A Simple Forgiveness Prayer

 Sometimes forgiveness feels complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.

This simple three-line prayer can open your heart, soften your judgments, and reconnect you to the truth of who we all really are.

I see you as you are.
I accept you as you are.
I send you love and blessings.

These words are simple, but their meaning reaches deep.

I see you as you are

In my mind, I allow you to stand before me.
I see your humanness.
Your vulnerability.
Your fears, your foibles, your blind spots.
All the places where you can be difficult.

But I also see beyond all that.

I see the higher truth of who you are.

You were created by God — and God creates using only one substance: Himself.
His energy. His essence. Love.

Think of divine love like an endless current of electricity, flowing freely until something blocks it. That flow is our Source. That flow is our truth. That flow is the God-substance from which we are made.

Here in this earthly experience, people forget who they really are.
They disconnect. They block the current.
And when the flow of love is blocked, behavior gets messy.

But none of that changes the truth of their identity.

When I say I see you as you are, I am choosing to see the whole truth — not just the personality in front of me, but the divine light behind it.

I accept you as you are

We can accept people as they are — not because their behavior is perfect, but because the person underneath the behavior is still holy.

The only real “sin” anyone has is forgetfulness:
forgetting their true source, forgetting who created them, forgetting the love they were made from.

And honestly, we all do it.
Some more than others.
Some more dramatically than others.
But every one of us slips into separation thinking at times.

Acceptance means recognizing:

This behavior is not who you are.
Your fear is not who you are.
Your mistakes are not who you are.

I accept you because I see the larger truth of you.

I send you love and blessings

This is the gift of forgiveness.

When we look beyond blocked love — beyond the temporary ego-self — and see someone’s higher identity, it becomes easy to extend love.

We are sending love and blessings not to the small, confused personality, but to the equal, divine Self within them.

Because:

• They are what we are.

• We are all made of the same God-stuff.

• We are each an intrinsic part of the wholeness of God.

• We are all precious and cherished equally by Him.

If God can love this person…
If God never loses sight of their innocence…
Then surely, in this moment, we can send a little love too.

This simple prayer opens that channel.

I see you as you are.
I accept you as you are.
I send you love and blessings.

This is forgiveness.
This is freedom.
This is love remembering itself.

Want to go deeper into forgiveness and inner peace?

• Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking our Connection to Love.

• My book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness offers heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices.

• Let daily affirmations support you — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck for a gentle morning practice of peace and release.

• Browse more forgiveness tools, art, and daily reminders in our Etsy Shop →

• Want to receive free weekly forgiveness coaching emails? Sign up and get insights, tools, and inspiration to deepen your practice → Sign up here

Let these tools light your path — because forgiveness sets you free.
— Sue Pipal

Letting Go Without Resignation: A Talk by Rev. Nichola Johnson

Forgiveness and letting go walk hand in hand.

One softens the heart. The other frees the soul.
So when we stumble across a teaching that expands our understanding of letting go in a truly profound way, it deserves to be shared widely.

A Talk That Truly Blew Me Away

Recently, my dear friend, Rev. Nichola (Nikki) Johnson, gave a talk at Centers for Spiritual Living Tahoe-Truckee on the subject of Letting Go.

I don’t often stop everything I’m doing to rewatch a spiritual lesson — but this one?
I’ve already listened three times.

It is packed with insights, stories, and perspectives that gently stretch you beyond wherever you are sitting in your forgiveness journey. Truly, each time I watch it, I hear something new. It’s that rich.

Nikki is one of the most brilliant, charming, deeply spiritual people I’ve ever known. An interfaith minister with a lifetime of contemplative study, she carries wisdom from around the world — including the many months each year she spends in India — and delivers it with such warmth and clarity that you can’t help but grow.

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Meet Nikki and Her Work

Through her organization, Shared Wisdom, Nikki offers sanghas, meditations, and soul-nourishing retreats under the beautiful banner of “Fragrance of Joy.”

You can explore her work here:
👉 sharedwisdom.org

And if you want to travel the world with her through images and reflections, follow:
👉 Instagram: @sharedwisdomorg

Her presence radiates joy, depth, and genuine compassion — and this talk is no exception.

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Why You Should Watch This Talk

If you are working on forgiveness, acceptance, emotional healing, or simply want more peace in your heart…

This talk is a must-see.

