Last update: January 22, 2015
Forgiveness is the liberation of self-imposed limits and destructive canons of conduct that bind us to the past in an insane way. Forgiveness also frees anger, fear, pain, resentment and other negative feelings, opening the heart to joy, peace and love.
Even if it's not easy, the past must not be allowed to prevail over our life; we have to release the pain we feel and the constraints that prevent us from living life to the full.
What are the reasons for practicing forgiveness
Practicing forgiveness allows us to:
- Free ourselves from resentment.
- It is the key to good physical, psychological and emotional health.
- Free ourselves from all negative feelings.
- Find peace.
- Improving social life, as we stop feeling hostility towards people.
How to foment forgiveness
Here are some tips for developing your ability to forgive:
- Find time each day to meditate and explore your mind, to try to release any imprisoned resentment. Visualize yourself with a big lump in your throat, breathe slowly and imagine that little by little it melts and you feel freer and lighter. The power of the imagination is enormous.
- Forgiveness does not mean reconciliation, you must not excuse the other person, nor tolerate their behavior; you just have to put aside your suffering.
- If you feel profound hostility against someone, write a letter of forgiveness where you show your feelings. If you don't want to send it, don't do it, but it's still a way to make the negative feelings towards the other person go away. If you repeat the writing of forgiveness notes every day, it can be a useful safety valve for your care.
-Don't allow the negative environment of insensitive and reckless people of fall back on you, move in well-being environments, where you can keep your mind and the energy around you healthy, free of contamination.
- Remember that you must not exclude yourself from the circle of forgiveness, you have to forgive yourself for not being perfect, for making mistakes like others. You deserve the same understanding and compassion as others, in order to find positivism and freedom and live in peace.
The ability to forgive does not work the same in all people, some take longer than others to develop it, but it is a goal that can be achieved. The one who is not able to forgive is prone to suffer from anxiety, depression, cardiovascular problems, chronic back pain, impaired neurological functions and a malfunction of the immune system, as well as having no social life, coming to feel alone and miserable, incapable to fully enjoy life.
Image courtesy of Kiezuz
