Authors: Iyanla Vanzant

Forgiveness (17 page)

– T
APPING
S
EQUENCE
–

Review Basic
Tapping Sequence
Guidelines.

Review each of the day’s 12 Forgiveness Statements out loud. This will help you identify the specific aspects of the issue that you want to tap on.
Rate the intensity level of any unforgiveness you hold about today’s topic on a scale of 1 to 10. Write the number down.
Neutralize all subconscious resistance. Repeat a Reversal Statement 3 times while tapping continuously on the Karate Chop point.
Focus on the issue you’ll be tapping on. Repeat a Set-Up Statement 3 times while tapping continuously on the Karate Chop point.
Tap 7 times on each of the 10 meridian points while repeating out loud the key details from the 12 Forgiveness Statements. This process can be modeled on the bonus Tapping Scripts.
Recheck the intensity level of any unforgiveness you hold about today’s topic. Write the number down. If the level is at 8 or higher, repeat the entire sequence. If the level is less than 8, tap on a Modified Set-Up Statement, then perform the 10-point Tapping Sequence on your 12 Forgiveness Statements until you are at a 0 level of intensity.

– REFLECTIONS –

Sometimes a person needs to hear you forgive them so they can start to forgive themselves.

—R
ACHEL
G
IBSON
,
A
NY
M
AN OF
M
INE

– DAY 6 –

I F
ORGIVE
G
OD

God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.

In constant communication with God, my mind is listening to the Voice of God that is calm, always at rest, and wholly certain. Either God is the Mind with which I think, or ego is the mind with which I think.

—P
RAYER FOR
A C
OURSE IN
M
IRACLES
W
ORKBOOK
L
ESSON
49

– Forgiveness Story by Iyanla Vanzant –

I
t is always so much easier to blame someone else rather than accepting responsibility for your experiences. Whether it is a breakdown in a relationship or a lack of financial substance or a failure to fulfill a dream or goal, there must be “someone” to blame. In the realm of human experiences that includes education, socialization, and religious indoctrination, there are few instances where we are taught that each individual has the inherent power and responsibility to create the life he or she desires.

We create with our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations. We create by repeating the behavior patterns that feel comfortable and familiar, whether or not they are productive. We create by conscious choice—focused activity that moves us toward exactly what we want. Or we create experiences with unconscious choice—activity without focus or intent. And we create our lives by default, accepting whatever shows up and attempting to make it what we want it to be. Whether or not we know what we are creating or how we are creating it, when things do not turn out the way we desire, our human instincts drive us to look for someone to blame.

W
E CREATE WITH OUR THOUGHTS, BELIEFS, AND EXPECTATIONS
. W
E CREATE BY REPEATING THE BEHAVIOR PATTERNS THAT FEEL COMFORTABLE AND FAMILIAR, WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE PRODUCTIVE
.

For those who recognize and accept that there is a Higher Mind, a Divine Essence, a Spiritual Presence to life, we look to that energy to support, assist, and provide us with the things we need, want, and desire. Some call this presence God. Others call it Spirit. When we get what we want, when our lives reflect the good we desire, we are grateful and trust what we call the Spiritual Presence. When, on the other hand, we are confronted with difficulty or disappointment, we doubt and blame the Spiritual Presence.

M
ORE OF US THAN WOULD EVER ADMIT ARE ABSOLUTELY
PISSED OFF
WITH GOD FOR THE WAY THINGS SHOW UP OR DON’T SHOW UP IN OUR LIVES
.

More of us than would ever admit are absolutely
pissed off
with God for the way things show up or don’t show up in our lives. While it may seem irrational and illogical to
blame God
for our choosing the wrong partner, accepting an unfulfilling job, or spending more money than we earn, many of us do just that. We blame God. We hold God responsible for our mother’s meanness, for our daddy’s absence, for the supervisor’s failure to promote us, for Boo-Boo’s cheating, and for the fact that we just can’t seem to get our lives together. If and when things get really bad, we can call to mind the laundry list of things God didn’t do, should have done, needs to do, or will never do for a variety of reasons. Many of us are not even consciously aware that we are angry with God. In fact, we believe that such anger is so unthinkable, we won’t even entertain it as a possibility. As a result, we cannot heal it. Without acknowledgment, there can be no healing.

