if I were the most selfish person in the world - forgiveness

If I were the most selfish person in the world, I would practice forgiveness.  As Dr. Rina Sircar repeatedly said, "Forgiveness opens the blocks in the heart, it unties whatever knots are found there."  Forgiveness allows the natural, life supporting energies found in the body to flow more freely.  When we are unforgiving, we are always carrying a burden which is not really ours but which we assume.  It brings a constriction to body, mind, and heart.  And this burden, this constriction, weighs us down, wears us out, and brings a toxicity to our lives that has absolutely no value. Life is too short.

I'm not saying it's easy to forgive.  That is why the practice is so important.  Nor am I saying that we need to expose ourselves to the behaviours of others that are detrimental to us or others.  The practice of meditation does not necessarily need to be directed toward a certain person or situation, though that is also available and can be valuable.  The practice of forgiveness is about nurturing this quality within our hearts.

Basically, what I am saying is, as a good friend of mine once said and which has stuck with me ever since, "We have a choice.  We can either be unforgiving or we can be happy."  Yes, forgiveness contributes to a more ongoing experience of happiness and contentment and greater capacity for peace of mind.

Here is a lovely Forgiveness Meditation that Dr. Sircar taught and which has been a great and ongoing friend to me.  I find whenever I feel my heart getting hard, when those blocks and knots in my heart begin to form again, just by saying this simple meditation, by sincerely participating in it three or four times a day for just a handful of days, my heart becomes more free, more soft, more true.

May I be forgiven 

for all my imperfections

and all my wrongdoings 

of thought, speech, and action.

Whatever I have done

intentionally or unintentionally

to hurt or offend others

may I be forgiven for that.

I freely forgive all those who 

knowingly or unknowingly

have cause so much pain, separation, or isolation

within me.

May all beings be forgiven 

for all of their imperfections

and all of their wrong doings

of thought, speech, and action.

Whatever any being has done

to hurt or offend another

whether willingly or unwillingly

may they be forgiven for that.

As you may have noticed, we first practice forgiveness for ourselves.  It all starts 'at home,' within our own lives and hearts and extends outward from there.  It is said that it is very difficult to foster a complete or unfeigned experience of forgiveness of others if we don't have that openness first for ourselves.  This is where so much foundational healing takes place, in the intimate dialogue with and the tender touching of our own hearts.  

So again.  If I were the most selfish person in the world, I would practice forgiveness, because it works.