Setting Myself Free

I wonder, do you ever think about people who have wronged you in the past and still feel angry or upset about it? Or do you ever feel guilty about something that you have done in the past that you wish you had done differently? Replaying it, if you could do it over now that you would do it so differently, making different choices. Do we harbour grudges or unforgiveness? It’s human to have these thoughts and feelings. But do we ever actually stop for a moment to think about how unforgiveness may be affecting us, lowering our energy levels every day? Or how unforgiveness may even be having a negative impact on every area of our lives? Dampening our lives. Taking up valuable space, within the psyche that could be otherwise used for good, for love, for joy, for creativity, for living our best lives!   I’ve heard it said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person (who we don’t forgive) to die. Meaning that we are slowly poisoning ourselves by holding onto grudges. Dr David Hamilton writes in his book about how our thoughts create chemicals in our body therefore our thoughts and beliefs can make us sick or they can create health. This makes absolute sense to me. So I’d say forgiveness is more about setting ourselves free rather than letting someone else off the hook. I don’t know about you but I want to feel free. I definitely do not want to be a prisoner or the prison guard.  Therefore I set my intention to be  forgiving, to be a compassionate person, to forgive past hurts and to forgive myself at each and every opportunity. I set an intention to learn from the events, the interactions and relationships and to let go of them so that I can move forward with my life, creating more love, compassion and joy and most importantly creating a life that I love living! 

So how do I forgive I hear you say? Forgiveness is a lifelong practice. It can be incorporated as part of a journaling practice or part of your spiritual practice. It’s a process of becoming increasingly more aware of ourselves. For me journaling really helps me to get things out of my head and onto paper. Journaling helps me to recognise outdated beliefs and to change them. It also helps me access different parts of myself that I may not hear so clearly with all of the distractions of every day life.  

Becoming aware of where I am still harbouring unforgiveness is an important first step. This unforgiveness may look like resentment, anger, judgement, blame, jealousy, envy, guilt, shame, wanting to be right - making the other person wrong, or righteousness how dare they! Or it may look like something else for you.

Steps to Forgiveness

Have a journal or paper and pen to hand. 

Be in a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. 

Go inward, closing your eyes and taking 7 intentional breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. 

State your intention - 

My intention is to become aware of what is ready to be forgiven and released at this time. Close your eyes and see what comes to you. Write down what and who were revealed to you. 

Next, I set another intention to set myself free from any unforgiveness that are ready to be transformed and let go of now. 

I close my eyes and see myself chained to the person and chained to a heavy bag full of unforgiveness, resentment, judgement, blame, jealousy, envy, guilt, shame, wanting to be right - making the other person wrong, or righteousness how dare they! Or something else. Notice what the heavy bag that you have been lugging around with you is full of. Carting this person and this heavy bag around with me has been so tiring! I now set the intention to set myself free of this person and free from this heavy bag. I unlock the chains that have been restricting me. The chains fall away. I Dissipate this prison that I have created and I dissipate the chains and I watch this heavy bag burst into a violet flame, transmuting all Of the heavy energy that has been within it into love, light, forgiveness and freedom. I watch the other person walk away and I wish them well (for what I wish for others I wish for myself). I know as humans we all make mistakes, including me. I am choosing to forgive. I am choosing freedom therefore I am choosing to be a forgiving person. I am choosing to be free. I am choosing to let go. I Take the lessons and the love and I release the rest. I am choosing to be more love. 

The Ho'oponopono prayer is a Hawaiian mantra for forgiveness using 4 phrases. I love this especially for self forgiveness. 

I’m sorry

Please forgive me

Thank you

I love you

Use this calming mantra in quiet moments for more peace and freedom. Enjoy the daily practice of detaching and setting yourselves free beautiful souls🪷🩷🤍