Whether you consider yourself religious, spiritual, somewhere in between, or nowhere on the continuum, your relationship with your Source, Creator, or Divine Essence impacts and affects every relationship in your life, including the relationship you have with yourself.

God is love. God is truth. God is power. Whether you call it God or Life or Spirit, the depth of your connection, reliance, trust, and alignment with something greater than yourself is the primary determinant of how you see and hold yourself, within yourself.

If you think you don’t judge God, you have the wrong idea. If you have a judgment about anyone or anything, you have a judgment about God.
You cannot judge the creation without judging the Creator.
Who else would you hold responsible for saving you from a crazed mother, an alcoholic father, a deranged ex-husband, or the IRS. You may not call it God, but when your life goes awry, when a tornado destroys a town, when a child suffers or dies, when your marriage falls to pieces, when you cannot pay your rent, to whom do you look? And what angry judgments come forth? As you move through today’s practice, it is absolutely essential that you give yourself permission to be radically honest and acknowledge any anger, disappointment, and judgments—anything else you are holding about or against God. You may be surprised that once you do this, you’ll feel a lot better about yourself.

G
OD IS LOVE
. G
OD IS TRUTH
. G
OD IS POWER
. …
Y
OU CANNOT JUDGE THE CREATION WITHOUT JUDGING THE CREATOR
.

D
AILY
F
ORGIVENESS
P
ROCESS
R
EMINDERS

For a more detailed explanation of the
Daily Forgiveness Process Guidelines
,

Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for at least 30 to 60 minutes.
Still your mind for at least 5 minutes or listen to the
Stillness Meditation.
Read the Forgiveness Prayer once silently and once aloud.
Scan the
Emotional Triggers
List.
Write out the 12 Forgiveness Statements for each day’s topic on thinking, judging, and believing in your Forgiveness Journal (Days 1–18). Write your Forgiveness Letters (Days 19–21).
Perform your Pro EFT™ Forgiveness Tapping Sequences.
Process thoughts and feelings consciously through your Forgiveness Journal Reflections.
Listen to the
Gratitude Meditation
on the Forgiveness CD.
Complete the day’s practice in quiet reflection or with meditative music.
Be sure to do something good for yourself today!

I F
ORGIVE
M
YSELF FOR
J
UDGING
G
OD

T
oday’s Forgiveness Practice is about forgiving the judgments, anger, disappointments, hurts, and wounds that may be buried in your consciousness and are directed toward God. Although the thought of it may be frightening, if you are human, chances are there is something for which you are holding your Creator totally responsible and accountable. Start by considering all the experiences you may have judged as wrong, unfair, unkind, or unloving, whether you were directly involved or not.

G
OD ALREADY KNOWS
…

As always, today’s practice is designed to neutralize what is going on within you in order to make space for new and greater possibilities to unfold. If there is a part of you, be it large or small, that is terrified of the possibility of acknowledging this to yourself and to God, just consider this:
What exactly is it that you think God doesn’t know about you?
It is quite possible that because God already knows it, the deeper healing will come when you are ready to admit it to yourself.

A P
RAYER OF
F
ORGIVENESS

Precious Lord of the Universe of Life:

Today, I ask for and open myself to receive an outpouring of Your mercy and grace. I ask that You open my mind so that I will know the truth. I ask that You open my heart so that I will experience the truth. I ask that You open my eyes so that I will see all of the places within myself and within my life where I have been in doubt, denial, resistance, and avoidance of Your presence.

Because I know that You do not judge me, I ask You to allow me to feel, see, hear, think about, and know how I have dismissed, diminished, and judged You. Allow me to know and feel my connection to You. Help me to recognize my projections and to look within myself for all that I have cast onto You.

Move me beyond any and all shame or blame at their deepest root and cause so that I will know the joy of being in intimate union with You. Teach me how to forgive You. Remind me that in Your love my safety and freedom reside.

I rest in Thee.

I let it be!

And so it is!