Studying Forgiveness

[Diana]

I think when we succeed in forgiving, we succeed in truly letting go. So then there is no need to forget because the remembrance no longer hurts as much. But success may not always be possible. I think what is the most important is having the intent to forgive. Success is not a requirement compared to having the intent.

I find for me it is the other way around (regarding the above bolded). Rather than forgiveness—which is a complex emotional construct dependent upon interconnected feelings, situations, events, traumas, and so on—if I am able to see the bigger picture, detach from the drama of the situation at hand, maybe even look to the Archetypes to get a basic idea of how this reality is designed, then the path forward to letting go is very viable. And when I let go of the drama, forgiveness becomes moot—there is nothing to forgive. So in a sense forgiveness has happened, but in a way that is not emotional. The problem I find with emotional forgiveness is that it is often ephemeral. Detachment from the human drama (the maelstrom) and focus on a wider reality is deeper and more effective (for me).

When staying focused on the bigger reality, the feeling Flofrog brought up—an innocence—is the pervasive mindset, very childlike, because one is not always judging (mental/emotional response to cultural/societal conditions). Everything encountered may be seen as brand new, unencumbered by the past, but at the same time with the advantage of the bigger picture which may include the past but not a past that one is attached to, only a past that may be a reference point either useful or not. This may sound "Spock-like," which people often see me as, but the truth is when you are able to detach, and then let go of judgment, the heart is free to feel everything in abundance (and that means everything, not just love and rainbows) because judgments block the heart. That is not to say you don't still discern—there is that balance between the green-ray and indigo-ray energy centers. The indigo is needed (in my opinion) to give some structure or direction to the green which would otherwise have no boundaries (example would be martyrdom).