Dear Unity Friends,

What do we do when we feel we have been abused or wronged in some way? Do we think our lives will never be the same? What does forgiveness have to so with letting go of the past? Who is forgiveness for anyway? Forgiveness is not about condoning a harmful act. It should never be confused with being passive toward violation or abuse. It does not neglect the responsibility of accountability for a person's actions. To forgive is a spiritual experience. It is very healing and is a gift we give ourselves. Forgiveness is never for the offender. Forgiveness is for us.

Forgiveness is to release, to heal, to restore. It is about healing the thoughts we hold in our minds against others who may have harmed us, or thoughts we hold against others in whom we see some perceived weakness. It is often about thoughts we hold against ourselves. Sometimes, it is thoughts we hold against God.

The spiritual journey to forgiveness is about realizing that there is nothing to forgive. "How can that be," you might ask, "when there is much wrong in the world?" The spiritual process of forgiveness takes our minds to the place of peace where we no longer judge right or wrong, or prescribe guilt. Forgiveness is not about fixing people, situations, or circumstances. It is about remembering the Source from which we came. It is about remembering the Christ within us all.

The apparent physical errors of this world do not harm or change the inner value of our perfect being. We mistakenly believe that we can harm others and that others can harm us. Let us step beyond the confines of our physical perceptions and experience a deep spiritual experience where we remember our holiness. There we find that forgiveness is remembering who we really are.

Namaste`
Robin