The Freedom of Forgiveness: Letting Go For Yourself
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Episode Title: The Freedom of Forgiveness: Letting Go For Yourself
Podcast: Inner Peace Meditations with Steven Webb
Welcome to Inner Peace Meditations. This podcast will always be free and without adverts, made possible by the kind support of listeners. Thank you for being here.
A Note from Steven: If you find this meditation on forgiveness helpful, you may also wish to listen to the discussion on the same topic on my other podcast, Stillness in the Storms. You can find that episode here: [Insert Link to Stillness in the Storms episode]
About This Meditation
This guided meditation is an invitation to find freedom by forgiving. Forgiveness isn't about excusing what happened or forgetting the pain; it’s about choosing to release the heavy weight of resentment for your own well being. It’s a gift you give to yourself. Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to be harmed; this practice is the antidote, allowing you to reclaim your own peace and move forward.
In this session, we will gently acknowledge past hurts and use the power of affirmation to cultivate an open and peaceful heart. You will be guided to see that you can be whole again, even after being hurt.
Who Is This Forgiveness Meditation For?
This meditation is designed to help if you are struggling with the pain of past events and want to find a way to move forward. It can be particularly helpful if you are looking to:
- Find peace after being cheated on or betrayed in a relationship.
- Let go of the anger and hurt caused by a friend or family member.
- Heal from difficult experiences at work or from childhood.
- Release resentment you hold towards a person, an organisation, or a situation that caused you pain.
- Stop feeling stuck in a loop of thinking about what happened.
- Learn how to forgive someone for your own peace, even if you never speak to them again.
- Find a sense of freedom from the past so you can live more fully in the present.
Key Concepts in This Meditation
- Forgiveness for You: The central theme is that this act is for your freedom, not because the other person deserves it.
- Mushin (No-Mind): We touch on the Zen concept of a mind free from attachment and lingering resentment, allowing experiences to arise and pass freely.
- Acknowledge, Don't Re-live: You will be guided to acknowledge the event and the feelings it stirs without getting lost in the story.
- Affirmations for Healing: The practice uses gentle, inward affirmations such as, "I forgive you. Not for you, but for me," and, "May I live with an open and peaceful heart".
Support the Podcast
These meditations are offered for free, without ads, to help as many people as possible. If you find value in this and would like to help support its creation, you can make a small donation. Thank you for your support.
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- Read Steven's blog at stevenwebb.com
Transcript
So welcome to the freedom of forgiveness, letting go for yourself.
Speaker A:So just while you're settling in, while you're making yourself comfortable, allowing your body to be what it is, and allow this moment to be what it is.
Speaker A:This meditation is an invitation to meet the pain of past hurt with a soft heart.
Speaker A:Not to excuse or forget, but to forgive for your own freedom to let go.
Speaker A:Not because they deserve it, but because you do so.
Speaker A:Just allow your body to settle into this moment.
Speaker A:Allow your breath to be what it is.
Speaker A:And here's a little bit about forgiveness.
Speaker A:So in Zen, there's a word, mushin, no mind, A state free from attachment, judgment, and lingering resentment.
Speaker A:It's not emptiness in a hollow sense, but the spaciousness that allows everything to arise and just as easily pass.
Speaker A:And this practice invites us to touch that quality.
Speaker A:We do not need to carry the weight of what others did.
Speaker A:Systems or whatever it was that was done to us.
Speaker A:People do what they do, shaped by them causes and conditions.
Speaker A:People do what they do shaped by their own causes and conditions.
Speaker A:It might feel personal, but it's not personal.
Speaker A:What happened to you shaped you, yes, but it does not need to define you.
Speaker A:So we don't forgive to change the past or reconcile with someone else.
Speaker A:We forgive to stop drinking the poison that we've been holding.
Speaker A:We forgive to reclaim our peace.
Speaker A:We forgive to remember who we are beyond the wound.
Speaker A:So that's a Zen perspective.
Speaker A:How about we do a little practice?
Speaker A:As you relax gently into this moment, breathing in calm, breathing out.
Speaker A:Relax and just begin with the awareness of breath and feeding the body just as it is.
Speaker A:And you invite the body to relax and just soften in this moment.
Speaker A:There's no forcing.
Speaker A:The body knows how to relax.
