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.
apartment cleaning near Highland Park ..Do you go to God seeking His will for your... Read More
If you spend a hundred bucks and buy the right... Read More
You have everything you need: a miraculous body, a phenomenal... Read More
"What does it profit a man to have gained the... Read More
Prayer. It's the foundation of a Christian mom's life. Why?... Read More
I was recently asked how I interpreted the Mayan and... Read More
Sometimes, in traveling a path, we discover a short-cut, and... Read More
Liam says to Joe; "where is your God now, when... Read More
Some of my greatest teachers have taught me that faith... Read More
Acknowledgement of our need of God and reliance upon Him... Read More
The Many Waters explores the universe and sifts through the... Read More
"Let me take you down to a town called Paradise."Van... Read More
As I sit here and ponder my existence my heart... Read More
Even though our lives progressively moves forward on occasion it... Read More
An interesting question arose within a poetry workshop I attended... Read More
I can't boast about my culinary skill, because I just... Read More
There is a chronology of events from creation to the... Read More
As we proceed further into the 21st century there is... Read More
Iktomi:Another and somewhat longer term correspondent of mine is a... Read More
We know that David did much to stabilize the Kingdom... Read More
I don't know of anyone who really liked taking tests... Read More
In Corrogue the air is chill and the frost is... Read More
You are a Creative Worker:God carries on creative work through... Read More
One thing that Jesus was NOT - was flashy. When... Read More
What does the story of your life say about you?... Read More
cleaning lady near Arlington Heights ..To understand the nature of esoteric and occult secrets it... Read More
Unconditional love means unconditional freedom. Love and freedom are two... Read More
There is an inherent generosity in the human spirit to... Read More
Seems that everyone who writes to me signs their letters... Read More
Imagine yourself marooned on a vast deserted island. You have... Read More
To find out how psychic you are, try answering the... Read More
I had visions of my daughter for about five years... Read More
Ok, let's start with the amazing story of Robbie and... Read More
Have you heard the saying that; You have a friend... Read More
Whether we admit it or not, we operate by emotion.... Read More
Meeting someone so attractive, so beautiful. Your heart beats like... Read More
Have you ever wondered how much faith you really have?... Read More
The Bible tells us that we must be led by... Read More
I thought I would draw this article up as a... Read More
Let's say that you have discovered your purpose but you... Read More
I was originally brought up Catholic, at the insistence of... Read More
The following article is an exploration of the Spring holiday... Read More
In His graciousness, God has blessed us to enter a... Read More
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, assemble... Read More
Can two walk together unless they have agreed to do... Read More
Life is like an obstacle course in which we run... Read More
Does God care if I marry a gentile?Even as I... Read More
1. The name Michael means, "Who is like God". In... Read More
Attract and hold your family at home with some unique... Read More
There I was living in a tiny bedroom in my... Read More
Spirituality |