Part 2: A Written Journey into Meditation

Welcome to Part 2 of the insight into my beautiful friends book “A Written Journey into Meditation” that I introduced here on the blog a few Sunday’s ago. If you missed it you can read about it here.

Jo has very kindly shared her Forgiveness Meditation in it’s entirety with you today.

Thank you Jo for being so generous!  This is a lovely meditation that reminds us not to be so hard on ourselves.

So what is forgiveness?

Jo explains…

Forgiveness is a gift—like receiving a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It
releases you from your own private prisons—the invisible ones you
never see but are nonetheless there. It’s the upward path—the path
less taken—the path to greater freedom. Forgiveness ends the guilt and
the emotional pain. Forgiveness is always the wisest choice; and then
it makes you wiser. Forgiveness frees up the clutter—the mental and
emotional clutter that slows you down and causes so much frustration.
Forgiveness fosters all growth and change. But most of all, forgiveness is
a never-ending flow of energy you can tap into.

If you forgive, you will be truly happy, and your life will reflect the
change back to you in every way. After all, what we think in our minds
is what manifests in our lives! The bottom line is that we forgive not
because the other person necessarily deserves it, but because we do not
want to carry that load around until we die. Anger, hate and jealousy
will make you old, resentful and ugly, inside and out. The question is,
how much do you love and respect yourself? Is it enough to give yourself
the gift of forgiveness? I hope so.

Jo also goes on to say that forgiveness is really self-forgiveness.  She suggests that forgiving yourself is so much more than just putting an end to any pain you may be going through.

Forgiveness “releases you from your own projections”.  Forgiveness “creates the space for positive change in your life”.

Be kind to yourself today and give yourself the gift of time to sit with this lovely written meditation.

Just for you…

Forgiveness Meditation

Find a quiet place before you begin,
making yourself feel nice and comfortable.
No part of your body is crossed. Everything feels relaxed.
Take your time reading through this meditation,
using each line as a pause point for you to breathe.
It is all about learning to slow down and breathe.

Make everything feel relaxed as you begin to breathe,
breathing in through your nose
and out through your mouth.
You feel comfortable in your body.
Your body is enjoying relaxing,
resting,
respite.
It feels different.
It feels different since beginning the journey of the self.
It is all part of the journey.
It is all part of the process.
The more you become in tune within yourself,
the more aware you are of
how you work,
how you operate,
how you think,
how you experience life,
how you love,
how you react.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Allow yourself time.
Time is a very valuable tool.
Give yourself time.
It doesn’t mean you are being selfish.
It is important to allow time for the self,
time to rest,
time to enjoy peace,
time to enjoy serenity,
time to enjoy your surroundings.
Breathe in life.
Let go of trying to survive life.
Bring in living life.
It is important to be able to live your life
the way you would like it to be,
not just going through the motions of survival.
Embrace life.
Realise you have choices.
You can change things.
Drawing on all the different things you have experienced lately—
all the different sensations,
all the different feelings,
all the different emotions,
all the things that you have managed to release—
you let go again now,
releasing any thoughts from your mind.
Empty your mind,
preparing for the next stage.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Take a nice deep breath in through the top of your head,
bringing it down the back of your neck,
across your shoulders,
down your arms
and out through your fingertips
as your fingertips start to tingle
as a sign of letting go.

Bring another deep breath in through the top of your head,
all the way down your body,
down your legs
and out through your toes,
feeling that energy moving through your body,
allowing all thoughts to float out through your exit points,
letting it all go,
letting it all go.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

You are going to go on another journey,
the journey of forgiveness.
This one is the hardest one of all.
Through gaining some recognition,
you are now able to go through this process
with an open mind,
open eyes.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Think of a particular event
or person
or process in your life
that you need to seek forgiveness for.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Bring this into your conscious mind.
Bring your awareness to those thoughts and feelings.
Gather your thoughts into your conscious mind.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

More than likely, the event you have chosen includes another person.
Sit with this person.
See this event from your perspective,
bring it more into your conscious mind.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Now switch places with this person.
The other person becomes you;
you become the other person.
Review this event again
from the other person’s perspective.
See it from their shoes for a change.
You have not done this before.
Reflect for a moment
to see the event from the other side.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Now that you have seen this event from the other side,
you see it in a different light.
You truly see their perspective as well.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

As you prepare to change places again,
you come back to who you are.
The other person becomes him or herself again.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Revisit the event in your life.
See where the intensity lies.
See if you feel a shift in the balance,
if perhaps by walking in their shoes,
you now see things differently.
Your eyes are open.
You now think more rationally.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

See whether you are able to forgive this person
for this event that has happened in your life.
See if the intensity of the memory is fading away.
Let go of this memory.
The intensity begins to drop.
You have to review it a few times over.
It depends on the intensity of the original event.
It is okay if you can’t quite reach total forgiveness yet.
You have begun the acknowledgment process
by recognising you need to forgive
in order for you to move forward.
The forgiveness process has begun.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

