Forgiveness Lesson And Beach Walk

Hello and welcome and welcome back to this guided meditation.

We're going to gather ourselves here today for a few minutes to practice the art of forgiveness and letting go.

If you'd like to get straight into the practice,

Skip ahead to 1 minute 48.

We'll start with what forgiveness is not.

It can be confused with pardoning,

Condoning,

Excusing,

Or forgetting about an offence.

And although it may occur as a part of the process,

It is also not the same as reconciliation.

Forgiveness is often defined as an individual voluntary internal process of letting go of feelings and thoughts of resentment,

Bitterness,

Anger,

And the need for vengeance and retribution towards someone who we believe has wronged us,

Including ourselves.

It's argued that we must be emotionally ready to forgive before we're likely to be receptive to forgiving.

The process of forgiveness may take many forms,

Involving things like cultivating acceptance and empathy,

Perspective-taking and benefit-finding.

For example,

Deciding to rewrite the story of a transgression,

Mentally or in a journal,

By using one or more of the previously mentioned approaches and thereby helping to alleviate the negative and possibly destructive emotions associated with the story.

And allowing space for healing.

There's a great quote in a 2,

000-plus-year-old book by Marcus Aurelius.

And it says,

"'The best of revenge is not to be like your enemy.

'" This doesn't mean that you won't feel these emotions again,

But it will at the very least lighten the emotional toll they're having on you.

With that,

Let's get into this meditation.

Ideally,

We would want to be awake and focused on being mindful of the present moment.

Since forgiveness can often leave an extremely powerful wave of relief in its wake,

You may want to close your eyes and lay your head down for some rest.

If at any time you feel yourself slipping off to sleep,

That's completely OK.

Now,

Let us centre ourselves in the present.

Once you have found a quiet place for yourself and you feel comfortable,

Take a long breath in.

.

.

.

.

And breathe out slowly.

If you're not already doing so,

Gently close your eyes.

And if,

For whatever reason,

You wish to keep them open,

Just lower your gaze and softly look down past your nose to the ground.

If you're working with your back right now,

Feel free to sit up against a wall or in a chair.

If you are lying down,

Try to keep your spine as level as possible just to make sure it's nice and long and unstressed.

Place your hands on your knees or by your side,

With palms facing upwards for receiving.

We're going to allow ourselves to receive and give love.

This love will wash away all of our regrets,

Blame,

Shame,

Guilt,

Resentment and anything that might hold us captive in the past and hinder us from enjoying the present.

Start from the head right down to the toes and release the tension you might be holding in your body.

Relax your eyebrows,

Your jaw and the back of your neck.

Move your shoulders into a position that comes easily to you.

And as you continue to breathe into your lungs,

Pay attention to the rise and fall of your chest.

Allow your fingertips to be soft.

Let all the strain from your arms,

Thighs and calves go.

Breathe in,

Another deep breath.

Two,

Three.

.

.

.

.

And out.

Let's do that again.

Breathe in,

Two,

Three,

Four.

.

.

.

.

And breathe out.

We will now let our breath settle into its natural rhythm.

It is time for us to let the walls of our room vanish and for them to be replaced by the openness of the beach.

It's an empty beach and a sunny,

Warm day.

Not too hot,

Not too cold.

Sitting here on the sand,

Facing the ebb,

The flow of the ocean waves.

You can feel the cool breeze touch your skin and smell its saltiness.

Allow the serenity of the space to seep into each cell of your body.

Pay attention to the grains of sand on your skin,

The warmth of the sun.

Marvell in the sound of the deep,

Unexplored ocean wafting towards your ears.

The ocean is you.

What is visible outside is only a small part of you.

It reflects the light of the sun and sways with the wind.

But beneath the surface,

You have perhaps kept hidden feelings from the world to see.

Allow these to rise up one at a time.

As you sit on the beach,

You see a person walking up to you from the water.

As they come close,

You identify in them either yourself or someone you hold accountable for the hurt they caused you.

They are an embodiment of the remorse,

The pain,

The suffering you hold in your heart.

They're shivering and cold.

They're scared and lost.

Watch them.

Observe them make tiny,

Unsure steps towards you.

Acknowledge the courage it must have taken to allow these parts of you to come up,

For you to face them.

Imagine the pain and the hurt gradually take the shape of it in a light in the centre of your heart.

This light gets bigger and brighter in your heart as it gathers all the memories and questions and doubts and anger and guilt from your entire body.

The one standing in front of you is but a part of you,

An unloved and suffering part of you.

As they stand in the waves,

You walk up to them.

Your feet touch the waves as you see them ever so clearly now.

Forgiveness is a powerful tool merely because it's yours to give to yourself.

In fact,

If someone ever hurts you,

They have to acknowledge it in themselves and forgive themselves to be released of the past.

That is neither your job nor in your control.

You only have control over how you think,

Feel and react.

You can suffer and create walls around you or you can forgive,

Move past the hurt and allow light to come into your life.

What do you choose?

If you chose release,

Walk up to them with this light in your heart.

Lift your arms up and hold them gently.

Let this light pass from your body to theirs.

Let this light warm them up,

Give them guidance so they no longer feel lost,

Who fill their body with love.

As you hold them in your embrace,

Tell them,

And in fact yourself,

I'm ready to love you again and release you.

You can say this out loud or just allow them to feel this strong,

Deep feeling through the embrace.

You have served your purpose and I have learnt my lessons.

But I hold these lessons with love and gratitude and no longer live with fear and resentment.

I give you the permission to leave now.

I give myself permission to be free.

I am simply making more space within myself by letting you go.

I love you and I thank you.

Watch them smile gently and become pure light,

Slowly disappearing into the air.

Feel the waves on your feet as you let a wave of relief pass through you,

As you feel unburdened and weightless.

Now,

Whenever you're ready,

Bring your awareness back to your room.

Slowly open your eyes.

Take a long breath in and slowly exhale out.

Carry this feeling of immense compassion,

Love,

Freedom with you.

We wish you the best in the world.