FORGIVENESS
By Dianne Rhodes

Clearing my mind of all thoughts of remorse
I waited on inner peace -
But it did not come.

Releasing my heart from the prongs of pain
I anticipated joy -
But it alluded me.

Wishing away memories too deeply ingrained
I searched for rest -
But it never came.

Believing myself healed of unresolved hurt
I asked God to forgive me -
But my heart remained heavy.

Remembering forgiveness is mine to give
I surrendered and I gave and lo -
I too was forgiven.

Dianne A. Rhodes
copyright 2001.


Forgiveness May Not Be As Difficult As You Think

Forgiveness May Not Be As Difficult As You Think By Lynn Thomas

Have someone you simply cannot forgive?

Their behavior was totally uncalled for; you are so very much the victim; and the very thought of forgiving them makes your blood boil! You earned the right to be peeved and you are not about to let them get off so easy.

Or maybe you have done something so against your behavior that you simply cannot bring yourself to ask for forgiveness. Maybe it's something the other person is not aware of and by asking forgiveness you will bring what you did to light... or maybe you are simply embarrassed or resistant to ask them to forgive you. The ego stands tall and says to not do it.

But let's look at Forgiveness in another light... for forgiveness is the first rung on the ladder of Spiritual Growth.

As a child our family frequented the Jersey Shore. Among the various delights to my senses (sea gulls, briny air, sunshine, the boardwalk, and more), there was one store that I always looked forward to seeing. In it's window was a marvelous machine with pink stretchy stuff being pulled on it.

It was a salt-water taffy machine and it was so fascinating. The machine arm would come up and pull the taffy hard, then rotate down and pull the taffy the other way... creating tremendous stress on the candy as it pulled this way and that. The taffy would get stronger as it rotated, and amazingly as hard as the machine pulled, the taffy would not break.

My father would treat me to my own box of Salt Water Taffy. The taste was wonderful and I would chew the candy with delight... until my jaw would tire and soon the taffy box would be put aside or discarded... till our next visit to the shore... when the cycle would begin again.

Now, let's mentally equate "forgiveness" to the salt water taffy machine.

You have an incident -- whether you need to forgive or need forgiveness. Let's call this incident -- the taffy. Let's call your mind (or Ego mind) the taffy pulling machine.

You mentally pull at the incident this way and that. You pull it up to look at it (the arm pulls forward) and you say, yes this is the incident, and with each viewing it grows stronger within you. Then you push the incident to the back of your mind (the other arm of the machine pulls back) until the next time this incident is triggered in your mind.

The incident grows stronger and stronger with each viewing. And soon you find it stuck in your teeth, turning in your gut and your reaction to it becomes quite over-the-top at times. Or perhaps you stuff it deep away building resentment... stuffing it deeper and deeper till it gets more rigid.

To forgive we do not have to ask for -- or offer --forgiveness, though this action could be a healing step for both parties. What we need to do is throw off the switch and stop tugging. Let it go. Forgive (give up) and release it. Say to yourself "This was in the past and I choose to no longer tug at it."

To forgive someone who has wronged you does not mean that you have to invite them back into your life... but you need to let it go - give it up. Otherwise, it will harden in your gut (ulcers) and in your arteries (heart disease) and will clog your life (lack, disease, reckless behavior, error thinking, unwise decisions).

To forgive, you can sit in a meditative state and forgive each person or incident... or you can do a thorough mental cleansing by heartfully saying:

"I forgive everyone and everything, from the past and present. And everyone from the past and present completely forgives me. I forgive completely. I release and I let go. They are free and I am free."

You will feel better. It may be in an instant... it may take a few times.

When the inner tug begins, see yourself releasing your jaw --or bite on the candy -- and simply let go. Or you can mentally see yourself turning off the machine mid-stroke and let go. In time you can really turn the machine off and let it all go.

But before you can achieve that, there is ONE PERSON that you absolutely must forgive for all wrongs (real or imagined). You must forgive yourself.

Spiritual Teacher, Louise Hay has a wonderful technique for this ... the Mirror Technique. Look into the mirror each day and say, "I love and forgive myself."

At first this may seem awkward, but over time it will get easier -- and you may even find yourself smiling at your reflection. And in that place inside from which there is no longer tugging and pulling, that space shall be filled with Love.

