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Uplifting Relationships
Letting Go of the Past |
Foundation Eight:
I intend to have all my relationships support my highest good and not bind me to the past through anger, guilt, blame, or regret.
Trust
All relationships are supported and enhanced when there is mutual trust. When there is a lack of trust, your time, energy, and vital life-force are squandered. Being involved with someone you do not trust will not likely support your life or your highest intention. So, a word of advice: never get involved with someone you don't trust; and, if you must be involved, don’t invest your time or energy into it.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a powerful way to free up your positive energy and release you from the painful burden of an “ego-driven” life. When you hold a grudge—for very good reason, I’m sure—it binds you to your painful past, misaligns you with the qualities of your true nature, and puts you out of sync with Spirit and your own true qualities. It keeps you stuck in a petty existence; it strips you of your livingness, it displaces you from the present moment, and deprives you of your own joy. Forgiving is not easy; and if you’re trying to forgive from the level of the ego-self, it’s all but impossible. (As Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” Your ego was insulted, your ego was harmed—don’t expect the problem to be solved by the hurt little ego. You must reach a higher level of consciousness for that to happen. You must reach an identity, a sense of “me,” that is greater than your present sense of self, one that transcends your hurt little “me.”) Thus, in order to truly forgive you must disidentify from that ego-self, that little self that stays alive by not forgiving, by holding onto a grudge, by being right. It's not so easy to give that up. It may feel like you're dying. But, in truth, you end up dying (and get stripped of your aliveness) by holding onto that hurt little self, by mis-taking that little self to be you, by not being able to forgive. Are you willing to pay that price? Are you willing to make that big a sacrifice, to suffer that great a loss?
Forgiving others is essential but you must forgive yourself as well. So long as you do not forgive yourself, so long as you hold onto an outmoded version of yourself (and support this with feelings of regret and shame) you obscure the glory of your presence and your own nature, you lose your state of repose, you lose the full experience of your life, and you lose the ability to truly do God’s will. Again, is this a price you are willing to pay?
The ego-self is incapable of forgiving. We can only truly forgive (and love!) when we are able to get in touch with that sense of self that is beyond ego, beyond our self-image, beyond the divisions we set up between ourselves and others. We can only truly love when we come to the place in ourselves that is love—selfless, unconditional, all-accepting love. We can only truly live when we love ourselves and others , when the truth of who we are overflows into our relationships and our life.
_________________ ◊ ◊ ◊ __________________
I intend to have all my relationships support my highest good and not bind me to the past through anger, guilt, blame, or regret.
Trust
All relationships are supported and enhanced when there is mutual trust. When there is a lack of trust, your time, energy, and vital life-force are squandered. Being involved with someone you do not trust will not likely support your life or your highest intention. So, a word of advice: never get involved with someone you don't trust; and, if you must be involved, don’t invest your time or energy into it.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a powerful way to free up your positive energy and release you from the painful burden of an “ego-driven” life. When you hold a grudge—for very good reason, I’m sure—it binds you to your painful past, misaligns you with the qualities of your true nature, and puts you out of sync with Spirit and your own true qualities. It keeps you stuck in a petty existence; it strips you of your livingness, it displaces you from the present moment, and deprives you of your own joy. Forgiving is not easy; and if you’re trying to forgive from the level of the ego-self, it’s all but impossible. (As Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” Your ego was insulted, your ego was harmed—don’t expect the problem to be solved by the hurt little ego. You must reach a higher level of consciousness for that to happen. You must reach an identity, a sense of “me,” that is greater than your present sense of self, one that transcends your hurt little “me.”) Thus, in order to truly forgive you must disidentify from that ego-self, that little self that stays alive by not forgiving, by holding onto a grudge, by being right. It's not so easy to give that up. It may feel like you're dying. But, in truth, you end up dying (and get stripped of your aliveness) by holding onto that hurt little self, by mis-taking that little self to be you, by not being able to forgive. Are you willing to pay that price? Are you willing to make that big a sacrifice, to suffer that great a loss?
Forgiving others is essential but you must forgive yourself as well. So long as you do not forgive yourself, so long as you hold onto an outmoded version of yourself (and support this with feelings of regret and shame) you obscure the glory of your presence and your own nature, you lose your state of repose, you lose the full experience of your life, and you lose the ability to truly do God’s will. Again, is this a price you are willing to pay?
The ego-self is incapable of forgiving. We can only truly forgive (and love!) when we are able to get in touch with that sense of self that is beyond ego, beyond our self-image, beyond the divisions we set up between ourselves and others. We can only truly love when we come to the place in ourselves that is love—selfless, unconditional, all-accepting love. We can only truly live when we love ourselves and others , when the truth of who we are overflows into our relationships and our life.
_________________ ◊ ◊ ◊ __________________