Welcome to Libby Schleichert's Blog--About Alternative Healing & Related Thoughts
December 21, 2011 - On Forgiveness and Mapping a New Path
Did you ever notice how beautiful the countryside looks from high atop a mountain or ridge? You don't see the potholes in the roads, the old roof that might need repairing, or the broken-down car in the driveway. Everything appears just perfect.
Many people display the same split. From a ways off, they are smiling, pleasant-appearing, and well-dressed. But deep down, they feel inadequate, not good enough, and lacking whatever it is they feel that everyone else has and that they can never achieve--some sort of deep self-acceptance and an embracing of their true Divine essence.
This dichotomy between outer and inner, between the face we present and the way we feel deep down inside, becomes tougher to maintain in this, the season to make merry. In fact, short of downing one too many pints of wassail, it's often hard to join in the seasonal celebrations. We just don't feel very good about ourselves.
We may be holding ancient grudges, nursing useless guilts, beating up on ourselves for unnamed crimes, viewing our "not-quite-good-enough" performance as proof that we're inadequate human beings. If we're facing job loss or other crises, we "up" the ante and make it even tougher on ourselves to see the larger, beautiful picture of who we are and of all we have to offer the world.
So how do we get to that place of merriment this season?
How about starting with healing our own inner critic, the one that reenforces our sense of guilt and inadequacy? With just a wave of the hand, as a kind of cue or message of intention, and a command to "forgive self," you can direct your unconscious to do this kind of healing, going all the way back to the very first time you felt humiliated and made to sense you didn't measure up, and coming all the way up to the present.
Of course, in this season, Christians celebrate the birth of the one who, they believe, was born to free us of our sins. If that is your faith tradition, embrace it now anew, and pray for that very freeing.
Regardless of what your faith tradition, it's time to do whatever you can to clear away the layers of negative beliefs you are harboring about yourself and to allow your true selves to shine forth.
Here's a secret: like the valley seen from the ridge top, you, dear friends, have an inner beauty that, even upon closer inspection, holds up and is worthy of all the lovingkindness and mercy you can shower upon it.
As a follow-up, I would like to recommend a great book for help in recovering your soul's purpose. It's called Steering by Starlight and it's written by Martha Beck. It contains much wisdom and offers many exercises to help you move forward if you feel stuck in your journey. It will encourage you to manifest the kind of life you deserve.
Happy Holidays everyone!
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