How To Forgive?

[PGS28]

Having an unforgiving heart can block your passage into heaven so I'm starting my spiritual journey with learning to forgive.  How do you do it?

[moonangel]

by realizing that I can forgive but will never forget  and coming to terms on how to deal with things

[BMaston12]

Having an unforgiving heart can block your passage into heaven so I'm starting my spiritual journey with learning to forgive.  How do you do it?

Well, you just need to remember that without forgiving, you harden your heart! You cannot move forward if you are holding on to a grudge. Also, just because you forgive, does not mean that you haven't learned from the experience. So you really can't Forget. Learn from your mistakes, but let it go and move on. I hope that helps you on your journey!
BMaston12

[msmoneybags48]

I have heard that too.  My youngest sister and I are not on speaking terms, basically because she did me wrong.  I prayed to God and forgave her, but the wounds are too deep.  She found another reason not to have anything to do with me.  I am married to a man she used to "talk" to over 10 years ago.  When she found out the two of us were an item, her intent was to break us up.  She told him I would break his heart; that has not happened.  I was accused of stealing her leftovers; she says she had him first.  In order for you to claim a man, you first had to have a man.  I want to know how that is possible when they (my husband and she) both say they have never went all the way and have never kissed.  He told me he gave her $10, which she bought a pair of capri pants to visit her ex, who is in prison for killing our next door neighbor.  He (the ex) said she was already dead when he got there, but his fingerprints were found on her neck because he choked the life out of her because he needed money to buy drugs.  She did not want me in the house, so she found reinforcements to get me out.  When we got into an argument about her children, she told me how I am supposed to treat her children, and I informed her that I had a news flash for her; I didn't have to keep her children.  My daughter went to confront her in my defense, and she called the police on my daughter because, when my daughter knocked on the door, a piece of window in the door fell out, and the window was already cracked.  She even went so far as to keep me from getting a job; the job called to let me know I was hired and she would not answer the phone.  It was more important for her to talk to my cousin but they were gossiping.  My other sister thought it was funny, and now she (my youngest sister) is causing problems for her.  I wanted you to know that I have reasons to be mad with her, but yet I forgave her.  I  never will forget it either.

[tantricia44]

Forgiving is really hard. You wonder if you do forgive, does it mean you're just total wimp & letting the the guilty party get away with everything. Forgiveness to me depends on what the offender did to me. One thing is always unforgiveable & that's cheating on me! I've never forgiven my past ex's.After a while, after the wounds have healed, I really don't give a damned anymore, about the sob! The only person to forgive is me, me because during that time of hell, I blamed myself for the jerk's actions. I don't believe you need to forgive anything, to get to where you need to go in the after life. Just be good to yourself & others you encounter in you daily life. 

[minioncookies]

To me Forgiveness is a word people make up
To torture people
It's a cruel cold word.. FORGIVENESS is like a giant hole of sorrow hurt and pain(my personal opinion)

Forgiveness in itself is easier said than done..
How do you forgive people that take lives of people or animals you love?
How do you forgive people that do you wrong and say sorry then go out
and do it again..
How can you forgive people that make others suffer
How do you forgive someone that does things so horrible you want to seek vengeance..
I don't know how to forgive...
I forgave so many people and it still all plays in my mind.. day in and day out..

so the question is..If you forgive someone.. Do you really forgive them truthfully
because you are always stuck with remembering what they did..
You never forget so if you never forget how can you actually forgive?
I never Understood forgiveness i am not cold hearted.. i just don't get the meaning of it..
Maybe i'm the only one.. but.. i rarely see a point to Forgiveness..

[6265AT99]

Having an unforgiving heart can block your passage into heaven so I'm starting my spiritual journey with learning to forgive.  How do you do it?

Forgiving is something we all should do but, sometimes it's not easy.  So what I have done is prayed to the Lord to help me find the goodness in those that I need to forgive, even though I cannot ever forget.

[sherryinutah]

Forgiving everyone, including ourselves, also has a cleansing effect on our aura (energy field).  

I think it's important for us to allow ourselves to be upset, angry, etc.  After we move through that phase we can begin our own healing process.  After we have a chance to heal we can take action to forgive everyone for the mistakes that they made.

Everyone benefits from our willingness to forgive, especially us, because as we forgive we set ourselves free from the negativity.  

It works well for me to write a letter of forgiveness to a specific person that I never send. 

[Kirenisa]

just give it time it's not an over night process as someone told me it takes 2 weeks to make something into a habit, you just need to take it slow is all I can really tell you there's no real advice i can give you to teach you how to do it except to try and let go.

[lgemini]

 When you do not forgive that person has more control over you. You have to forgive to be free.

[mgint]

just remember god forgives those who ask for forgiveness and follow his example.

[jenniferhoder]

It takes a bigger person to forgive sometimes. I can forgive, but I dont forget.
It is not an easy thing to do!!!

[PGS28]

minioncookies I fully understand what you're saying, but my main reason for seeking the strength to forgive is I want desperately to go to heaven.  Even more so than that, I read somewhere that seeking revenge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.  I don't think to forgive means to allow people to get away with hurting you.  Still tell them how you feel, still press charges, still do whatever it is that will make you feel better but at the end of the day you don't want to let memories of what they did control your perspective.  My goal is to release the resentment, not the memory. I know it's much easier said than done, that's why I started this thread

[PGS28]

moonangel thanks

BMaston12 I was asking for techniques people use to actually forgive

msmoneybags48 Wow!! It takes a big woman to forgive those things, so I'm glad you found the power to do so.  I've realized that I can forgive someone without letting them back into my life.  A person has to want to change, you can't keep allowing them back into your life knowing that they will hurt you because doing so will make you bitter.  Forgive and love from a distance, that's what I'm doing with some of my family members. 

[PGS28]

tantricia44 That was my fear, that forgiving is letting the person get away with what they did but I read somewhere that you can forgive and not let the person back into your life.  In fact, in order to maintain a certain level of peace, it's recommended to not let certain people back into your life, but don't hold resentment against them.  I find a little solace in finding out that when a person does you wrong they always get it back, whether you know it or not.