This
week, I’m going to talk about you and Forgiveness, your relationship with
yourself, and how forgiveness of yourself can help you become more of the
person who you are meant to be.
In
every society and bona fide religion or spiritual path, there are Laws. We call
them laws, commandments, guidelines, steps, etc. Society’s laws are there for
our protection and the protection of others. The religious and spiritual laws
are to help us grow, to help us with our relationship with God, ourselves and
others. When these laws are followed, there is harmony.
There
are times in our journey where we all have broken those laws. We have all done
it. We are not saints, or avatars. And there are times when even the
Masters/Avatars themselves have been accused of breaking laws.
Of
course, there is a difference between when we break a law and when a Master/Avatar
is accused of breaking a law. You can write a book on the difference.
But
getting back to you and me, breaking the law always has consequences. In
society, we might feel we are getting away with not paying our taxes, or
speeding, etc., but we really aren’t.
Some day we will get that speeding ticket or some other ticket we feel
we didn’t deserve, or what about the constant underlying fear of getting caught
by the IRS? Isn’t that in itself a consequence by taking away your peace of
mind? For every circumstance, there is a consequence. Rationalizing why you do
it is just your own denial and selfishness.
When
we break spiritual laws, the consequences are of a similar nature. We might not
immediately see or feel the reactions, but they are in motion.
As we
open our hearts and become more conscious of who we are, why we are here and where
we are going, we sometimes look back and become remorseful about our past.
It is
only natural; it’s part of our awakening. Remorse is part of our healing, as
well as part of our learning. Forgiveness
is part of our healing and learning, as well. In my book, Returning
to WHOLENESS…Discovering Ah-Man, I share a process to help you see and
move through your pain and gain a new perspective. With that new perspective, a
level of acceptance comes about which allows forgiveness to begin its healing
process.
Forgiving
ourselves is key. We cannot fully
forgive others if we have not fully forgiven ourselves. We cannot give what we
do not have.
Forgiveness
is an ongoing process. It’s like honesty; there are many levels until you get
to the core, which is nothing but Love.
Love is like the sun. Along this journey to that core, i.e., Unconditional
Love, we get to feel the sun’s rays and, at times, be in the sunshine as we journey
to the core.
An
important piece in forgiveness of yourself is your faith. But faith alone will
not bring about peace. Work is required.
Neither
faith without work or work without faith will bring about peace. Both are
needed.
Allowing
forgiveness of yourself to unfold will help you walk through this world and be
more of an example for others who have not reached that place yet on their
journey. Forgiveness was (and still is) a big piece in my early recovery from
Alcoholism.
I
remember about 15 years ago getting a call from a childhood friend, who still
was experiencing a lot of pain from her active drinking. Of course it was in
the middle of the night, as drinkers tend to make calls without thinking, and
she was madder than hell at me, she said, “Michael, if you can stop drinking,
so can I” and she hung up. She was angry, which fueled her motivation. I had
close to 10 years of sobriety at that time. I was, unbeknownst to myself, an
example of putting down the drink to her. Shortly after that, my dear friend did
put down the drink and had continued her sobriety due to her hard work and
effort in a 12-Step Program.
As
another friend of mine says, “May you dwell in the heart.” Thank you for
allowing me to be of service to you.
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information and resources in the latest issue of the Ah-Man Newsletter. Read about his new book,
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