Forgiveness breaks all bounds of repression and depression. It liberates the psyche from bondage to the past.
In fact, I would rank forgiveness as the essence of psychotherapy.
As human beings all our limitations arise from our psychic wounding. This wound has been either intentional or accidental, but it drains our vitality. In fact, if it has been grievous enough, it runs our whole life, and ruins it.
We are creatures designed to absorb and transmit love, and when an unloving act is foisted on us, when someone or something casts a shadow on our capacity to love, we bleed.
War zones, jails, and insane asylums are where the wounded gather. This is where society sends its broken souls. Those who regain their capacity to love will emerge from these places of grief. Those who remain bitter will forever be incarcerated in them, whether or not they have been physically freed.
Those who are whole and well are dedicated to their capacity to love. They cannot kill, hurt, injure or maim another because they have not lost their capacity to see themselves as the other. Ideals do not sway them to injure others, no matter how vaulted the traditions in which those ideals are espoused. No ideal transcends their ideal to be of love and service to their brethren.
The cure for overcoming psychic wounding is to forgive. When we forgive, we pardon; we express mercy; and we liberate our own kindness.
When you forgive, you give forth your power of love to heal the image, memory, or person that distorted your self-image and gave you the false belief that you have been diminished, disempowered, and disenfranchised.
It is the wounded who strike out and wound others. It is the shadow of their own pain that they cast upon others. It is their unlovingness that they extend out of their crippled psyche. They become conduits for the poison that they themselves despise.
All forms of malice, ill-will and cruelty, euphemized in the name of some lofty ideal, come forth from those who speak in the names of righteousness; the crucifixion of Christ could not have come about except for the distorted sense of what is right by the persecutors.
If an act is unloving, no ideal can justify it, for to wound another is to wound ourselves. We create pathos in our wake. We spill grief before us.
How to forgive the unforgivable? How to release the sword of ill-will thrust into our hearts? How to break free of the resentment that has bound our tormentors these many years?
You do it by simply understanding that to for give is a healing for you. It is breaking the karmic bonds. It is an act of self-loving. Forgiveness heals pity, brings reconciliation to that which is broken within, and makes healing possible.
An act of forgiveness can be silent. In fact, it has little to do with the other person. They may or may not feel the psychic release as you drop your smoldering anger, nourished over more years than you care to remember.
When you forgive, you release...you release yourself. You release your attachment to pain. You release your aversion to the act done to you. And when you do this, something magical happens. You set yourself free.
It is never about whether the other person or event deserves your forgiveness. It is about your going free from your own web of negativity. When you forgive, you staunch the bleeding. When you forgive, you open up your heart and regain your capacity to love. And when you learn to love, your life opens up like a glorious dream. The question, ultimately, is never whether you should or should not forgive...instead the question is always this: do you deserve to be happy right now by letting it go.
Resource Box
Saleem Rana got his masters in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Ca., 15 years ago and now resides in Denver, Colorado. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world. discover how to create a remarkable life
Copyright 2005 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.
move in cleaning service Glencoe ..I was walking down the street the other day, walking... Read More
"Self-Actualization" is the process of making our self "actual." Our... Read More
Greetings Divine Ones, I am going to ask you a... Read More
Connect with Your GodDo you at times, feel fearful, depressed,... Read More
Years ago no matter where I lived, whether a house... Read More
Not going to church has the advantage of having free... Read More
I was in the bank's vault. The Brink's armored truck... Read More
The second verse of Amy Grant's song, "Angels Watching Over... Read More
John Eldredge writes in his book Waking the Dead, "God... Read More
(Channelled)Roy, this morning in "Roy Bits," you tried to write... Read More
I have sent out hundreds of press releases for my... Read More
Excerpt from The Journey That Never Was: a guide to... Read More
Everyone is busy nowadays. It's hard to find time for... Read More
'O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom... Read More
My favorite scripture is Roman's 8:28. "And we know that... Read More
Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the... Read More
In the golfing world, yesterday may have been one of... Read More
In the movie "A Beautiful Mind" John Nash (played by... Read More
Angels, those divine beings of love and light, are here... Read More
The gate of every year is the begining of that... Read More
Paul's encouragement to the Philippians is also our encouragement. Consider... Read More
"We're one, but we are not the same."-Bono, U2Once I... Read More
Being a Christian does not exempt us from having to... Read More
Healing is a special gift that any human being can... Read More
1. The name Michael means, "Who is like God". In... Read More
disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ..Lately, I have been asked a lot of questions in... Read More
As I sit here and ponder my existence my heart... Read More
I thought I would draw this article up as a... Read More
Military personnel at a U.S. prison in Guantanamo, Bay, Cuba... Read More
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on... Read More
With excitement and anticipation I jumped on a plane last... Read More
At any given moment, there are 'things' occurring within the... Read More
When we feel that something has gone wrong and are... Read More
Rose Ann Schwab is an internationally and world renowned professional... Read More
The myths of man have been with us throughout time.... Read More
Catch the express or the super fast bullet train. If... Read More
WOW ... what a question. But today, while I was... Read More
An Illuminatus Speaks:You will have to decide if this Illuminatus... Read More
It has long been surmised that emotional trauma can lead... Read More
Hiking is gaining popularity within the African-American community. We're beginning... Read More
THE GNOSTICS, ESSENES AND THE 'OCCULT':Throughout this book I have... Read More
Who among us really understands the chakras? For all that... Read More
The following fragment was found in Qumran along with the... Read More
Do you want victory in your life? Do you have... Read More
In Habakkuk, the prophet cries out in a lament complaint... Read More
Spiritual healing of the sick in Christ has many Christians... Read More
Most forms of psychotherapy I know either tries to help... Read More
The human nature means the soul and the body. A... Read More
I still remember the scene vividly. I was getting out... Read More
While it isn't my intention to insult anyone (Alright, for... Read More
Spirituality |