The Healing Power of Forgiveness
Open to Change/What we Practice Grows Stronger
Welcome to Autumn! It is a new season and a time of change. The earth is changing and shifting to express it's colorful radiance (especially here on the east coast!). Fall is an invitation and inspiration for us to shift and change. What is it in your life you need to let go of in order to experience more peace, joy and freedom? The sacred Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur can inspire all of us to practice atonement and forgiveness to create more peace, joy and freedom in our hearts, in our relationship with ourselves and each other. We choose to engage in the courageous practice of forgiveness to heal our relationships. Forgiveness helps us to create more space in our hearts, to accept what is and to express our inner radiance more fully. With intention and introspection we can unburden our heart from pain, guilt and shame and commit to not repeating hurtful behaviors and patterns. This practice can allow more of our inner light to expand, illuminate and bless ourselves and our world!
Tara Brach, a clinical psychologist and Buddhist meditation teacher defines conflict as a clash of unmet needs. That makes sense, right? When needs are not met, conflict arises. Although conflict is challenging for all of us, it is an opportunity to heal, compromise and improve our relationships and make them better. May we remember that we practice forgiveness to free our hearts and heal our wounds. Forgiveness does not require us to condone unkind or unacceptable behavior or to stay in relationship with someone that causes us too much harm.
Tara Brach also reminds us that "whatever we practice grows stronger." If we cling to guilt, shame anger, resentment, blame and fear, these energies will grow in us. Instead, if we set our intention, energy and focus on love, deep listening, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, gratitude, joy, reconciliation and peace, these qualities of heart will expand within each of us and in our relationships. The more we practice remembering and living our intentions, the more our desired qualities of heart will manifest and flourish. As Tara reminds us "where energy goes, energy flows."
The practices of yoga, breath and meditation help us to grow in awareness, skill and grace. The more we grow in awareness, the more we grow in skill and grace but on and off the mat. Learning to embody and grow in more love, gratitude, joy, compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation and peace will deeply heal, nourish and expand our hearts and our relationships. This expansion of these elevated qualities also contributes to the healing of our world because we each contribute more of these affirming qualities into our world. The Catholic mystic and writer Henri Nouwen states "[j]oy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and then keep choosing it every day." We can adopt and embody this mindset and insert any quality of heart that we want to expand into to manifest more freedom, joy and peace in our life and contribute to our world. What kind of energy do you want to embody more of? What kind of energy do you want to contribute to heal our world? May we keep our hearts focused on healing, understanding, reconciliation, peace and hope.
Come join us for yoga, meditation, massage and craniosacral treatments to grow in awareness, release stress and pain and manifest more freedom, peace and joy!
