The official website for Irene Kendig's new book, Conversations with Jerry
Self-Forgiveness Part I
In the "Share Your Story" section of the website, Nini responded to Roy's story, "Communicating with My Life Partner," with a story about Sam, her cat, who died in her arms. I extend kudos to both of you for sharing such heartfelt experiences.
Nini's story caused me to reflect on my dog Ringo, who died after being hit by a car when I was fifteen. As I ran to his side, he acknowledged my presence with one last wag of his tail. I was devastated. I blamed myself for his death. I also blamed my mom, who was at work. I believed that, if she'd been home, this never would have happened. I thought Ringo shouldn't have died when he did.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience rather than humans with spirits. This is no small distinction. The opposite of death is not life. The opposite of death is birth. The human experience is finite. It begins with birth and ends with death. Life does not have an opposite; it is never-ending . . . and so are we. We are eternal and divine spiritual beings having a temporary human experience.
Truth be told, we don't know what anyone is here to learn or what circumstances will best support their learning. It’s precisely because we don't know that it’s impossible to judge.
I know many people (myself included), whose greatest spiritual growth has come as a result of a deeply challenging event.Would I wish the event on someone? Absolutely not. Would I wish them the spiritual growth that resulted from the event? Without a doubt. Spiritual growth often comes in the form of an expanded ability to love, greater joy, deeper compassion, more acceptance, increased understanding, profound gratitude, or expanded access to innate wisdom.
This is important, so follow my drift: If we're not in a position to judge anyone, then we never have to forgive anyone—for anything—because in order to forgive, we first have to judge. And if I we don't know what anyone is here to learn, or what circumstances will best serve them, then our judgment—however "right" we may think it is—is ill-founded and has no basis in truth. Take a moment to let that sink in because it’s an extraordinary concept.
You don’t have to forgive your spouse, your child, your parent, your relative or your friend because they never did anything wrong. The only person you every have to forgive is yourself for having judged them in the first place.
When we think we know more than we do and we place a judgment on ourselves, on another, or on a situation, it feeds the ego, or the “small” self. The moment we enter into judgment, we’ve entered into duality, creating painful feelings of separation and suffering for ourselves. It's not the events in our lives that are the source of suffering. Said another way, it's not what happens to us that causes us to suffer. We suffer because of the judgments we place. If we judge an event as "bad," then we, too, feel bad. If we judge that something "shouldn't" have happened, then we are going to be in a losing battle with reality and what is.
Have you ever noticed that making someone wrong disrupts inner peace? That’s because, as you separate yourself from someone through judgment, you’re disrupting your connection to your authentic nature, which is loving, accepting, kind, peaceful, generous, and compassionate. I call this the Authentic Self, a state of consciousness beyond duality. It's who you are beyond ego and personality. It's eternal.
Judgment is always at the root of inner disturbance. When our ideals are violated, for example, what’s violated is the way we think things should be, which is usually the way we were brought up to think is the right way. That’s not to condone bad behavior; it’s simply that, identifying the judgment and letting it go allows us to grow spiritually. It doesn't imply being a doormat.
When I take one hundred percent responsibility for any disturbance going on within, without blaming it on anyone or anything outside, then the only person I ever have to forgive is myself—for the judgments I’ve placed. It’s always about self-forgiveness because I can’t forgive anyone else if they didn’t do anything wrong.
Love is always available and always flowing. The question is, are we allowing it or blocking it? We block the flow of love and create unnecessary suffering when we judge. Self-forgiveness allows us to compassionately apply love to the places inside that hurt, allowing the flow of love. It’s a powerful tool in service to healing. Real
forgiveness is like saying, "I understand now that you didn't do anything wrong. I forgive myself for having judged you." When you practice true forgiveness, it feels as if you've been washed clean. That's how you know real forgiveness has taken place. You can feel it in your body.
In Part II, I'll demonstrate how to use self-forgiveness as a healing tool by modeling how I applied it to my experience with Ringo.
Copyright © 2009 by Irene Kendig
Nini's story caused me to reflect on my dog Ringo, who died after being hit by a car when I was fifteen. As I ran to his side, he acknowledged my presence with one last wag of his tail. I was devastated. I blamed myself for his death. I also blamed my mom, who was at work. I believed that, if she'd been home, this never would have happened. I thought Ringo shouldn't have died when he did.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience rather than humans with spirits. This is no small distinction. The opposite of death is not life. The opposite of death is birth. The human experience is finite. It begins with birth and ends with death. Life does not have an opposite; it is never-ending . . . and so are we. We are eternal and divine spiritual beings having a temporary human experience.
Truth be told, we don't know what anyone is here to learn or what circumstances will best support their learning. It’s precisely because we don't know that it’s impossible to judge.
I know many people (myself included), whose greatest spiritual growth has come as a result of a deeply challenging event.Would I wish the event on someone? Absolutely not. Would I wish them the spiritual growth that resulted from the event? Without a doubt. Spiritual growth often comes in the form of an expanded ability to love, greater joy, deeper compassion, more acceptance, increased understanding, profound gratitude, or expanded access to innate wisdom.
This is important, so follow my drift: If we're not in a position to judge anyone, then we never have to forgive anyone—for anything—because in order to forgive, we first have to judge. And if I we don't know what anyone is here to learn, or what circumstances will best serve them, then our judgment—however "right" we may think it is—is ill-founded and has no basis in truth. Take a moment to let that sink in because it’s an extraordinary concept.
You don’t have to forgive your spouse, your child, your parent, your relative or your friend because they never did anything wrong. The only person you every have to forgive is yourself for having judged them in the first place.
When we think we know more than we do and we place a judgment on ourselves, on another, or on a situation, it feeds the ego, or the “small” self. The moment we enter into judgment, we’ve entered into duality, creating painful feelings of separation and suffering for ourselves. It's not the events in our lives that are the source of suffering. Said another way, it's not what happens to us that causes us to suffer. We suffer because of the judgments we place. If we judge an event as "bad," then we, too, feel bad. If we judge that something "shouldn't" have happened, then we are going to be in a losing battle with reality and what is.
Have you ever noticed that making someone wrong disrupts inner peace? That’s because, as you separate yourself from someone through judgment, you’re disrupting your connection to your authentic nature, which is loving, accepting, kind, peaceful, generous, and compassionate. I call this the Authentic Self, a state of consciousness beyond duality. It's who you are beyond ego and personality. It's eternal.
Judgment is always at the root of inner disturbance. When our ideals are violated, for example, what’s violated is the way we think things should be, which is usually the way we were brought up to think is the right way. That’s not to condone bad behavior; it’s simply that, identifying the judgment and letting it go allows us to grow spiritually. It doesn't imply being a doormat.
When I take one hundred percent responsibility for any disturbance going on within, without blaming it on anyone or anything outside, then the only person I ever have to forgive is myself—for the judgments I’ve placed. It’s always about self-forgiveness because I can’t forgive anyone else if they didn’t do anything wrong.
Love is always available and always flowing. The question is, are we allowing it or blocking it? We block the flow of love and create unnecessary suffering when we judge. Self-forgiveness allows us to compassionately apply love to the places inside that hurt, allowing the flow of love. It’s a powerful tool in service to healing. Real
forgiveness is like saying, "I understand now that you didn't do anything wrong. I forgive myself for having judged you." When you practice true forgiveness, it feels as if you've been washed clean. That's how you know real forgiveness has taken place. You can feel it in your body.
In Part II, I'll demonstrate how to use self-forgiveness as a healing tool by modeling how I applied it to my experience with Ringo.
Copyright © 2009 by Irene Kendig
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