Forgiveness: lessons and thoughts from us

[whitecrayon]

dear catholic answers forum and alien-ufos web forum members

i hope that here in this thread we might share stories and thoughts about human forgiveness: what forgiveness means to us, why we feel or believe it is important, and stories about times when forgiveness touched our lives, either because we forgave someone or because someone forgave us.

to me, forgiveness has always seemed a slightly harder holy virtue to embrace. i am very good at some holy virtues like caring, truth, hope, and helping, but i have had to work some as an adult to learn lessons of forgiveness. however, when i became a christian for a while (and now i am sort of a pseudochristian, in that i love christ and his teachings and in that i do believe in miracles and prophecies even though i do not believe in one subjective and omnipotent “god” or the mythologies of the old testament), i learned, with help from what i know were holy spirits from within this universe, that forgiveness may be one of the greatest of the holy virtues, which christ taught with his final sacrifice on the cross which gave christians forgiveness for their sins (presumably miraculously). i believe that the more we choose to try to forgive others for their transgressions against us, the more forgiveness grows within our spirit, changes us, and affects others around us in positive ways.

one example i would like to offer of a time when i chose forgiveness, rationally and spiritually, is earlier tonight, when i chose to forgive members of the international intelligence community for advocating “putting me down” for volatility reasons related to my electronic communications. several times i have had to think independently, with eyes of aliens and human psychics upon me, and i have chosen always to forgive them. this forgiveness stems in large measure from the wisdom of christians everywhere who have taught me, in books mostly, that forgiving others saves one’s sanity and one’s peace of mind. forgiveness leads to other holy virtues too. when we choose and learn to forgive, things like hope and love and mercy emerge from within us. i believe that all the “good stuff”, like love, hope, faith (in something), truth, mercy, joy, and forgiveness (and moral courage, kindness, trust, self-sacrifice, etc) work together in human individuals who embrace them, and that the “bad stuff”, like hate, nilihism, lies, sadism, self-hate, and revenge (and greed, wrath, etc) snowball and grow together in human spirits as well.

i hope all of you will help make this thread interesting and spirtually meaningful with your stories and thoughts, and i want to say “i love you” to all of you (unless you happen to be a torturer or something incorrigibly evil, in which case i guess i would still try to find something about the child within you to tap into to help you change and heal).

with love and hope for the future
jonathan keith sheriff, ba

 

[AlanFromWichita]

This does sound like an interesting topic.

What bounds should “forgiveness” have?

Jesus said to forgive our enemies. He may have said that as a suggestion and not a command, but either way we have free will to listen to Him or not. I have found a way to forgive my enemies and it has done me wonders.

It isn’t about letting enemies hurt me. By “forgive” I do not mean to fail to protect oneself in the future or whatever, and I don’t mean to let something go unnoticed or uncorrected. I mean to have no ill wish for that person in one’s heart. Deeply, that is. Not even a desire for them to think “he told me so.” Just take where you are and move from there.

Another reason forgiveness is important is that it cuts an unhealthy connection – a codependent connection in hanging onto emotional interpretations of something we cannot change – ever. Whatever happened in the past can guide us in the future, but whether we stew over it or call it a “life changing experience” that helped me “grow up quickly” is OUR CHOICE. We truly can make the past “good” or “bad” in our own minds simply by assigning it that way. It is what it is. What happened, happened, you can change your analysis or cling firm to the one you had before – it is your choice. BUT – it is all just a mind game. The past is gone from our control, and talking about it isn’t going to control it. Damage control is not about changing the past, but changing people’s perception of the past.

To me an advanced state of forgiveness is to get to the point we don’t accuse others at all of sins (do not judge) – in our words, thoughts, or hearts – remember vengeance is mine says the Lord and all that? How do you do this? Just try it and see. I’m not talking about law/rule enforcement or safety here – you do what is prudent to protect yourself.

But give your mind a break. Disconnect all mental program dragging a bag full of negative emotions around with you all the time – in the form of a past that haunts you. You don’t have to forget it and you reserve the right to pick it back up, but let go and let yourself be light on your feet.

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” - Buddha

Give a prayer of thanks for your enemies. Without them you wouldn’t be nearly as strong as you are.

Alan

 

[Trishie]

tlogical.net/bioboom.htm
Connie Ten Boom, forgiveness of torturers