Forgive Yourself

We all have those days when it is hard to look at ourselves in the mirror. For whatever reason, we judge the reflection looking back at us. We hate what we see and turn away. We find things to distract us from our own demeaning self-talk and tend to resist or suppress how we feel so we don't have to deal with it. We don't realize that the simple act of forgiving and accepting ourselves could spare us the pain caused by holding on to self-destructive emotions.

All judgments are a form of resistance. Resistance creates tension, friction, and blockages that lead to pain and suffering. Energy flows freely when there is nothing obstructing it. Judging ourselves is like building a dam that restricts the flow of well being within us. Health and vitality is our natural state if allow our bodies to heal by letting go of the resistance we carry.

Forgiving yourself is the first step to release this resistance. A simple way to do this is to close your eyes and place your hands on your chest over your heart. Allow yourself to take a deep breath and relax for a moment. Now speak to the critical and disapproving part of you that is holding on to your self-judgments and say gently: "I'm sorry. I forgive myself. And now I deeply and completely accept myself."

Forgiving and accepting yourself frees you to experience greater peace and ease. You'll feel yourself lighten up and let go of what you held onto so tightly. Doing so is effortless, and you'll discover that all the effort was in resisting it. Forgiving yourself is letting go and allowing the flow of well being to move through you unrestrained.

So remember the next time you are quick to judge yourself that you can simply let it go and forgive yourself. We all make mistakes. If we didn't, we would never learn and grow. See your challenges as blessings that give you the opportunity to make a new choice to be who you want to be now. We are all doing the best we can in the moment with what we have and know. With each mistake, we gain new knowledge and experience to make a wiser choice. Beating ourselves up about it only strains our progress. Forgiving ourselves frees us up to move ahead.

Most importantly, forgiving yourself is loving yourself. If you aren't loving and accepting yourself, you can't love anyone else in your life fully. You may also notice that in forgiving yourself, you'll find it easier to forgive others you may have held resentments and judgments about. (Hint: Your judgments were never about them anyway... The people in your life are really just reflections of yourself.)

Forgive, Accept, Let Go, Release, Bless, and Love... and you'll be so happy and peaceful. :)

Taking Total Responsibility

I have recently come across a new concept to me. It is one of taking Total Responsibility... not just for yourself, but for everything in your life. As Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len explains to Joe Vitale in their book Zero Limits, "Total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life, simply because it is in your life, is your responsibility. In a literal sense, the entire world is your creation."

Joe Vitale goes on to write "Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I say or do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is in your life."

"This means that terrorist activity, the president, the economy - anything you experience and don't like - is up for you to heal. They don't exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections from inside you. The problem isn't with them, it's with you, and to change them, you have to change you."

Wow. Pretty deep, huh. It makes sense to me though because I believe that ultimately we are all connected, we are all one and the same, and as Neale Donald Walsch beautifully puts it in his book, Conversations with God: "There is only one of us."

So if we are at cause for all things in our life, if we are the creators of everything we experience and everything that comes into our experience, then we have an awesome responsibility - not only to ourselves, but to everyone we are aware of (because ultimately, they are us) - to heal ourselves and the world we create. This gives whole new meaning to a quote I love by Ghandi: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Taking total responsibility gives us the power to change anything and everything in our lives that we want to improve. Joe Vitale continues to write: "If you want to improve your life, you have to heal your life. If you want to cure anyone, even a mentally ill criminal, you do it by healing you. I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself and his patients. What was he doing exactly?"

Dr. Len explained, "I just kept saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' over and over again. That's it." As I read more about Dr. Len's work with Ho'oponopono, key phrases to say to yourself to release and heal anything are "Please forgive me. I forgive you. I love you. Thank you. God Bless You."

Joe Vitale: "Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, your improve your world. Whenever you want to improve anything in your life, there's only one place to look: inside you. When you look, do it with love."

Well said, Joe.