See if you can shake hands or embrace the other person,
a sign of total forgiveness,
a sign of making progress.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

As you move away from this particular event,
look within yourself.
You give yourself a really hard time.
You need to forgive yourself for doing this.
You are the creator, after all,
of what happens within your life.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Reflect within yourself.
It is time to look within yourself.
See one particular event
or memory
that comes flooding into your mind
where you need to forgive yourself.
Bring this event into your conscious mind
so that you are able to review it again.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

At times you are your own worst enemy.
Your imagination runs away with you.
It creates mountains instead of mole hills.
You can reduce the mountain
down to a little speed bump.
That is a part of life.
You feel anger within yourself.
You feel frustration within yourself.
You now realise you might have been a bit silly.
You allowed things to be more intense than they should have been.
Then again, this is all part of your journey through life.
It is all part of your lessons
of forming who you are.
Realise you do have choices.
You can change things.
You have to clear out the clutter,
clear out the cloudiness,
so your vision becomes clear.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for using people in your life to hurt yourself.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for not having clarity and blaming others for not taking
responsibility for your actions.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for wounding others and the anger and jealousy and
hate you have directed towards others.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for participating in situations that went against your
integrity.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for not respecting yourself.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for not trusting yourself and having faith in your
abilities.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for trying to control the people you love.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Forgive yourself for not loving yourself 100 per cent just the way you are.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

When you forgive yourself,
you will be truly happy.
Your life will reflect the change back to you
in every single way.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Being at peace within yourself,
you are able to draw on more strength.
You are able to take on new challenges,
experience different things in your life.
All things come to those who are prepared to listen.
It takes you a while before you are prepared to listen,
but once you open your hearing,
you see things differently.
You see things in a new light.
What used to matter before
doesn’t have the intensity it once did.
Things begin to change.
You become more grateful for what you do have in your life.
You see people differently.
You look within yourself.
You see yourself in a new light.
It is an amazing journey.
It is an amazing experience,
one that you will never regret.
You live a life of freedom,
a life filled with joy and happiness,
a life filled with abundance and security,
a life filled with people.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

You embrace people.
You embrace the environment in which you live.
You see things differently.
You become in touch with nature.
Nature will tell you stories.
You will take time to smell the roses.
You will take time to connect with the earth.
You will embrace the sun shining down upon you.
You will feel the strength coming from the trees.
Draw strength from nature.
Nature is very healing and nurturing.
You take it for granted.
You don’t see it.
You don’t see the beauty that surrounds you.
It is time to show gratitude,
gratefulness of the things you experience in your life,
like your breath.
You have become more aware of your breathing.
You have begun to realise how you breathe when you are in certain
situations.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

When you feel things are getting on top of you,
you feel your anger and frustrations rising to the surface.
Stop yourself.
Give yourself a moment to breathe.
You will find things change.
Allow yourself the pause.
Allow yourself the moment
before you react.
You will react differently than you would have in the past.
Allow yourself to be in the now,
in the present moment,
no longer reliving or replaying all the thoughts and memories that run
through your mind.
Emptying your mind gives you so much more energy and strength.
It is very peaceful.
Draw on the peacefulness that surrounds you
in this present moment.
The calmness and serenity you feel
it is quite emotional, really.
You feel so at peace within yourself.
Embrace this moment.
Really feel it.
Really take it on board.
Realise your life can be like this every day.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Drawing in again from the universe the beautiful healing light,
bring in the rays of the sun into your solar plexus,
into the centre of your core.
See yourself as a shining bright light,
a bright light of being awakened within your soul,
allowing your true self to come through.
Really feel it.
Really embrace it.
Realise you draw on this energy from the earth
any time you need it.
It is free.
It costs you nothing.
It is always there.
It is always available.
Now that you have been shown the way,
the process will become easier.
You feel comfortable within yourself,
the change in the shifting of your energy.

(pause, breathe, and reflect)

Begin to bring your awareness back to your body.
Begin breathing in through your nose
and out through your mouth.
Your body weight begins to return to your chair.
You can feel your feet on the floor.
Bring your awareness back to your body,
then, when you are ready,
find yourself sitting back in the room,
safe and secure,
fresh and new
once more.

Review

At the end of each meditation Jo has a ‘review’ section so you can gain more awareness and clarity into what you may have experienced during the meditation.  Three of the questions to ponder from the review are:

Did you acknowledge giving yourself a hard time?  Why do you do this?

Did you manage to acknowledge and forgive yourself?

These are just questions for you to reflect on.  I don’t expect your answers in the comments below.

Tune in next Sunday for Part 3 – the final snippets to be shared  of  “A Written Journey into Meditation”.

Available here

You can contact Jo through her Shanti Relaxation Retreat Website here

or follow her on Facebook here