Forgiveness is a two-way street.
If I forgive you, then I am giving of that part of myself that is gracious, divine, kind, compassionate, and by giving you any of these, I am strengthening them within my Self.
I am saying that I release the person from any responsibility or guilt, i.e. the memory – I relieve myself of the memory(ies). Therefore, I reclaim my energy because I no longer need to think of that incident, I have let it go – as if it never happened.
This is what is referred to in ho’oponopono as cleaning – we are cleaning our memories.
In so doing, we are also cleaning the memories of others, albeit we do not know that consciously, the Divinity within each of us does know that so we simply trust and have faith that it is so.
As it is said, it is done, and so it is.
Remember Dr. Hew Len’s work at the psychiatric center. He cleaned memories within himself and 3 years later the ward closed because the memories of the patients had also been cleansed. (Chapter 2 – The Magic Words)
How is this possible?
Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona’s prayer explains it:
Divine Creator, Father, Mother, Child as one…
If I, my family, relatives, and ancestors have offended you, your family, relatives, and ancestors in thoughts, words, deeds, and actions, from the beginning of creation to the present, we ask your forgiveness…Let this cleanse, purify, release, cut all the negative memories, blocks, energies, and vibrations, and transmute these unwanted energies into pure light…
As it is said, it is done, and so it is.
We do not forgive for the sake of others, we forgive for ourselves. When we forgive, we feel better, we have no control over how others may feel – and often they do not even know we have forgiven them. Therefore, forgiveness is about Self… and we come full-circle back to ho’oponopono:
I love you
I am sorry
Please forgive me
Thank you
Always and only about/to/for Self! Never about anyone or anything else.
And round and round we go – the merry-go-round of love.
And back to the 2-way street…
e aloha aku (I send aloha/love)
e aloha mai (I accept aloha/love)
remember, we cannot give more than we have and the only way to get
more is to give all we have….
If I want to borrow 100 beans from you and you have only 80 beans, no matter
how much you want to give me 100 beans, you cannot – you only have 80. So if you give me the 80 – all you have – the Universe will conspire to replenish you, i.e. you gave 80, or all you had, the Universe returns a 100, usually much more, but to the point – to get more we must give all we have. Otherwise it becomes ‘tit for tat’ and scorekeeping comes into play leading to who owes whom what and before long the balance, the equanimity is gone.
We see it going on all around us every day if we pay attention. “I called you last, when are you going to call me?” LoL – to the point that “friends” will lose touch with each other because each thinks the other owes them a phone call so they do not speak for long periods of time. Really? LoL –
Stop it! If you think about someone, call them, text, whatever, do not ask yourself who made the last attempt. If they are on your mind, likely you are on their mind. How many times have you called someone only to hear them say, “I was just thinking of you.” (and you think we are not all connected, one?)
The more we forgive, the more love we have for ourselves, our hearts get bigger and the more we love ourselves, the more we may love others and the easier it is to forgive and we board the merry-go-round of love, or, the 2-way street. What we give comes back. Always.