we are all human.

Now let a situation appear in your mind's eye where you find it difficult to forgive another person.

I will now give you time to find your situation.

Now with as much openness as you are able to feel at the moment,

Look at the person in front of you and let the following words sink into you.

If you wish,

Let your hands rest on your thighs with your palms facing upwards in a giving gesture because you want to give forgiveness.

If this person has knowingly or unknowingly harmed me through carelessness or their blindness,

I open up for forgiveness to the extent that I am ready to do so now.

If I cannot forgive at the moment,

I forgive myself for that too,

Trusting that my very wish to do so will plant a seed of peace.

Breathe deeply as I repeat these words twice more.

All feelings that may come up are allowed to be there.

Be mindful of yourself and take exactly the steps that are possible in the moment.

If this person has knowingly or unknowingly harmed me through carelessness or their blindness,

I open up for forgiveness to the extent that I am ready to do so now.

If I cannot forgive at the moment,

I forgive myself for that too,

Trusting that my very wish to do so will plant a seed of peace.

If this person has knowingly or unknowingly harmed me through carelessness or their blindness,

I open up for forgiveness to the extent that I am ready to do so now.

If I cannot forgive at the moment,

I forgive myself for that too,

Trusting that my very wish to do so will plant a seed of peace.

Keep breathing and be loving towards yourself no matter what might come.

All may be there.

Continue to breathe calmly while you imagine a situation in which you have hurt someone.

Perhaps you were able to ask for forgiveness.

Because this is no longer possible and torments us,

I will now give you time to find your situation.

Imagine the person in your mind from whom you wish forgiveness and let the following words sink into you.

If you wish,

Keep your hands in place with your palms facing upwards and realize how closely receiving and giving are connected.

If I have knowingly or unknowingly harmed this person through carelessness or blindness,

I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart and accept it to the extent that I am able to do this.

If this person does not want to forgive me,

I forgive them and find peace in my honest willingness.

If I have knowingly or unknowingly harmed this person through carelessness or blindness,

I now ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart and accept it to the extent that I am able to do this at the moment.

If this person does not want to forgive me,

I forgive them and find peace in my honest willingness.

If I have knowingly or unknowingly harmed this person through carelessness or blindness,

I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart and accept it to the extent that I am able to do this at the moment.

If this person does not want to forgive me,

I forgive them and find peace in my honest willingness.

If you wish,

Place your hands on your heart now again,

Continue to breathe calmly and notice your feelings,

Perhaps sadness,

Perhaps relief,

Peace,

A bit more goodwill towards yourself and all people.

Perhaps you may realize a little more how much indeed we all are connected.

Maybe you will also realize with a smile that we all are only human and sometimes hurt each other out of our blindness.

Imagine this warm forgiving feeling now expanding from your heart through your breath into each of your cells,

Like a warm nourishing light until each of your cells glows peacefully like fireflies.

With each breath imagine how this light expands and flows through your body.

Acknowledge now that you have sown a seed of peace that you can now nurture until it becomes a strong plant.

The peace we feel within ourselves is a great treasure and the greatest contribution we can make to peace in this world.

Breathe in and out deeply a few more times,

Feel the ground beneath you,

Move your toes,

Slowly come back to the here and now.

And when you are ready open your eyes and take this peace with you.

Namaste.

Reviews

This arrived at the most spiritual time of my life. I am forgiving my mother for years of abuse and torment. Planting the seed of forgiveness to grow peace in my life.

Very helpful and I feel very peaceful ☺️ thank you 🙏

Thank you very much! It was just what I needed today! 💕

The repetition worked well for me, like a mantra. This meditation also aligned beautifully with the Buddhist teachings. Thank you.

Very calming and peaceful addition to my practice, thank you.

This is a beautiful meditation that helped me to forgive myself as well as others and to also ask others for forgiveness for any past mistake or actions.

What a beautifully guided pathway to forgiveness of self and others that leads to letting go of the struggle in a peaceful way. Thank you for this offering. Namaste...🕊️😌🕊️

This is an exceptional practice. These words touched my heart at the perfect time. Thank you 🙏🏻 so much for creating this beautiful heartfelt forgiveness practice with us. I will definitely be returning to it. 💓💓💓

A gentle pathway to the inner peace of forgiveness with a metta-like direction.
Feeling much gratitude and peace.

I found this really helpful for forgiveness, which I’m working on this year in the hope of creating more peace in my world. Thank you so much. 🙏🏻💚