” It sparkles on your eyes as you awake, and gives you joy with which to meet the day. It soothes your forehead while you sleep, and rests upon your eyelids so you see no dreams of fear and evil, malice and attack. And when you wake again, it offers you another day of happiness and peace. All this forgiveness offers you, and more. ” ~ A Course in Miracles : Lesson 122
Forgiveness is not the typical forgiveness that we are taught in this world.
Forgiveness is not just about forgiving another for what you think they did or did not do to you; nor is it the type of forgiveness where you alone feel better than the other person because you have “forgiven” them so you can now just “forget about it” and move on.
Forgiveness is not an act of word, but a literal transformation of perception and renewal of the heart. You are forgiving your OWN misperceptions of yourself and/or the other, enabling a remembrance that all is ALREADY forgiven to enter your mind.
Forgiveness is a correction of perception. Through forgiveness you can look past the error and onto the truth and the mind will shift from pain to peace. When you look back on the error, you will be left with only love, understanding and lessons learned. All pain, suffering, hate, vengeance, blame, regret will be gone. Forgiveness heals the mind, and heals relationships.
An important note about forgiveness is that it is not done BY us, but THROUGH us. It is a gift given us by the voice for God (holy spirit) when we ASK for it. Our job is to be willing to forgive and to ASK for forgiveness to both have and give. It will then be given us to heal us, and will naturally extend healing through us to others.
The forgiven perception is a recognition of the innocence of the Soul as being what we are. It requires having the willingness to see the other (and ourself) exactly as God created them to be- with no fault, mistake or sin left over to cloud this vision of innocence. From this vision of who they really are, you come know your Self, you come to know the other, you come to know God and you find PEACE.
You must be willing to be wrong in how you currently see, so that you can welcome a new vision in its place. You WANT forgiveness because forgiveness brings peace, understanding, healing, closeness, love and joy. Forgiveness brings you everything you want, and more. There is not an error that anyone can do in this world that is not forgivable. All things are worthy of forgiveness, YOU are worthy of forgiveness, now.
Since our teacher of forgiveness is an internal one, it requires quiet time of listening and loving within. I encourage that you take some quiet time and ask to see your self and others through forgiving eyes. Soon you will have the experience that forgiveness is a blessing and blesses you and the world. There is then nothing you would not forgive at once.
“Forgiveness literally transforms vision, and lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, and removing all illusions which had twisted your perception, and fixed it on the past. “
– A Course in Miracles T 17.2
“How willing are you to forgive your brother? How much do you desire peace instead of endless strife and misery and pain? These questions are the same, in different form. Forgiveness IS your peace.”
~A Course in Miracles T 29.6