Struggling with feelings of resentment, guilt, or anger? Forgiveness meditation can help! Learn more about how to use this form of meditation.
Topics covered:
- What is forgiveness meditation?
- Why is forgiveness so important?
- Types of forgiveness meditation
- Discover ways to forgive with The Art of Living
What is forgiveness meditation?
If you practice meditation regularly, you know that it can help you achieve a deep sense of peace and calm. Unfortunately, these feelings can sometimes be overshadowed by the bitterness and emotional pain that results when someone hurts us. Those feelings can last a long time, robbing us of our joy and causing us stress.
Whether the person who hurt you apologizes or not, you can lend forgiveness, which is the first step to healing. It may sound impossible to let go of your negative feelings, but forgiveness meditations can help guide you. Plus, they aren’t just for forgiving others — they can also be used to mend your relationship with yourself, especially if you are dealing with feelings of guilt over past mistakes.
No matter if you want to forgive another person, forgive yourself, or ask someone else for forgiveness, this article can help! In it, we’ll discuss the importance of forgiveness, review some of the different types of meditation for forgiveness, and help you get started with this meditation practice!
Why is forgiveness so important?
It’s common for individuals to hold on to their anger, refusing to forgive others unless they ask for it and recognize their mistake. However, forgiveness isn’t something you should give begrudgingly.
More often than not, holding on to anger only harms you. As you ruminate on what the person did to you, it stresses you and makes you bitter. You may even let these feelings consume you until you are now unable to find joy in the smallest of things.
Forgiveness is the only way to get the person who hurt you out of your mind and prevent them from hurting you any further.
Similarly, asking others to forgive you for your mistakes shows you recognize said mistakes and will try your best not to repeat them. This can help them to let go of the hurt you did to them and move on too.
Types of forgiveness meditation
As mentioned at the outset, a forgiveness meditation practice can help you achieve the forgiveness you’re seeking. Use it to help you offer forgiveness to others, be more self-compassionate, let go of the past, and start healing.
Below you can read about compassion, self-forgiveness, and healing meditations. Each one has a unique purpose, but they also work together. If you prefer, you can choose the one that suits your needs or use each of these three meditation styles together to help you release negative emotions and move forward.
Compassion meditation
These meditations are designed to help you focus on compassion and loving-kindness, whether towards others or yourself. You can use them to better understand the behavior of others and the reason they acted in a harmful way. Doing so can be helpful when offering forgiveness since you will feel less bitter.
Compassion meditations also help you understand that being compassionate isn’t bringing up the other person’s mistakes again or trying to make them feel guilty about what they’ve done. When you are compassionate, the person who hurt may not even know that they’ve harmed you or that you have forgiven them for it. It’s simply about making peace in your own heart.
If you have made a mistake, you can also use this meditation to reflect on why you did what you did, without blaming yourself or others for this behavior.
Self-Forgiveness meditation
Sometimes, it’s not the mistakes that others have made that keep us up at night, but rather what we ourselves have done. If you are suffering from a guilt complex, it’s time to stop beating yourself up over your past mistakes.
Self-forgiveness meditations help you take what you learn in the compassion meditation and apply it to yourself. If you have hurt others, part of this meditation involves asking those you have hurt for forgiveness. It doesn’t matter that they are not there with you, as this process is about coming to terms with your mistakes your own way, letting go of guilt, and practicing self-compassion.
Of course, self-forgiveness is also about apologizing for the hurt you have caused yourself. Reflect on your past actions without overanalyzing them, accept what has happened, and decide to let go of the negative thoughts associated with these past actions. These steps will help you release yourself from the prison of guilt you have locked yourself inside so you can move forward.
If you struggle to forgive yourself, the following intentions can help you do so:
- I trust myself to build a better future.
- I am learning and growing every day.
- I release shame, anger, guilt, and embarrassment.
Place them somewhere you can easily access them, such as on a sticky note on your wall or mirror.
Remember that successfully letting go of guilt may take time and be gentle with yourself. As you develop your compassion, it will become easier and you will learn to release these negative feelings.
Healing meditation
Forgiveness is the first step to moving forward, but recovering from painful situations or the harm done to you is a journey. Unlike some mindfulness meditations, which engage your mind or have you think about your senses, healing meditations are meant to rest your mind. Resting your mind doesn’t mean there is an absence of thoughts. Rather, it means consciously letting go of thoughts and feelings in a peaceful and gentle way that is good for your well-being. You feel completely calm.
Although it may seem simple, resting your mind is crucial for healing because it allows you to eliminate stress. When your mind is at rest, your emotions are restored to balance. You may start to feel rejuvenated and more harmonious. These positive feelings can do wonders for your mental health.
The benefits of healing meditations don’t stop with a calm mind. Just as your physical health suffers when you are stressed, it is rewarded when you are at peace. Healing meditations can help lower your risk for diseases and lead to noticeable changes in your health.
Discover ways to forgive with The Art of Living
Forgiveness is essential to your overall health and well-being, and a meditation practice helps us to let go and forgive. Doing so can help you let go of your negative thoughts and clear the way for healing and positive growth.
The Art of Living understands the importance of healing and finding deep peace. In addition to our guided meditations, we offer courses to help you get more out of your meditation practice! One of these is SKY Breath Meditation, a tried and tested practice that’s perfect for your daily sessions. If you’d like to know what it’s all about, we invite you to join one of our live sessions with a meditation teacher who can answer your questions and help you get started!
