Letting Go of the Past and Learning Forgiveness.

It is certainly true that the past dictates how one behaves presently. Unfortunately, past traumas or circumstances which impacted us have shaped how we perceive and relate in the present. If this is true, then the opposite can also be true, too.

Letting go of the past can shape the future and improve your present state of mind and being. We don’t have to remain hostages of our past. There is a certain freedom and release that happens when you are able to forgive and move on. This is easier said than done, especially if traumatic events have played a part in the wrongdoings of others. Fortunately, there are ways to address forgiveness in constructive and healthy ways, but first, let us examine the health toll it takes on our bodies.

Song Seung Heon in Black (2017).

The Toll On Your Body
Many people don’t know that holding onto a grudge or anger is detrimental to their health. Feelings of negativity, resentment, and unforgiveness affect the physical, mental, and emotional health of a person. Often, the negative effects of grudges manifest in physical ailments or diseases, which further affect the negative cycle of distress. Prolonged or chronic anger can affect your body in the following ways:

• Increase your blood pressure, which leads to an increase in heart disease 
• Affect your quality of sleep, which affects cognitive functioning and recovery
• Lead to overeating or malnutrition
• Increase levels of anxiety
• Contribute to depression
• Keep your body in a state of fight or flight mode
• Affect your immunity Increase the risk of diabetes
• Increase cholesterol Increase in the stress hormone cortisol
• Incidence of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Therefore, the act of forgiveness and the release of that burden will affect your health in positive ways and reduce the toll it takes on your body. Forgiveness is literally good for your health.

Lee Dong Wook in Goblin (2016).

The Freedom Of Forgiveness
Understanding the connection between past experiences and the way it affects your current state of being is paramount to letting go and moving on with your life. Past experiences have shaped your behavior and feelings and altered how you cope with certain circumstances. Understanding and deconstructing the process of how your past is affecting you is a step in the right direction when trying to move on with your life through forgiveness and acceptance.

The psychological aspects of healing are best dealt with in a holistic manner. Counseling sessions, healing sessions, and the support of loved ones are the strongest tri-factor in overcoming grudges. Psychological counseling sessions can address the root of anger and resentment whilst providing coping skills and psychotherapy. Spiritual healing sessions can provide the inner peace and energy realignment needed to fully let go. The support and understanding of loved ones improve the mental space of the person who is suffering while working through their emotions.

Cantabile Tomorrow (2014).

The Alternative Option For Healing
In addition to counseling or psychotherapy, energy medicine is an option that can aid you in letting go of the past completely and restoring the balance within yourself. The process of forgiveness is a tough and laborious one as it involves the active and conscious decision of letting go. Letting go of hurt, anger, disappointment, resentment, and hate. These negative feelings, especially if harbored over a long period, have a certain resilience and tend to linger when one has decided to finally forgive and move on.

Forgiveness does not happen in a one-off session; it is a gradual process of healing. Once you have identified the need for forgiveness, healing becomes a mindful process of working through the feelings and thoughts and then releasing them. The releasing part is notoriously difficult, which is why energy healing can have a significant impact on the process.

Energy healing can be used to ease or release the suffering and torment associated with resentment. The blockages of energy are caused by mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering, which can be addressed by energy healing. Addressing spiritual hurt is part of the healing process and can provide peace after a long period of suffering and pain.

The objective of energy healing is to address the energy blockages, work on removing them and provide relief. Spiritual healing aligns the inner being and facilitates the healing from within – a sense of true inner peace. It is important to remember at this point in time that you will need to be patient with the healing aspect. Be kind to yourself and acknowledge that forgiveness is a process and not just an act of compassion.

IU in Hotel del Luna (2019).

Learning Forgiveness
Forgiveness does not excuse the offender’s actions or validate their behavior. Forgiveness is accepting the deed happened and moving past it. Forgiveness is a self-care act, something that you do for your benefit and healing. Forgiveness is the act of acceptance, compassion towards yourself and finally letting go of the negative aspects of the deed. Forgiveness is not surrendering to the emotional enslavement of trauma, but rather the decision to release anger, resentment, bitterness, and malice. This ensures your life is your own and is not governed by the trauma. Your past does not have to define you.

Interrupting the cycle of resentment and anger, actively working on emotions, and striving for equilibrium within one’s self is the best way to let go and move on. The act of forgiveness is an act of healing. Be kind, be patient, and be present when letting go of the past and learning the gift of forgiveness.