forgiveness

The transcription discusses the importance of forgiveness, using Jesus as an example. It emphasizes letting go of resentment to find joy and balance. It suggests that forgiveness is an act of self-love and self-care, even in difficult situations. The speaker explores seeking forgiveness through spiritual practices and connecting with others' true nature. It encourages non-reactivity and seeking mutual understanding, compassion, and respect. The speaker reflects on the benefits of forgiveness in personal growth and relationships. Despite challenges, forgiveness is seen as a transformative and healing process. Forgiveness. I can't help but think of Jesus when it comes to forgiveness. He speaks about it so much. Man, what a figure Jesus Christ was. How lucky we are to have his life as an example. Of course, I think that his teachings have been skewed in some ways over the centuries. And of course, not everybody uses his words in a way that leads to the principles that he was espousing, but I'm not here to judge. We're all on our own sacred path. May the light and teachings of Jesus continue to shower the whole world, and may his teachings and his essence permeate into the heart of every being, Christian or not. Forgiveness. How has it showed up in my life? I have understood, philosophically, that forgiveness is a really wonderful thing. It's an important value. Even from a selfish perspective, I've come to understand that to forgive is to stop drinking the poison. Because let's look at what it means to not forgive. If we have a conflict with someone, and we feel we've been wronged or mistreated or something along those lines, and we hold on to it, and we carry it with us every day, does it lead you to a place of joy and beauty and balance and creativity and connection? No. I mean, this is just obvious. Think about it for a minute. If you're engaged in resentful thoughts of what this person did to you or that person did to you, it blocks openness. I mean, you can even feel it in your heart. You can feel it in your chest. You contract. So the only person who really loses when we don't forgive is ourself. It's such a subtle thing, forgiveness. I think the act of forgiveness is the kindest thing you can do for yourself. Because it recognizes that in order for me to have an open heart and to invite joy and clarity and connection and love into my life, I can't hold resentment. And so to forgive, to practice forgiveness, is first and foremost a form of self-love and self-care. So can I forgive someone if they don't do anything to deserve that forgiveness? If they continue to abuse, mistreat, can I forgive someone who continues to mistreat? I don't know if I'm that strong. I don't even know if that's the right thing to do. I don't know. What I do know is that to engage in a days-long or weeks-long or months-long or years-long or a lifetime-long struggle and battle with another just costs too much. It just costs too much. So to forgive, I think it's possible in all circumstances. And the way I think that you can do that is to move beyond the lowercase self trying to forgive the other lowercase self. I think that the uppercase self, my true nature, my true being beyond name and form can seek to make a connection, an energetic and subtle connection with the other person's true nature. So my self with a capital S can seek to commune with his or her self with a capital S in my stillness practice. In my stillness practice, can I seek to connect with that other person's true being and share in some form of connection and forgiveness? And can that then reverberate out into the world that both I and the other person share? Because if I've got some sort of a conflict with someone that requires forgiveness, it means that that person and I are sharing time and space in some way, which means that we have been put in front of each other for some reason as part of this curriculum. It's so wonderful to look at things from a wider perspective and to get some distance from the situation and recognize that I am in conflict with this other person for one reason or another. There is something there that is part of my curriculum. And although I may not be able to figure out what it is, if I can just recognize that there is a reason that that other person and I are sharing time and space together, either in our small limited selves, if that other person is amenable to it, or in my stillness practice, can I connect with the energy of that other person and recognize that there is something to be gained? There is some progress that can be made for both of us. Can we get on the same side of the problem? If it can be worked out in the world of objects and relationships, in our relationship, if it can be worked out and we can inch our way towards compassion for one another and reconciliation, that's wonderful. If not, if the other person is not amenable to that, can I, in my stillness practice, seek to connect with that other person's self with a capital S? These are all nuanced and tricky things. But just to be thinking about them, just to even be considering these concepts, I think brings some healing. And I think there are spiritual payoffs, recognizable or unrecognizable. Either in this lifetime or in your karmic bank account, there are payoffs to be gained from this kind of reflection. Can I, in my stillness practice, put myself into a place of non-reactivity so that I can open myself to the other person in the world and seek connection and seek to push the ball down the field towards the goal of forgiveness, mutual forgiveness, understanding, compassion, respect for the other? Is it possible? Can I put myself in a place where my non-reactivity will rub off on the other person and perhaps we can enter a space of true communication? Is it possible? It starts with finding your own balance and your own non-reactivity through a stillness practice and seeking to bring that out into the world, into your relationship with that person. And if it doesn't work, if it backfires, how non-reactive can I be? Can I go back to my stillness? And can I discern and consider what's the next best step? Should I walk away? Should I pray for that other person and for my own self and for our relationship? Should I, in my stillness practice, seek to connect with the other person's energetic body? Ask for guidance. Put yourself in a place of stillness and non-reactivity. Open your heart. Ask for guidance. 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lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, but there's somebody in the world who I hold real anger towards, at least not in my lived experience, and to rub my own chest with the balm of forgiveness as best I can. And to rub my own chest with the balm of forgiveness as best I can. Hari Om Tat Sat. Hari Om Tat Sat. Hari Om Tat Sat.