Article by Mark S. Kearns
Forgiveness
 In the state
of unforgiveness, we no longer seek the truth about our issues,
our state of mind, to look into the darkness that prevents us from
experiencing comfort - but rather we seek to establish a new truth
one that fits the reasoning of our ego's. In doing so, we alienate
ourselves from the true inner light, the center of our being, and
our misdirected will veils the light of that freedom, that universal
truth, for the shadowy confines of our false impression about our
world and its reality. And is it not true that operating from this
false sense of truth we begin to establish new conditions to explain
our problems that in turn produce the same conditions that we experienced
before? Instead of employing our resources to find the truth, we
direct what energy we have toward other conditions, which we can
only exclusively experience, hate, anger, revenge, apathy, judgment,
criticisms, sadness, are but a few of the new truths we attempt,
in vain, to exercise our will to establish as natural and universal
laws. Even when we are unable, as we always are, to project these
falsehoods onto others, we blame the world for not recognizing our
truth. Not recognizing our error we attempt again and again to have
the world see our truth as the truth until finally emotionally exhausted,
we begin to experience confusion and doubt. The light within us
still shines bright, but it is by our own actions that we
veil our mind's eye.
If there
is truly a universal light that shines within us and by our own
actions to experience peace we are continually proving that such
is true, then it must be that by our own belief systems we shut
ourselves off from this light. And do we not find that in our search
to find this inner peace we take detour after detour on the path
until we are finally trying to light our way and seek to understand
the world through doubt.
The true
path to forgiveness in one based on our own self-identity and not
reliant on factors or forces outside of us. It is our own faulty
belief system that says that someone else must admit a wrong
in order for us to experience inner peace. Instead of seeking
to reestablish our connection with our own internal peace and truth,
we seek to place our remaining energy into proving that our own
willful disconnection from the light within is directly attributed
to another's actions. To this, one should ask the question "how
can another's actions place a barrier within me?" Acknowledging
that true peace is inner directed, how then can any admission by
another change, what can only be experienced within us? This would
be to place the origin and source of this peace outside of us and
not self-directed. If this were true then we would no longer be
the processors of free will! By placing such emphasis on the truth
being outside of us we try to give this false truth force and power
and place it on equal footing with the universal truth that resides
within. This is probably one of the gravest errors that we can perpetuate.
In our error we now state that the true truth can be one or the
other and that both draw their power and energy from the same source
and as such are equal in every way. In fact nothing could be further
from the truth. What could be constructive in bringing honor and
recognition to anger, hate, resentment, and the other self-limiting
emotions? Who has not felt the degrading effects of dignifying such
emotions? They represent, are the result of, the state of disharmony
within ourselves.
In experiencing
both harmony and disharmony, we become keenly aware of these two
different states. However, in our endeavor to constantly redefine
the truth, seldom do we become aware of their differences. Disharmony
at best can only serve to impede or temporally disrupt the state
of harmony, whereas when one is experiencing the state of harmony,
disharmony cannot affect that state. Who has experienced true joy,
even for a moment and wished that they could trade it for sadness,
fear, hurt or anger? Even in times of disharmony, when a person
is desperate in despair and has all but given up hope, a ray of
light emanating from the truth will be followed as a beacon in a
raging storm leading us to a calm and protected harbor. And, has
not each and every one of us experienced something inside that is
unique, powerful and unswayed by the influences of the ego and do
we not sense this as truth?
If we are
to seek this universal truth and once again experience a connection
to its force and power then it must be by our force of will, by
willful choice, that we direct ourselves toward its energy. And
to do so we must begin to lower the barriers that have blocked that
light. We must brave the storm and follow the beacon. In lowering
the barriers we become aware that it was by our own action that
we experienced disharmony. As the final action of the last remnants
of the false truth we tried to establish, we begin to experience
anger, resentment and other limiting emotions and most often these
are directed at self. To move forward, we must be willing to dispel
these falsehoods and trust, for we cannot move forward with one
foot while the other remains in the past. We must forgive!
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