Do you gaze upon the world, one with its light and wonder the beauty of this reality?

Do you see peace, purpose and experience trust toward the reality, in which you live?

When you look at your friend, your child, your partner, your relatives, siblings - do you see them really? Or is your sight blurred by dark thoughts?

When you look inside what do you see?

Do you look upon the world as separate from yourself?

Is it ill-willed? Well-intentioned?

Is it right? Or is it wrong?

Who are you in it? 

Who are you here?

Do these questions evoke fear in you?

Can you laugh at yourself, your errors and your lack of understanding?

Do you take yourself still a bit too seriously?

In my opinion, forgiveness is discussed rather little, and for a reason. "It should've happened this way" or "This should never have happened" are thoughts that originate from the same trap, to which the forgiver may get caught. Forgiveness is widely misunderstood. When I discuss forgiveness on this page I talk about acceptance, letting go and awareness of that which is more aligned with one's true nature. This way forgiveness relates to identity. Let's begin! 

First of all, forgiveness would bear no meaning without concepts of right and wrong, and judgement related to these concepts. That is why forgiveness is concerned with letting go of value judgement, so that which is truly valuable could be recognised. It simply accepts that, which has occurred and makes space for witnessing the present. Forgiveness releases the past and so permits reality. We are discussing right, wrong and justness later, but let's for a moment still explore forgiveness as an ability of mind and the possibilities it enables.

I am most certain that the majority of people spend way too much time in the state of mind, in which vision is blurred by stories about the world and of other people, stories which do not validate the reality of their object, but a distorted, delusionary reality. Unforgiveness leads to these delusions and to a sense of separation typical to it, for it thinks it is right in its judgement. Thus unforgiveness remains stuck in the past and so hampers communication, deluding reality. In the moment, which is new and full of the possible, is seen only the crumbs of the past, only limitations, problems and wishes unfulfilled. This sight is small and sees only little things. People appear to be better or worse, more beautiful or more ugly, stronger or weaker, more or less successful. There are polarities and one can compare forever. Identifying with the value judgments of the ego puts one in a cage.

Unforgiveness - or illusion - affects behavior, life choices and all manner of interaction. Above all one is not happy, if he has turned against something, within herself or outside himself, thus staying stuck. This choice necessitates and creates a reality, where there is a threat. This leads to delusions of such a degree, in which the mind charges at people and things, that do not exist. What is seen is only that which the mind assures itself of the world and of other people. 

The enemy is real!
And I stand righteous in my judgment!

Truth is that you have no enemies. Your Reality rests eternally unharmed. The only enemy is the state of will to forget this Truth. Yet that state remains but a temporary error. But if one makes it into something more permanent, then is an enemy needed - and it can be anything, against which the being can turn its will. Another person, a group of people, institution, state, event, some trait or quality in one's own or some other's body or presence, behaviour, way of speech, etc. Erroneous thought. Some energy, anything. This manner of attack diminishes and constricts one's inner world. Forgiveness releases from that prison, and provides a neutralizing force, whereas attack diminishes. In a sense forgiveness is an expanding force, because the basic state of being, which forgiveness enables, is expansive by nature. The fact that one knows he imprisons herself with internal warfare ensures guilt! It arises every now and then - when old thoughts return for a regular check up, as if asking;

"Shall we prepare for the next strike, general?!" 

The choice is free. Condemnation increases the sense of guilt, although projection can distract from one's own sense of guilt. Of course the ability to not attack can develop - which leads to an ever more coherent experience of the present, recovery from crisis and a more trusting relationship with life, as forgiveness frees the mind from the past and illusions. Eyes open. Right and wrong lose their meaning - there is only that which is occurring. A shallow understanding of right and wrong leads to war on the level of the mind, as does the mindscape construing reality this way serve as the foundation for the false self. More about it later... 

Forgiveness brings back into the present, and reality.

But it does even more. Forgiveness realigns the mind and prepares the way for your true self. Therefore does the ego love grievance, but engages the conflict not really. Ego identity is recognized especially through one's enemies. Nego is negatively conceptualized, through negation of else. The ego knows what it does not want. When the mind once raises its will against something, and this decision is not checked nor changed, so does this thought continue to proof its righteousness. It finds flaw everywhere in order to justify its opinion. There is no lack of witnesses. The wicked genius interprets everything upside-down. In addition does it attempt to keep the thing or the person far away from itself, outside the possibility of interaction, for this is how the illusion can be longer entertained. But if this story of delusion produces only an instant of pontifical rejoice of victory, which in reality is only resentful suffering, how much sense does it make for one to continue that battle? One is stuck in the past. That is a curse.

In personal relationships this manifests itself in situations, in which either both or the other is stuck in the past. In both cases the love withers, because neither is seeing the other as he really is. Only the present can grow. When the ones involved do not see or recognize each other, remains the love but as a memory of a time when an unspoken grievance had not yet obscured a pure connection.

What would withhold you from admiring life in the other?
How do you justify your war against loving?