The Power of Forgiveness

When it comes to fulfilling your goals and dreams in life, most people will never get there because they focus their attention on incidents that took place in the past. It is human nature to live in the past – or the future – and we all could benefit greatly from living in the present, because that is where forgiveness actually takes place.

Forgiveness is a subject that many of us have completely either downplayed or forgotten entirely. Somehow, we really don’t know how to deal with it. Some people are lucky and they learn to forgive early on in life, but for most people, being unable to forgive leaves a wound that re-opens every time an incident happens in their lives that triggers something similar to what caused the wound in the first place.

Forgiveness has a bad aftertaste for most people. They associate it with being weak. After you finish reading this book you will have come to the understanding that it is quite the opposite. Forgiveness is an act of maturity, bravery and intelligence; most importantly, it is a direct connection to your heart. In essence, it is love itself.

For many, the topic of forgiveness has religious connotations. Some religions have actually been concerned with the philosophy and practice of forgiveness since their beginnings. Many people have been helped. However, as religions have evolved, there is often a shift from the inner Truth of the heart to the outer necessity of conforming to social standards and protocols.

Forgiveness in these cases has usually turned into a set of rules, a methodology of doctrine that no longer serves to speak directly to the heart. Indeed, many people have left their religions as they have come to an understanding that universal spirituality is replacing doctrine. This opens the door to a world-wide agreement and alignment of what is essential spiritually for every human being.

Forgiveness is one of the most important tasks we can undertake in our lives. Without forgiveness we are stuck in the past with little hope for the future. Even worse, we are stuck with our own resentment and anger for an entire lifetime.

There are many people that are, for whatever reasons, not willing to forgive, and they take their blame to the grave. They never learned how to forgive, and so were powerless to deal with their resentment, anger and blame towards themselves and others. The key to forgiveness is this: one must be willing to learn how to forgive in order to reap the benefits of its operation in one's life. It's the first step, and it is vital to the entire process.

We can choose our actions and by executing our choices, we change our own reality and that of others. But our choices may not always be in alignment with the choices of others. This simply leads to conflicts. It is part of human nature to experience these conflicts; otherwise we would never learn a thing and never grow up. Maturity in this way comes from learning how to eliminate conflict within ourselves as we experience conflict with others. The conflict is canceled out, within and without, and the stage is set for true forgiveness.

You can learn to forgive and you can learn why forgiveness is easier than you think. When you come to understand how an incident in your life causes you to be resentful and angry, you can switch your behaviour almost like a light switch. Instead of continuing to blame, you can start the forgiveness process.

If you want to experience true happiness in your life, look no further on the outside. Happiness is achieved internally, not externally. You can achieve true happiness by eliminating any stories you keep alive from the past that may haunt you. You can confront these ghosts directly and when you face them, they evaporate into nothing – they simply disappear and you will no longer be haunted by your past, you will be more fully present in the now.

Wishing you the power to forgive and move on with your life.