Colin Tipping...You Rock!!

"What is forgiveness if it is not extending the energy of Love to another and joining with him or her? What is forgiveness if it is not the key to our awakening? What is forgiveness if it is not the ONLY way to overcome the illusion of separation?"--Colin Tipping

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Jesus...on Forgiveness

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

Even though on an intellectual level you “know” that “you’re perfect, whole & complete” – do you doubt it?

Jennifer Hadley asked this question in one of her daily emails.  Most of us do have big emotional doubts, even though we are intellectually learning truths.  In order to turn what we are learning intellectually into knowing, however, we must do our forgiveness work. 

The reason we doubt is because we all have massive guilt in our subconscious minds.

 Each time we forgive, the Holy Spirit goes into our subconscious and removes a little of that guilt.  As we forgive repeatedly over time, our storehouse of guilt (which, of course, is the source of most of the suffering we experience here on earth) gets lessoned. 

This is why I look forward to my forgiveness opportunities.  Even though I know that the "classroom" of life may occasionally bring me painful experiences, when I forgive them and truly accept my world, I am offered peace instead. 

Forgiveness is the way we turn doubt and fear into love. 

Made by God

God is the Love in Which I Forgive--Workbook Lesson 46

Many of us were brought up believing that we must ask God to forgive us.  However, God doesn't forgive!!  Does this idea surprise you?

God never judges and therefore he never finds it necessary to forgive.  I find this message to be of great comfort. 

"God does not forgive because He has never condemned. And there must be condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is the great need of this world, but that is because it is a world of illusions. Those who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them. As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive only yourself." --A Course in Miracles, Workbook, Lesson 46

 As our creator, God always knows his own truth about each of us.  We are perfect.  We are only good. We are love always and everywhere. 

Since God made us exactly in his own image, we can only be these things.  If we judge ourselves to be anything other than this, it is only our own self-created illusion.  We perceive that we are not perfect and therefore need God's forgiveness.

When we forgive others, we are actually acknowledging their truth--that there is nothing to judge them for, because they are also created in perfection.  They are only good.  They are love always and everywhere. 

The reason why it is so essential that we forgive others and see their truth is that as we see their truth, we actually begin to convince ourselves of our own truth.  If they are perfect, then we must be too.

"Yet although God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the basis of forgiveness. Fear condemns and love forgives. Forgiveness thus undoes what fear has produced, returning the mind to the awareness of God. For this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation. It is the means by which illusions disappear."  --Lesson 46 

Lesson 46 is the first place in the workbook that the concept of forgiveness is explored in any depth. Personally, I love the beautiful safety of knowing that I never need feel that I must ask for God's forgiveness.  Asking implies that it is possible that forgiveness might be withheld. 

Our fear of exactly that is the root of all of our problems.  We all live with deep and massive unconscious fear and guilt.  Our worry that God may disapprove of us, withhold his love from us, or feel angry toward us, causes tremendous and constant anxiety in our minds.  Here, in this very first Workbook message about forgiveness, we are being reassured that we need not worry about being judged by God.  God has only love and support to offer us. 

"I cannot be guilty because I am a Son of God.
I have already been forgiven.
No fear is possible in a mind beloved of God.
There is no need to attack because love has forgiven me."--Lesson 46

A Forgiveness Blessing

Try this sometime on someone you feel annoyed with.  Simply close your eyes and feel these thoughts going out to them, blessing and healing.  All thoughts are shared.  When you know your brother's truth, it becomes available for them to know, too. 

You are immense, because you are everywhere. 

You are magnificent, because you are what God is. 

You are always, because you live in eternity.

Be "On Alert"

I often get asked what my forgiveness practice is like.  The best answer I can give is that it is always "on alert".  And if you really want to make headway on your spiritual path, you'll put your forgiveness "on alert", too.

Throughout the course of our days, we are going to encounter all kinds of "forgiveness opportunities". Sometimes we are simply forgiving the little annoyances of life, like the person who jostles us in the supermarket and doesn't apologize.  Other times, our lessons may be huge, overwhelming and even extremely painful such as when someone we care for deeply dies.  Some forgiveness opportunities take only a few minutes to forgive and some may take a lifetime. 

My policy is to forgive what I can when I can.  This means that I am always up-to-date with my forgiveness work.  I try to forgive the supermarket jostler on the spot if I can.  If the environment is too busy and I can't concentrate for the minute it takes to forgive, or if I just can't take the time at that moment, I'll forgive when I climb into bed for the night.  I find that this is the perfect time to review my day and forgive anything that pushed my buttons.

Some days memories and unresolved issues from my past come into my mind and trigger painful feelings.  Again, with these, I try to be always "on alert" with my thinking, carefully watching for thoughts that are resentful, angry, worried, painful or fearful in any way.  If I'm feeling victimized, I know I have something to forgive. If I'm feeling rejected or unworthy in any way, I know I have something to forgive.  I add these feelings to my nightly forgiveness work.

Sometimes an awareness of a memory of something from the past will cause me to feel physically uncomfortable.  I might feel stress symptoms such as a pounding heart and tight muscles, or I might feel a sharp pain in the area of my heart. These physical feelings also alert me to the fact that there is something here that needs to be forgiven. 

Of course, we all have experienced at least a few big painful events or betrayals in our lives.  I try to pull every aspect I have associated with these feelings into my awareness.  I work at forgiving these often.  Some nights I'll deliberately bring these painful events to mind to see if anything new about them occurs to me.  If so, I'll do some deep thinking and feeling about the issue, intensifying any memories or emotions associated with it.  It is surprising how often new aspects of the same old issues come to the surface.  I've found that it is possible to train myself to be vigilant and always aware of the tiniest threads of an issue.  I know that when I tug at these threads, a bigger piece of that ugly wound-up knot of pain will come free. 

There are days when there is simply nothing to forgive. Sometimes, this can be the way of things for several days in a row.  I go about my business in peace.  Other days there may be a small thing or two to forgive.  Of course, sooner or later the lessons of life will occur.  That's when it's time to buckle down and devote the time it takes to do some serious forgiveness work. 

I'm at peace with this process now, but regardless of what kind of a day I'm having, I remain always "on alert" looking for my forgiveness opportunities.  After all, I know I need them if I want to get back to God.