It will:

• Expand your understanding of what it means to truly let go--you may think you are already letting go, but trust me, Nikki will point out places where you are not...yet

• Show us how we often clench, grasp and control in an effort to "feel safe" or "create a better life"

• Help you understand what it really means to truly be in grace

• Allow you to place even more trust in spirit to create positively in our lives, and that means sometimes allowing spirit to expand on the limited possibilities we see for ourselves

• Support your forgiveness practice in a powerful new way

Nikki takes the concept of letting go and lifts it onto a whole new level — not as a cliché, but as a living spiritual practice that opens the door to profound freedom.

You will be changed by it. I certainly was:

Want to go deeper into forgiveness and inner peace?

• Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking our Connection to Love.

• My book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness offers heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices.

• Let daily affirmations support you — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck for a gentle morning practice of peace and release.

• Browse more forgiveness tools, art, and daily reminders in our Etsy Shop →

• Want to receive free weekly forgiveness coaching emails? Sign up and get insights, tools, and inspiration to deepen your practice → Sign up here

Let these tools light your path — because forgiveness sets you free.
— Sue Pipal

Forgiveness Has Changed: From Personal Wounds to Global Healing

Back When Forgiveness Was Personal

I started writing this blog in 2013 and wrote steadily about forgiveness for two years. Then I quit. It wasn’t that I lost interest in forgiveness—I just felt like I had said most of what I wanted to say.

Back then, forgiveness mostly meant working through our personal relationships. People felt betrayed by their spouses and boyfriends/girlfriends, upset with their children, angry at their parents or siblings, and frustrated or bullied by co-workers. Those personal hurts were the everyday emotional terrain many of us lived with. That’s what brought most of us to forgiveness work in the first place.

The Shift to Global Forgiveness

I always taught forgiveness on a larger scale too, and my book touches on forgiving the world and its events. But even then, the focus was mostly personal because that’s where people felt their pain most directly.

Now, it feels like everything has changed. The forgiveness issues many of us are wrestling with today are global.

We still experience pain in our closest relationships, of course. But now so much of the suffering we feel comes from watching what is happening in the world.

War. Cruelty. Famine. Indifference.
People turning away from compassion.
The collective heart seems tired and overwhelmed.

A World Divided

Perhaps the biggest forgiveness challenge of all today is the political divide. In the U.S. — and in many other countries — we are at war with one another. And it is heartbreaking to witness.

We are frustrated, angry, and disappointed with “the other side.” We are loud, reactive, and exhausted. We hurl insults, tolerate deception, and excuse cruelty, all in the name of politics. Everyone seems to believe that they alone know the truth — and anyone who disagrees must be ignorant or immoral.

It’s exhausting.
It’s painful.
And it’s spiritually draining.

Forgiving the World We Live In

I’ve already written about how to forgive world leaders who seem selfish, cruel, or power-hungry. It’s one of the most visited posts on this blog, and for good reason — it touches on something that feels almost impossible to do.

You can read it here:
→ Forgiving World Leaders

When I work with global forgiveness, I usually start there — at the top.
I forgive the powerful.
I forgive the decision-makers.
I forgive the public figures who seem to be driving division, harm, or suffering.

Then I work my way closer to home.
I forgive the supporters.
I forgive the people who are angry, scared, or misled.
I forgive the conversations that feel like a wall instead of a bridge.

And — this part is essential —
I forgive myself.

I forgive myself for my reactions.
I forgive myself for the ways I add to the conflict.
I forgive myself for forgetting to see the divine spark in others when everything feels overwhelming.

There is a clear, step-by-step forgiveness process in the Forgiving World Leaders post that can guide you through this. If you’d like to participate in this kind of healing work — for yourself and for the world — that post is a powerful place to begin.

Forgiving World Leaders

Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash

Healing the Collective

A Course in Miracles teaches that when one person shifts from fear to love, thousands are affected.

This isn’t metaphor — it is how consciousness works.
Minds are joined. Hearts are connected. We influence each other, silently, without even speaking.

Your forgiveness is not just personal.
Your forgiveness is participatory.
It is your contribution to the healing of humanity.

One heart at peace creates more peace.
One mind that stops judging helps others soften, too.
One soul choosing love becomes a quiet light the world can feel.

Forgiveness is how we help heal the world — from the inside out.

Photo by Michael Thaxton on Unsplash

Want to go deeper into forgiveness and inner peace?

• Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking our Connection to Love.

• My book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness offers heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices.

• Let daily affirmations support you — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck for a gentle morning practice of peace and release.