And one day without realizing it, you may find yourself feeling better, smiling at strangers, helping others, enjoying the sunrises and sunsets, the sweet smell of flowers or the song of birds. And you will have realized a load has lifted ... and you can leave the first rung and move on to the second rung of the ladder... Gratitude. Being Grateful for all that you have and will have Now.

Lynn Thomas is a Freelance Writer, Author and Entrepreneur

http://www.ListenToYourAngels.com

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Learning Forgiveness In Your Life - Releases You To Be Successful

Learning Forgiveness In Your Life - Releases You To Be Successful By Richard Rizza

Creating balance in your life and creating a positive mindset is more easily accomplished when you are not wasting good energy on negative thoughts and actions. Learn how to forgive other people and learn how to forgive yourself.

Dwelling on past failures where you have let yourself down or others have let you down robs you of productivity and peace. When you can be forgiving of others and yourself, truly forgiving as in letting it go, you will be able to focus on all things positive.

Be forgiving of others and yourself because forgiveness will be the difference between your happiness or life long self-inflected desolation. No person can experience happiness or joy if they are plagued by thoughts of self-loathing or negative feelings toward others. It is not possible to have positive and negative feelings at the same time. Negative thoughts create stress hormones that have a negative effect on your body.

Each person that struggles with ways to pay their bills, take care of their families or worries about how save their home or business is sufficiently burdened. When you start to operate your life in the spirit of forgiveness, your creativity and energy are renewed. Forgiveness must be practiced especially in the beginning, use positive affirmations like forgiveness confessions.

Develop strategy to incorporate a forgiving attitude in your everyday life. Research ways to help you focus on the positive, the past is a teacher not a punisher. Look beyond how you failed yourself or how others have failed you and focus on the positive aspects of what you learned.

We all make mistakes because none of us is perfect. In fact all of us have issues that hold us back and keep us from making progress in our lives everyday. Adopting an attitude and philosophy of forgiveness does not just apply to the past. If when you interact with people make an allowance for error and subsequent forgiveness. Learn how to carry with you a forgiveness pocket and every time you have a negative thought, put it in the pocket.

Forgiving is not forgetting. Look to the character of the people or person you need to forgive. If there are lifestyle issues where the person practices inappropriate behavior and will always need forgiving, eliminate that person from your life. Being caught in a cycle of constant forgiveness is negative and nothing positive will ever come of it. Forgive and get out.

Constantly dwelling on areas of your life that create feelings of self-loathing will not enhance your self-esteem. Self-loathing is the absence of forgiveness. Some people need to feel that they have been punished for doing something bad or stupid in the past. Knowledge of bad or stupid things is punishment enough and should not be allowed to live for longer than it takes to learn how not to repeat that bad or stupid thing again.

Unfortunately, humans no matter how high the IQ will continue to require forgiveness of self and forgiveness for others. Learning how to forgive yourself does not excuse committing the same offenses repeatedly. In other words if you are practicing behavior that requires the constant forgiveness of yourself, you must learn how to stop the behavior.

There is not one of us alive that does not require forgiveness sometimes by the hour and for sure each day. Correct your thinking, start with yourself and extend the same strategy to others. Make a plan that will facilitate a more balances lifestyle. A lifestyle that has a forgiveness allowance that you call on when you need it may help replace negative thoughts with positive action. Make yourself a list of the negative thoughts that attack you. No one wants to live their life constantly thinking about how they have let themselves down or how others have let them down. Also make a list of the things you want to get accomplished, daily, weekly and annually.

Consult your list when you have negative thoughts and focus instead on something from your want to get accomplished list. Start making an action plan with a goal that will be easily accomplished, the last thing you need is frustration. If you want to loose weight and you are not currently on a diet or exercise regiment, start one, today. Replace the negative with the positive and you will be on the road to forgiving.

Richard Rizza is a Home Business Development Expert and Professional Marketing Trainer for more than 3 years and a top income earner in the Direct Sales Industry. Prior to that he was a Chief Financial Officer for a 400 bed hospital in the Northeast.

He has launched a weekly Ezine where you can learn insider secrets and powerful marketing strategies from the pros to help you explode your home business empire. To sign up for this FREE cutting edge Ezine go to http://thedirectsalesinsider.com, to learn more.

To contact Richard directly go to his personal website http://www.richardrizza.com , there you will also have access to his Blog, subscribe to his blogs RSS feeds today.

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