Dear Friends and Family, 

Rev Wanda’s talk about “Leaning Into Discomfort” prompted me to think about the importance of forgiveness. There was a shift in my consciousness a few years ago that led me to the great awareness that I attract those people, places, and things (conditions) in my human experience to help me grow into “who I have come here to be” and from that perspective it is fairly easy most times to move into forgiveness towards those conditions. So, the difficulty that faces me more times than not in my dealings with forgiveness is when I need to practice self-forgiveness.

As I was looking for some easy steps to help each of us with our practice, I found the following article on Oprah.com. The article is entitled 4 Steps To Forgiveness, and here is the link: https://www.oprah.com/spirit/4-steps-to-forgiveness-dr-ned-hallowell/all. The link is certainly worth the read, and most of us probably realize what needs to be done; however, here is a summary of the steps:

Acknowledgment
Stay connected and allow yourself to feel the pain
Relive, and Reflect
What do you want the pain to turn into? Be empathetic!
Working it Out
Recognize what might be holding you back and Give thanks for the gifts this opportunity brings
Renounce
Be willing to open your heart and give up your resentment and judgment and Redo the process as often as needed

Please remember that Forgiveness is never for the other person and that the road to forgiveness is simple and, as we always say here at CSL (simple but not always easy). It, however, is always worth it.

If Rev Cheryl or I can be of any assistance, please feel free to reach out because you deserve the gift of a peaceful mind and renewed energy.

Namasté,
Rev Staci