Forgiveness and The Forgiveness Diet©
Forgiveness and The Forgiveness Diet©
Guilt and Shame are the cornerstone of suffering. One often thinks of forgiving as the act of allowing the wrong doer to “get away with” the transgression. However, forgiving is more nuanced and more powerful than acceptance of actions. Forgiving is about releasing the negatives aspects of the transgression to the point where you (the forgiver) no longer carry the hurt, guilt or shame of the action or behavior.
Forgiving does not mean condoning the action, it means letting go of the hurt, shame and guilt that steals your joy, and energy. It also does not mean letting the situation or transgression occur again. To forgive is not to forget but to be free.
Forgiveness has been incorporated into religious and spiritual traditions for centuries. Catholicism has confession, 12 Step programs have used methods cultivated from a lineage of spiritual traditions to release these feelings to allow for freedom to live life fully. 12 Step programs use the 4th and 5th steps, “made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” Thereby freeing the individual from the pain and suffering around transgressions. The 12 step process is far more in depth than just these two steps and incorporates many more “steps” to help people learn about themselves, motivations, clean up transgression and make plans to live differently.
What all traditions have in common is they utilize a process that allow the individual to be free from resentment, guilt, and shame. These poisonous emotions and thoughts can keep us in an unhealthy loop of negativity, which can fester and cause bitterness, separation from others and ultimately can contribute to poor health and poor mental health.
Nearly 20 years ago I was introduced to the Forgiveness Diet by an amazing Liberation Breathwork mentor Rhonda Levand, who has taught this to many. I was reminded of it through Sondra Ray the "Mother of Rebirthing" who has been sharing and teaching about the Forgiveness Diet for decades. The first time I braved the process and used it to forgive myself, it was a revelation. I had a weight lifted that I was not aware I carried. When I completed the process on others, I had healing with the person who didn’t even know I had completed the process. Over the years, I have experienced new energy and healed relationships without ever speaking to the person directly. It seems to change the energy frequency and heal something on an energetic level.
I suggest that you complete this on the person or situation that gets under your skin the most. The situation you ruminate about. Then, I suggest you complete the process on yourself.
The next steps, should you wish to continue this powerful process leads us to forgive our primary relationships, so that in our present or future relationships we don’t have to keep repeating the same unresolved issues.