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The True Price of Forgiveness
Human
freedom involves our capacity to pause, to choose the one response toward which
we wish to throw our weight.
— Marie von
Ebner-Eschenbach
A woman
once contacted me because she kept receiving tithes of $77. She wondered if
there was some significance to the figure. I explained to her to that,
metaphysically, the number seven represents fullness and perfection. We have the
seven wonders of the world, the seven chakras, the seven senses
(sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, intuition and telepathy). Seventy times
seven carries even more power. This is the number that implies unlimited
forgiveness, about which Jesus spoke.
A vital
step toward creating a life of abundance is mastering the art of forgiveness.
True forgiveness is offered up with gratitude and thankfulness for the role the
events have played in helping you express your highest good in your life. Good
will flow to you like never before when you open up the door to forgiveness.
Wherever you are feeling stuck, look for the bottleneck of what has yet to be
forgiven. You may find what has not been forgiven lurking in the corner, with a
cover draped over it, because you thought keeping it out of sight would keep it
out of mind. You may find that the disharmony has been hidden away behind a big
red brick wall you’ve built to protect yourself from the pain of dealing with
the issue. You cannot push away disharmony, or put it out of sight. It takes
more energy to keep disharmony covered up than it does to heal it.
A
woman who had a lifelong dream was frustrated. She felt like a decade of
attempts to fulfill her dream had been stymied by people who were jealous of her
talents and by events that she took as personal rejection. I had her make a list
of everyone she felt had ever held her back professionally. She meticulously
listed everyone, and then made a list of why she was thankful for that person or
situation—what she had learned, what gifts she had gained from that experience
or encounter. One by one, she released her resentments by thanking them all for
their contributions, which had brought her to where she was right now,
professionally. Six months after forgiving them and releasing her resentments,
she was well on her way to fulfilling her lifelong dream!
How
many times shall you forgive someone? According to the biblical story (Matthew
18:22), true forgiveness comes when you forgive someone seventy times seven
times, meaning: when you forgive someone abundantly. Forgiveness is simpler than
we often make it out to be. Forgiving someone means making a conscious choice to
let go of the pain, to let go of the need to be right, and to allow yourself to
heal and to be happy instead. Forgiveness is an act of consciously seeing
everyone blessed for their highest good in the situation that is grieving you.
Embrace the number seven and the principle of forgiveness, giving forth your
good toward others. The powerful impact on your life cannot be underestimated.
To
restore the flow of harmony and abundance in any area of your life, you must
claim responsibility for your role and give and seek forgiveness (in that order)
from all concerned. Do you ever wait for someone else to apologize first, even
though you have the desire to apologize? When you do this, you’re withholding
the tithe of your words. Somehow you fear that you will lose respect, or lose
face, or lose power in the situation that occurred. Remember: nothing can ever
be lost; it can only be converted.
A
man was attending church one Sunday when a modern-day prophet stood up to
deliver a message, saying God told him to tell whomever was in turmoil about a
$20,000 debt that the debt had been forgiven. The man who had carried the
indebtedness stood up, crying. The $20,000 was the amount of his unpaid tithes.
Anytime
you feel anxious about the flow of abundance in your life, check in with
yourself. Ask yourself: “Do I have enough for today?” Not for what you need
tomorrow, or the next day, or for what is due next week or next month. Do you
have enough for today?
You
may wish to use a reminder affirmation to keep your thoughts focused on the
truth about the abundance in your life. One helpful affirmation I highly
recommend is: I NOW HAVE ENOUGH TIME, ENERGY, WISDOM, LOVE AND MONEY TO
ACCOMPLISH ALL THAT I NEED TO ACCOMPLISH
TODAY, THANK YOU, GOD! The best affirmations always begin or end with the
words THANK YOU, GOD.
When
you find yourself speaking words of limitation, convincing yourself you live
paycheck to paycheck, or your relationship can’t be salvaged, or the energy you
have right now is going to run out, use an affirmation to stop your thoughts
from drifting away from your connection to abundance.
You
can use an affirmation as simple as WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN, CANNOT BE DIMINISHED.
Another excellent affirmation is simply: THIS IS ALL FOR
MY HIGHEST GOOD. EVERYTHING IS UNFOLDING IN DIVINE ORDER, IN DIVINE
TIMING. ALL IS WELL.
A woman was
in line to receive an inheritance of $40,000 a year, which would come from a
trust fund administered by her and two other trustees. Because she did not have
complete control over how the funds would be dispersed to her, she became afraid
that she wouldn’t have what she needed when she needed it. Because she did not
have complete control over how the inheritance would be paid out to her, she did
something amazing. She turned down the inheritance.
Imagine
yourself in that situation. Would you turn down your inheritance? If not, then
why do you turn down your Divine Inheritance? Become open and receptive to
receiving unlimited abundance in your life today. Start by establishing a firm
practice of tithing so that you are already giving thanks for the manifestation
of your divine inheritance. Then release your expectations of how that
inheritance will appear in your life.
Remember:
You set your intentions with your thoughts and words, as well as with your
deeds. Set your intention to embrace your Divine Inheritance right here, right
now.
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