• Browse more forgiveness tools, art, and daily reminders in our Etsy Shop →

• Want to receive free weekly forgiveness coaching emails? Sign up and get insights, tools, and inspiration to deepen your practice → Sign up here

Let these tools light your path — because forgiveness sets you free.
— Sue Pipal

The Metta Deck Story: A Journey Into Forgiveness and Blessing

Forgiveness has been the heart of my spiritual path for many years, and one thing I’ve learned is this: forgiveness isn’t something we do once and move on from. It’s a practice — a way of returning to love again and again.

I wanted to create something that would make forgiveness simple, beautiful, and tangible — something you could actually hold in your hands, draw from for guidance, and feel supported by. That inspiration grew into the Forgiveness Metta Deck — fifty-two cards filled with messages of compassion, release, and blessing.

The deck was born out of my book Forgiveness Is the Key to Happiness and the many years I’ve spent writing, teaching, and living the principles of forgiveness. It is both a spiritual tool and a gentle companion for your daily life.

The Metta Forgiveness Card Deck--52 playing size cards 

What the Metta Deck Is

The Forgiveness Metta Deck is a collection of prayers, affirmations, and contemplations designed to bring peace to any situation. It can be used in many ways:

• As a prayer of blessing for someone you love.

• As a forgiveness practice for someone who has hurt you.

• As a path to self-forgiveness, because if all people are worthy of God’s love, then you must be too.

Each card offers a doorway back to truth — helping you see others (and yourself) as whole, innocent, and loved by the Divine.

See the full deck on Etsy →

The Seven Parts of the Deck

Each group of cards represents a layer of the forgiveness journey — from offering blessings to releasing judgment to remembering our shared holiness.

🌿 7 Metta Prayer Cards

Each of these is a line from the traditional Metta or loving-kindness prayer.
They’re meant to bless yourself and others with thoughts such as: May you be happy. May you be safe. May you live with ease.
You can use them to send light to someone you love, or to someone you’re struggling to forgive.

🌿 7 Highest-Self Forgiveness Cards

These cards are drawn from one of my favorite forgiveness processes — one that sees every person, no matter what they’ve done, as their highest self.
They help you look past behavior and remember Spirit. You can use them to bless someone you love or to forgive someone who has caused pain.
When you see their holiness, you remember your own.

🌿 16 A Course in Miracles Cards

These cards distill key teachings and direct quotes from A Course in Miracles.
They remind us that “Forgiveness is the key to happiness” and that what we give, we receive.
Each one serves as a simple anchor for reflection, meditation, or journaling.

🌿 3 Bible Verse Cards

Scriptural reminders that divine love is vast and merciful.
They show that forgiveness is not just a philosophy — it’s a universal truth shared across all faiths.

🌿 11 Contemplation Cards

These are quiet reflections that invite you inward. They ask gentle questions like:
Where am I still holding on?
What might forgiveness set free in me today?
They’re ideal for meditation or journaling and help you see how forgiveness deepens over time.

🌿 12 Forgiveness Process Cards

These are short, practical exercises to help you see the “other” as a perfect creation of God.
When you can forgive them — truly see their innocence — something shifts inside you.
You realize that what’s true for them must also be true for you.
This is how forgiving others becomes a doorway to self-forgiveness and inner peace.

Hold the peace in your hands — view the Forgiveness Metta Deck on Etsy →

How to Use the Deck

There’s no right or wrong way to use the Metta Deck.

You might:

• Draw a card each morning and let its message guide your day.

• Use it as a focus for meditation or prayer.

• Pull a card when you’re upset and let it soften your heart.

• Share a card with a friend who’s hurting.

Many people keep the deck beside their bed, on their altar, or at their desk — a quiet reminder that peace is always one forgiving thought away.

The Creative Journey

Designing this deck was a joy from start to finish. Every word, color, and font was chosen to radiate calm and hope.

I remember holding the first printed deck in my hands — such a small box, yet it felt like a lifetime of teaching and practice resting there. A little miracle, really.

Each card feels like a whisper from Spirit saying, “You are loved. You are forgiven. You are free.”

A Gift of Forgiveness

My deepest hope is that the Metta Deck helps you remember your own light — and the light in others.
That it reminds you to pause, breathe, and choose peace.
That it becomes your quiet companion on the path of forgiveness and self-acceptance.

You can find the Forgiveness Metta Deck on Etsy →.

