Speaker 1: We hear over and over again how important it is
Speaker 1: to love ourselves. We are aware that love is the
Speaker 1: most powerful healing force there is, and yet, no matter
Speaker 1: how hard we try to love ourselves, many of us
Speaker 1: keep hitting a brick wall. Something is in the way.
Speaker 1: It seems impossible for us to break through. We begin
Speaker 1: to believe that we just can't love who we are,
Speaker 1: that there must be something wrong with us, or perhaps
Speaker 1: we're not worth loving. This frustration and anger at our
Speaker 1: own inability to do what we know is so important
Speaker 1: to us can lead to depression. We can feel hopeless,
Speaker 1: and yet there is an answer. There is something we
Speaker 1: can do to open the most stubborn doorway to love.
Speaker 1: We can forgive. Forgiveness opens the doorway to love so
Speaker 1: that love may flow most abundantly in our life. I
Speaker 1: have noticed that when the door to love seems to
Speaker 1: be stuck, it is usually because there is someone or
Speaker 1: something that we are unwilling to forgive. Yes, it may
Speaker 1: be true that in the past we have had a
Speaker 1: very unpleasant experience, and that is so unfortunate. However, it
Speaker 1: is not unforgivable. Forgiveness is a gift to ourselves, for
Speaker 1: it sets us free When we refuse to forgive, we
Speaker 1: sit in a prison of self righteous resentment and stay
Speaker 1: stuck in the past, and this hurts only ourselves. The
Speaker 1: other person may.
Speaker 2: Not even know we are in pain.
Speaker 1: I know that you can heal your heart now and
Speaker 1: that you are worth loving. Here is something we can
Speaker 1: do to change things. Let's take a little journey to
Speaker 1: clean out the pockets of bitterness that may still reside
Speaker 1: within you. Close your eyes.
Speaker 2: And let's walk down into a valley.
Speaker 1: Going down is always symbolic of going into your subconscious
Speaker 1: mind to do the clearing work. As you descend and
Speaker 1: into this valley, you notice with delight how very beautiful
Speaker 1: it is. Lush and green flowers everywhere, birds and butterflies,
Speaker 1: trees and a gentle stream. Find a comfortable place to
Speaker 1: sit on the bank of this stream and settle down
Speaker 1: and just relax s. It is so peaceful and safe here.
Speaker 1: It's a wonderful place for letting go or forgiving. Ask yourself,
Speaker 1: what is the hardest thing to forgive?
Speaker 2: And remember the pain that incident caused you?
Speaker 1: Where are you carrying it in your body? Now? How
Speaker 1: long have you been carrying that pain? In this very
Speaker 1: safe place? Allow yourself to take the pain out of
Speaker 1: your body and hold it in your hands.
Speaker 2: Look at it from every angle? How big is it?
Speaker 2: What color is this pain?
Speaker 1: Does it have a sound, a smell, a taste? Do
Speaker 1: you really want to keep it any longer? Are you
Speaker 1: willing to let it go?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 1: Gently place this pain in the stream and watch the
Speaker 1: current dissolve it and take it away. All that hurt
Speaker 1: and suffering is being dispersed, made harmless as it drifts
Speaker 1: away out of sight. Feel the water flowing against your hand,
Speaker 1: washing it clean. Notice how glad you are to have
Speaker 1: released that old chunk. Now take another incident, really relive it,
Speaker 1: feel for a moment that pain and hurt. Take a
Speaker 1: breath and step back in your mind and look at
Speaker 1: the incident from the other person's point of view. Does
Speaker 1: it look the same from that angle? Now take another
Speaker 1: breath and look at the situation from an observer's point
Speaker 1: of view, someone who is watching both of you and
Speaker 1: is totally objective. Is that also another point of view?
Speaker 1: Every time you look at the experience from a different angle,
Speaker 1: you get a different reaction. Who is right and who
Speaker 1: is wrong? Is anyone really right or wrong? Let's just
Speaker 1: take that whole incident, the other party, the old you,
Speaker 1: the incident, and the observer, and let them all gently
Speaker 1: submerge into the stream, dissolving and disappearing as they drift away.
Speaker 1: Let it go, slip away until it is gone from
Speaker 1: sight and from your emotional grasp. Give yourself a moment
Speaker 1: of peace on the bank of the river, Lay back
Speaker 1: against the grass and breathe s Who is the hardest
Speaker 1: person to forgive?
Speaker 2: And why?
Speaker 1: If you really wanted to forgive this person, you know
Speaker 1: you could. What is it you want to hold on to?
Speaker 1: Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?
Speaker 1: Perhaps you have held this pain long enough and now
Speaker 1: it is safe enough for you to let it go.
Speaker 1: What would you be willing to give in return for
Speaker 1: releasing this negativity? Could you give understanding for abandonment? Could
Speaker 1: you give compassion for the abuse and betrayal? Could you
Speaker 1: give acceptance for rejection? Could you just forgive and let go?
Speaker 1: Are you willing to change your old beliefs of I
Speaker 1: am worth abusing to I am worth cherishing? How willing
Speaker 1: are you to give up these old negative ideas for
Speaker 1: the new freedom that forgiveness can bring you.
Speaker 2: Once again?
Speaker 1: Just release all of this pain. Drop all of this
Speaker 1: bitterness into the river. Let the person go, release them,
Speaker 1: set them free, and say to them, I forgive you
Speaker 1: for not being the way I wanted you to be.
Speaker 1: I forgive you, and I set you free. And then
Speaker 1: let the whole experience go. Wash yourself free of every
Speaker 1: vestige of the past. See blocks and barriers drifting down
Speaker 1: the stream. Watch them go. They are no part of
Speaker 1: you anymore. You are cleansed, and you are free. S
Speaker 1: At any time, you can go through your mind and
Speaker 1: find other places where unforgiveness resides, and you can take
Speaker 1: each incident or person and hold them in your hands
Speaker 1: and look at them and decide if you are willing
Speaker 1: to be totally free. Now, I forgive you, and I
Speaker 1: set you free. I forgive you, and I set myself free.
Speaker 1: And in your mind, place each one in the river
Speaker 1: and see them dissolve as they drift down the stream.
Speaker 1: Let them go, let it all go, forgive and release
Speaker 1: the whole world. Now you can step into the stream
Speaker 1: yourself for a moment, let yourself be totally immersed for
Speaker 1: an instant, and then stand up in the water and
Speaker 1: declare for yourself, I am forgiven, I am forgiven, and
Speaker 1: I am free. Your mind, your heart, your whole body
Speaker 1: is being cleansed of all the negative debris. The weight
Speaker 1: has been taken away. You can see it floating down
Speaker 1: the stream, never to return. What a relief, what a joy.
Speaker 1: As you come back up the bank, notice how light
Speaker 1: and free you feel. The sunshine looks brighter and dries
Speaker 1: you instantly. Colors and the sounds are more vivid. The
Speaker 1: world is more beautiful, and you know you are entitled
Speaker 1: to miracles now that you are free.
Speaker 2: What miracle would you like see? In your mind?
Speaker 1: Clearly, something wonderful that you would like to have happen
Speaker 1: in your life, and know that it is now possible.
Speaker 1: As you walk up out of the valley, having left
Speaker 1: the old patterns behind, feel the space opening in your heart,
Speaker 1: Feel the love in your heart beginning to flow.
Speaker 2: There is nothing to stop it.
Speaker 1: Now you feel so peaceful, so alive, so willing to love,
Speaker 1: and so very free. You have forgiven, You have been forgiven.
Speaker 1: Life looks good and you know that all is well
Speaker 1: in your world. Missus Louise Hay and I love you.