Speaker A:It's just waiting for you to allow it to happen.
Speaker A:You don't need to change your breath.
Speaker A:Your body knows how to breathe in this moment, as it normally does in all other moments.
Speaker A:And in a moment, I'm going to ask you to bring to mind an event or a person that still hold some weight.
Speaker A:Then just take a few moments just to decide what event or what person you want to bring.
Speaker A:It could be something that is really strong.
Speaker A:It could be something that's slightly less stronger.
Speaker A:For now, and remember, you're not there.
Speaker A:Remember that wise quote that says you cannot get wet from the word water?
Speaker A:We're not re experiencing it, we're just telling the story.
Speaker A:So if you bring that event or the person to your mind now and acknowledge the feelings it stirs, whether it's pain or anger, whether it's sadness or fear could be resentment, it could be, could be just disbelief.
Speaker A:And then if you just speak inwardly, just yes, this happened.
Speaker A:Yes, it hurt and yes, I'm still here.
Speaker A:And just like that, we acknowledge it.
Speaker A:Yes, this happened, yes, it hurt, and yes, I am still here.
Speaker A:And now shift your focus to the healing or your resilience and your freedom.
Speaker A:And remember we said about forgiveness, it's not about them, it's totally for you.
Speaker A:So silently repeat just I forgive you, not for you, but for me.
Speaker A:I forgive you, not for you, but for me.
Speaker A:And you may feel somewhere in your body where this resistance has really been held and gently allow it space, maybe in your heart, maybe somewhere lower or even just in your mind.
Speaker A:And you can ask yourself, what did this experience teach me?
Speaker A:What did this experience teach me?
Speaker A:What wisdom can I carry forward?
Speaker A:And just rest here for a moment.
Speaker A:No fixing, not forgetting, just being present with your own freedom.
Speaker A:I don't believe in all the forgive and forget and I just don't think it's possible.
Speaker A:I think we can learn from what's happened.
Speaker A:We don't have to reach out to them or whatever it was.
Speaker A:We don't have to even let them know that they're forgiven.
Speaker A:We're doing it from inside of our own heart for ourselves.
Speaker A:And there's a different way of doing the meta loving kindness affirmations that align with this.
Speaker A:And it goes like this.
Speaker A:May I be free from the burdens of my past.
Speaker A:May I be free from the burdens of my past.
Speaker A:May I live with an open and peaceful heart.
Speaker A:May I live with an open and peaceful heart.
Speaker A:And may I remember that I am whole even after being hurt.
Speaker A:May I remember I am whole even after being hurt.
Speaker A:And then just place your hand on your heart.
Speaker A:May I be well, may I be happy.
Speaker A:May I be free.
Speaker A:May I be well, May I be happy, May I be free.
Speaker A:And just have a little bit of gratitude for your body and your mind this moment and recognize that this is a journey, it's not a one off.
Speaker A:You might have to do this meditation a few times.
Speaker A:And remember it's not about them.
Speaker A:It's totally about you and your life and your freedom.
Speaker A:It's now time for you to live the life that you want on your terms.
Speaker A:So let's bring your awareness back to the room.
Speaker A:5.
Speaker A:4.
Speaker A:Gently open your eyes.
Speaker A:3.
Speaker A:Move your arms to just look around the room.
Speaker A:1.
Speaker A:And just maybe take a little bit of a deep breath and just feel the relief.
Speaker A:Feel the difference between harboring it and thinking about it and just the freedom that can come from do you know what?
Speaker A:It's not going to bother me anymore and it will come and go but the more you tell your subconscious mind, the more you tell your body, do you know what?
Speaker A:I'm done.
Speaker A:I'm okay, I'm here.
Speaker A:I've got a life.
Speaker A:I've got a life to get on with.
Speaker A:The more the subconscious mind, the more the thing will go, okay, I'll move on with you and you'll have this wonderful freedom from it.
Speaker A:Meditations like this aren't easy.
Speaker A:Thank you for doing it, thank you for your work and good luck and I wish you all the freedom.
Speaker A:I'm Stephen Webb and thank you for your support on these guided meditations.
Speaker A:I put them up free for everybody listening with no adverts and if you can support me in some way, be amazing.
Speaker A:There's different ways of doing it and following me on.
Speaker A:StephenWeb.uk thank you.