May it bless you, comfort you, and help you return — again and again — to love. 

Forgiveness is Releasing the Meaning We Give to Things

"Forgiveness is releasing the meaning we have made of things." — Jennifer Hadley

Our minds are always interpreting the world around us, trying to make sense of the events, people, and situations that swirl through this 3D earthly life. We might decide that someone doesn’t like us based on a frown or a curt word. But what we don’t know is that they might just be stressed, worried about bills, or juggling challenges we can’t even see.

We feel hurt. We feel angry. We think we’re the victims. But in truth, they may be the ones struggling even more than we are.

Photo by Wang Sheeran on Unsplash

Assume the Best, Let Go of the Rest

The key is to cut people some slack. Assume the best about everyone. Let minor affronts slide. With a little practice, forgiveness becomes almost automatic when we see the higher truth in others: they are just humans, doing their best, struggling and suffering, trying to get by.

Those of us who consciously practice forgiveness are walking the path of grace. Our own suffering is often far lighter than that of others. We can allow people to behave however they do, let them off the hook, and be sensitive to the challenges they face.

Take a moment to feel gratitude for your own awareness and understanding, for the path you’re on, and for the capacity you have to release judgment. Then let it go.

Want to go deeper into forgiveness?

• Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking our Connection to Love.

• My book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness, offers heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices. Read it on Amazon →

• Let daily affirmations support you too — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck for a gentle morning practice of peace and release. View the deck on Etsy → https://www.etsy.com/listing/4350470896/metta-prayer-forgiveness-affirmation

• Want to receive free weekly forgiveness coaching emails? Sign up and get insights, tools, and inspiration to deepen your practice of forgiveness. Sign up here →

• New: Explore the Forgive and Be Happy Etsy Shop for more inspiration and products: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ForgiveAndBeHappy

Let these tools light your path — because forgiveness sets you free.
— Sue Pipal

Let’s Get Meta Physical: Seeing Life as a Dream

What if everything you experience is just an illusion?

For thousands of years, advanced spiritual thinkers have described this life as a dream or illusion. Buddhists call it maya, Hindus speak of life as a temporary play of consciousness, and A Course in Miracles teaches that the world we see is not real—it’s a projection of the mind.

Nothing in this world exists in its own right; it’s all a dream. Think of life like a day at the movies. You show up, sit down, and become completely absorbed in the story on the screen. You forget everything else. You laugh, cry, and feel suspense, forgetting that this is just a movie.

Could it be that our larger life—the eternal part of us—is very much like the movie? We are here for a while, absorbed in the story, but the deeper truth is always present behind the scenes. The more we understand this, the more peace and freedom we experience.

How recognizing life as a dream helps with forgiveness

When we see life as a dream, the challenges, annoyances, and hurts we encounter take on a new perspective. People act from fear, ego, or confusion—like characters in a movie. Knowing that the deeper reality is love and unity allows us to forgive more easily and release our own judgments.

Life is a dream.  Photo by Robin Edqvist on Unsplash

A simple practice to remember the dream

Take a few moments each day to pause and say to yourself:
"This is a dream. I am more than what I see."
Notice how your perspective softens. You become less attached to outcomes, less reactive to minor irritations, and more aware of the timeless truth at your center.

Want to go deeper into forgiveness and seeing the truth beyond the dream?

• Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking our Connection to Love.

• Read my book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness, for heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices. Find it on Amazon →

• Receive free weekly forgiveness coaching emails with insights and tools to help you practice forgiveness in everyday life. Sign up here →

• Let daily affirmations support you too — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck for a gentle morning practice of peace and release.

Let these tools light your path—because forgiveness and awareness of our true self set you free.
— Sue Pipal

Living the Happy Dream: Finding Heaven on Earth Through Forgiveness

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.  --e. e. Cummings

The Promise of the Happy Dream

A Course of Miracles promises that the more you forgive, the happier your life will be.  In fact,  over time, as you begin to forgive everyone and every difficult event or circumstance in the world around you, you will actually begin to live what the Course calls the "happy dream". 

  
Forgiveness as the Path to Peace

Forgiveness is much easier than you may think.  In fact, once you get in the habit, it actually becomes pleasurable.  There's really no reason to live a life of fear, anxiety, upset or lack when the possibility of the "happy dream" life is such an easy alternative.  It doesn't happen over night, of course, but a few years of significant forgiveness work will improve your life immeasurably.

