Self-Forgiveness (No Music)

Welcome,

Everyone.

I invite you to close your eyes.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in.

Exhale through the mouth.

If you can move your body,

Roll your shoulders up and back a few times.

And then relax them back and down.

So the heart is more open,

Chest is more open.

Sit tall.

You can have the hands on the thighs or the knees,

Maybe even turn the palms up in this receptive posture if that feels OK.

And just follow the body's breath.

Slow,

Deep breathing in and out.

Slow,

Deep breathing in and out.

Feel a space between the teeth.

Allow the jaw to release.

Let the muscles of the face start to soften and relax.

Slow,

Deep breathing.

Feel the weight of the body,

The shoulders drop back and down.

Bring your hand to your heart.

Let the body release.

Let the body release.

Bring your hand to your heart,

This gesture of kindness.

And just let your hand rest here.

You're not trying to change yourself or fix yourself or the situation.

You're just being a breath of kindness.

And allow a situation to come to mind where you're having difficulty forgiving yourself and become aware of it.

You don't need to go so deeply into the replaying of the story that you start to get lost in it or lost in the emotions.

Just let it come to your awareness,

Maybe like you're watching a movie.

Just see it there.

And now notice how your body is responding to you thinking of this situation.

Notice where your body is holding tension or pain in relationship to this situation where you're having difficulty forgiving yourself.

And again,

Breathe deeply.

Notice if there is a sense of resisting the pain or discomfort inside.

And as much as you can,

Just let it be.

Maybe you start to imagine that you're breathing kindness or light into this discomfort,

Not trying to make it go away,

Not trying to make it happy or nice.

Just allowing it to be here with this breath of kindness.

And now for a moment,

Recognize that you are able to watch these feelings inside.

You are witnessing the experience in your body.

You are an observer almost outside of this experience.

And these emotions,

Maybe you can name them,

Maybe not,

Aren't you able to observe feeling them?

Aren't you watching the experience of these emotions right now?

And then the mind.

Notice the thoughts that are arising,

Thoughts of judgment,

Unforgiveness,

Distraction,

Pain.

Recognize there are thoughts happening,

Yet you are observing them.

They are not you.

You are observing them.

You are observing all of these experiences.

Even if the grip of shame feels so strong right now,

Aren't you observing this feeling?

Take a deep breath.

There are so many of us together right now who are having a shared experience of feeling it is difficult to forgive ourselves.

Even in this,

We are not alone.

Your brothers and sisters,

Your friends,

Your community members here with you right now are also having difficulty forgiving themselves.

How tender is that?

Think about the things that you are experiencing and the things that you are experiencing.

Think of the people you know and love who are having the same experience as you.

Don't you wish them kindness?

Don't you feel tenderness or compassion in your heart that they should be having an experience like this?

We are all so connected,

So connected.

And every single one of us,

Myself included,

Makes mistakes.

Every one of us on the planet makes mistakes.

And every single one of us,

Myself included,

Makes mistakes.

Every one of us on the planet makes mistakes again and again and again,

Even grievous mistakes.

Yet they are not who we are.

Mistakes help us learn about ourselves and the world.

Mistakes help us grow and mature into a version of ourselves that we want to be.

Mistakes help us see things about ourselves that we couldn't see before.

Mistakes help us learn about what feels good and what doesn't feel good for us.

Mistakes bring us closer in our humanity because we all make them and we all deserve another chance.

You deserve another chance.

Whether that chance is to feel peaceful or joy or to allow love into your life,

Into your heart,

You deserve love and forgiveness.

And you can sit with the part of you that doesn't believe that to be true and you can thank this part of you for protecting you.

You can thank this part of you for holding on to the unforgiveness because that is how it knew to protect you.

We are all connected and you deserve love and forgiveness just as every one of us does.

With your hands on your body or imagining your hands on your body,

Find the part of you inside that feels the most distressed,

Uncomfortable,

And say to this part of you,

I love you.

I love you.

And you don't even need to believe it yet.

Just speak,

I love you and realize that when you say I love you to yourself,

There's a reverberation and every one of us experiences it.

I love you.

And now say to this part of you inside that is distressed,

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Maybe you're sorry for how much pain you've been in or judging yourself or punishing yourself or holding on to this unforgiveness,

I'm sorry.

And now say to this part of you,

Please,

I'm sorry.

And now say to this part of you,

Please,

Forgive me.

Please forgive me for my ignorance.

Please forgive me for hurting you.

Please forgive me for hurting another in my ignorance,

My lack of awareness.

Please forgive me.

And finally say to this part of you,

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for letting me in.

Thank you for being willing to be here at all.

Thank you for learning to accept me as I am.

Thank you for your forgiveness,

For your love.

Thank you for being willing to just sit with me or look at me.

Thank you.

And now continue to repeat this to yourself with presence,

With intention,

Maybe with tenderness and love.

I love you.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

Continue.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Really speaking directly to yourself.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Please forgive me.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Allow whatever discomfort or pain that might be there to come to the surface and hold it,

Hold it in this loving space.

I love you.

I love you.

See yourself in your mind's eye as being worthy of forgiveness.

See yourself in your innocence.

Deep down there is innocence and purity within you.

Deep down there is kindness within you.

You have done so many wonderful,

Kind,

Loving things for so many people in your life.

You've been a source of inspiration,

Of love,

Of healing.

You have been a gift to people you aren't even aware of.

You are a good person.

You are a good person.

For these last few moments,

See this truth of who you are.

You have positively impacted the lives of others without even knowing it.

You are a good person and you are worthy of love and forgiveness.

You are a good person and you are worthy of love and forgiveness.

Bring your awareness to your heart and breathe deeply,

Feeling your belly and your chest expanding and relaxing.

Relax the shoulders,

The hands,

The arms.

Relax the body.

Very slowly start to move the body,

Feel your feet.

And if you're still feeling all of this tenderness,

You may just wish to have the hands on the belly or the hands on the heart and the belly.

And just continue to hold yourself in this space of loving kindness without trying to change yourself or make yourself different.

Just to give yourself permission to be,

To be a human being.

Take as much time as you need.

And when you feel ready,

Open the eyes,

See through the eyes of your own love and kindness and kindness and loveableness.

You are worthy of love.

You are worthy of forgiveness no matter what,

No matter what,

No matter what.

And you are one with all of life.

You are one with each and every one.

We've all just forgotten our oneness.

And so we're in this play together,

This play of separation where we remember,

Remember who we are.

Remember that this is all a temporary experience,

A journey,

A playground of life in the joys and the sorrows.

We are one.