The Letting Go Ritual: Learning to forgive

FORGIVENESS

OCTOBER 19, 2010

BY: LORI HENSHEY

Subscribe

Love and forgiveness helps us embrace our true spiritual selves.

Credits: 

 

PhotoXPress

Have you ever been hurt by another person and feel confused and angry? Have you ever hurt another person and feel ashamed and guilty? Of course you have. Making mistakes is all part of being human. And being human can be hard.

Earthly life is like school and we are all students studying on different levels. At some point in our celestial lives, we chose to come here to learn things we cannot experience in any other dimension. It's hard, however, most especially for the spiritually inclined student. Deep down we don't feel at home here. One man expressed it in a amusing way: "Earth life is like summer camp; the food's bad and we miss our mama."

I believe we are not humans having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience. The key to having a happy, productive human life is to realize we are here to love and learn, forgive, set good examples for others, try to spread peace and happiness. When Jesus told his followers if someone slaps you to turn the other cheek, I believe he was telling us to learn to forgive the slap and then give the slappper another chance by showing forgiveness. The Buddha said the same thing, just in different words. Forgiveness and love feeds the soul; and when you set an example of being forgiving, others notice.

The Letting Go Ritual: Learning to forgiveThe Letting Go Ritual: Learning to forgive

Happily, there are many resources to help us along our way in this earthly life. The Fetzer Institute's Campaign for Love and Forgiveness, for example, is an absolutely fantastic website chock full of spiritual resources. One of the most delightful areas on the website is the Letting Go Ritual, which you can take right now online. Beautifully illustrated, it helps you understand your feelings and, importantly, the feelings of others. You begin to discover why you are holding on to negativity and are given suggestions on how to let it go.