 

Seeing the World Through Heaven’s Eyes

In A Course in Miracles, the “happy dream” is not a fantasy world or a denial of pain — it’s a state of mind where forgiveness has cleared away fear and guilt. When we forgive, we begin to see the world differently. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong, we start to notice the light in others, the beauty of the moment, and the quiet joy that comes from inner peace. The “happy dream” is what life looks like when we’ve stopped defending against love. It’s a gentle, forgiving perception of everything and everyone, a world softened by grace.

So...what are you waiting for? 

Want to go deeper into forgiveness?

Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking our Connection to Love →.

My book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness, offers heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices. Read it on Amazon →

Let daily affirmations support you too — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck for a gentle morning practice of peace and release.

Want to receive free weekly forgiveness coaching emails? Sign up and get insights, tools, and inspiration to deepen your practice of forgiveness. Sign up here →

Let these tools light your path — because forgiveness sets you free.
— Sue Pipal

"Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness" is available in both hardcover and paperback at:

amazon.com

barnesandnoble.com

For an ebook go to:

balboapress.com

Are you really, truly happy?

A Surprising Discovery in a Book Club

When I was in my early 30s, I joined a book club. One meeting, I remarked that it seemed like all the books we had been reading were filled with angst. “Where are the happy people and the happy stories?” I wondered.

I was surprised when my book club friends all looked at me blankly. “Sue, the world is not about happiness,” they said. I was shocked. This was a group of successful career women, many with corporate husbands, lovely homes, and small children cared for by nannies. On the surface, we looked happy—but not so.

The Hidden Struggles Beneath the Surface

As we went around the room, each woman confessed she didn’t feel happy much of the time. They spent most of their lives navigating monstrous “to-do” lists, keeping their households running, excelling at work, and caring for everyone around them.

Beneath their exterior success, they were disappointed in unmet expectations, struggled with feeling unconnected, and often felt distant from family and friends. Every one of them battled fear, rejection, and inadequacy.

Every one of them was secretly bitterly disappointed that their husbands did not love them in the way that they had once hoped they would be cherished and loved, that their bosses and co-workers did not see them as shining saviors for the companies they worked for, that they struggled with feeling unconnected and distant from their closest friends, and were heart-broken to find themselves physically separated from parents and families who often lived significant distances away.

Their lives were a constant state of worry, inadequacy and disappointment.  Each one battled daily with fears of rejection and abandonment.  Each one lived a surface life of success and happiness but underneath resided a deep-seated terror that the gig was about to be up.  Each lived with a terrible and secret fear that their real truth would somehow rise to the surface, and the whole structure they had worked tirelessly to create would shatter to the ground.

The truth is that when the lights go out in the middle of the night and we’re alone with our thoughts, every one of us feels achingly lonely, remorseful and terrified.

What We Really Feel Is Guilt

Much of what we call unhappiness is actually guilt. We feel guilty because we are living separately from God.  Denying that guilt drives us to chase accomplishments, possessions, and the symbols of success.  It’s the pride of self our egos cling to that separates us from knowing our true relationship with God.  And clinging to these trappings, activities, and illusions only moves us further from the peace and joy that are naturally ours. 

It’s by our own choice that we live in unhappiness. 

This is because the “world” is actually structured so that we can be happy.  There is only one thing that we need to do to attain it.  And this one thing is forgiveness.  When we forgive and see everyone else in the world as a valued loveable soul created by God, we begin to learn to chose love over fear.  Over time, continuously choosing love releases the blockages we have built that prevent us from having a relationship with our creator. Life gets easier and happiness grows. 

Forgiveness: The Key to True Happiness

In my book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness, I provide many easy-to-use processes that help you forgive anybody and any event in your life—past or present. Develop a daily habit of forgiveness, and watch your life transform from fear to love.

Want to go deeper into forgiveness?

• Explore how forgiveness reconnects us to divine compassion in Unblocking our Connection to Love. Read it here →

• My book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness, offers heartfelt guidance, spiritual tools, and real-life practices. Read it on Amazon → | Barnes & Noble → 

• Let daily affirmations support you too — discover the Forgiveness Metta Card Deck for a gentle morning practice of peace and release.

• Receive free weekly forgiveness coaching emails and insights to deepen your practice → Sign up here

Let these tools light your path — because forgiveness sets you free.
— Sue Pipal

Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness is available at:

Amazon.com

Barnesandnoble.com

Balboapress.com