Meditation: Personal Development 101 | Main
Meditation on forgiveness
So many times I hear people ask others to forgive them. And we all know the phrase "begging for forgiveness."
What's happening in these cases is that someone has decided that it's the other person's job to do the forgiving. Exactly backwards of the way it should be.
Forgiveness is something that is my job. Something that I do. I do it because it cleans up my side of the street. It is something I have, and that I can give.
If I believe that someone else is supposed to forgive me, or if I beg someone else for their forgiveness, then I have turned everything over to that other person. Things will not be right until the other person does something. If the other person does not forgive, then the problem between us goes on and on.
My job is to take control of what I have control over. That would be me, not someone else. I have no control over others. I have control over myself alone. So if there is going to be any forgiving going on, then I am the one who has to do it. If the other person wants to forgive also, that's fine, but it's not my job to bring that about.
And I must be generous in my forgiving, without waiting for anyone else to ask.
Prayer: Grant me the strength to forgive others, freely and joyfully.
Affirmation: I am a forgiving person.
Meditation on peace
For as long as I can remember I have been opposed to war. I always thought peace was a better idea. So much so that I saw peace as being the absence of war.
Peace for me today means inner peace, peace within myself.
It is impossible for me to cause other people to be peaceful. The only person over whom I have any control is myself. Therefore, if I want peace in the world I must first find peace within my self.
If I am peaceful as I walk through my day, then I will contribute some peace to the world. Perhaps others will notice and will themselves become more peaceful. Sometimes these things are like dropping a rock into a lake and creating ripples that go all the way to the edge. And if not, that is OK because my ultimate goal is to have peace within myself.
To become peaceful I will re-examine whether I have any resentments against any other person, and I will rid myself of those resentments. I will forgive anyone who has slighted me, without seeking forgiveness from anyone. I will make amends to anyone I have injured without seeking to have them make amends to me. I will see all other people as children of God. I will love others as I love myself. In this way I will gain peace.
Prayer: Let your peace flow into my heart, and into every cell in my body.
Affirmation: Today I am at peace with myself, and with every other person and thing in the world.
Ross Runkel, Post Office Box 1031, Salem, Oregon
97308-1031.
Phone 503-399-8028. Fax 503-566-8844. email Ross@LawMemo.Com
