Trista Thorp on Emotional Healing through Forgiveness: A Guided Meditation
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In today’s meditation we will center our attention around the emotional freedom we experience through the act of forgiveness.  For many of us, the act of forgiveness wields a heavy hand.  The toxic residue left over after we experience loss, heartache, disappointment, or abuse on any level leaves a deep scar – an imprint – in our heart, our psyche and our physical body.  It makes perfect sense that our basic survival instincts would lead us to build protective barriers to keep certain experiences out while carefully shielding our most vulnerable aspects within.

sunset-girl_by-sunset-girlWe learn early on that, as an added measure of protection, we can consciously choose to withhold forgiveness from those who have violated our physical and emotional boundaries.  We believe that not forgiving others holds them in a perpetual state of suffering for what they have done.  What we don’t realize, however, is that withholding forgiveness binds us to the un-integrated emotional charge for weeks, months, years and – even lifetimes.

Forgiveness is about lightening our hearts.  At some point in our lives, we all make choices that cause pain for another person.  When we move into understanding that we are all doing our best from our level of awareness at the time, the fostering of forgiveness begins to unfold.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Settle into your heart space, take a deep breath in, then gently let it go and consider for a moment:

“Am I ready to invite forgiveness in to heal the pain of my past experiences?”

If now is not the time, it’s okay.  If now is the time for you to step into forgiveness, bring into your awareness to one person who has caused you pain and ask your heart this question:

“What can I do to forgive this person for the pain I’ve experienced as a result of their words or actions?”

Now, see if you can ask your heart to reveal one incident where you caused someone else pain and consider:

“What can I do to demonstrate my willingness to forgive myself for my actions that caused pain for another person?”


Some possibilities include writing a letter, burying a memento in the ground, writing down your commitment to forgive and then burning it, writing on a balloon and releasing it into the sky, volunteering your time at a local organization, or making a charitable donation.
*This guided meditation is dedicated to my father.

Thank you, Dad, for showing up and for not giving up. I love you.

My personal experience this month was when an unexpected visitor arrived on my doorstep in San Diego 2 weeks ago. An opportunity to face my past, to go back in time while being grounded in the present moment allowed for 25 years of misunderstanding, loss, heartbreak and separation to surface, integrate, heal and transform into one of the most cherished relationships of my life. A little girl and her daddy are reunited and, once again, the best of friends.

Be well,
Trista