Forgiveness holds the healing power of unblocking energy.
Recently, I produced a film called Love Heals, a documentary about some of the energy study techniques I teach. It tells the story of a young woman who heals her chronic pain by releasing traumatic memories from her body and mind. In her quest, she delves into the energetic roots of her pain through energy study and mind-body practice. Although many techniques are used, one of the most effective is simple and well-known: learning to forgive honestly and completely.
In an interview the film, physician David Hanscom states, “The one shortcut to healing is forgiveness.” Dr. Hanscom arrived at this conclusion after years of performing spinal surgery that failed to relieve the suffering of his patients. But is it true that something so simple could give rise to healing? I know that it is true; forgiveness works because it is often the key to restoring the proper flow of energy in the body and mind.
Forgiveness Unblocks Energy
From an energetic perspective, pain occurs in the body because of energy blockage. Sometimes, this can be purely physical, as when we break a bone or cut our skin. In that case, our body can usually heal the wound unless it is extremely severe, and when physical healing is complete, energy flow is restored in that part of the body. But not all our wounds are physical. Often, we hold negative memories and emotions in our bodies, which leads to chronic pain.
Since the mind greatly affects our energetic state, healing from this kind of pain must come through the healing of the mind. Essentially, when we experience chronic pain rooted in the mind, it is because we have some habit of mind that is ongoing, such as continuous anger, sadness, or tension about something that is or has been in our lives. If we can’t change that, we can never restore proper energy flow.
Forgiveness is usually the key to finally releasing these pent-up emotions, especially when holding on to something from our past. While our current situations can be changed, and we can build better futures for ourselves, nothing can be changed about what has occurred in the past. While we may be able to seek some sort of justice for what has occurred, ultimately, the past is immovable and unchangeable. You can only change your reaction to and your relationship with what has happened.
However, I understand completely how difficult it can be to let go of that which has caused deep mental and emotional trauma. Humans can do terrible things to each other, and the harm that results can shake our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us. But, if we do not let go and forgive, we relive the worst moments of our lives in perpetuity. When we forgive, we finally let the past stay in the past instead of allowing it to affect the present.
Give Energy to Love and Oneness for True Personal and Global Healing
One basic principle of energy study is “Where the mind goes, energy follows.” Thus, when we hold sadness or resentment about an event, always replaying the story of it in our mind, we bring more and more energy to that memory. In the body, this may result in a buildup of tension and stagnant energy, which blocks the flow of energy in the meridians, causing pain and stiffness in those areas. The body is very good at restoring energetic balance, but it cannot do so until these blockages are released.
The documentary I produced is called Love Heals because love is indeed at the center of forgiveness. Forgiveness means returning to a proper state of energy flow in relationship to other people, the universe, and ourselves. This means loving ourselves, loving others, and loving all that is . . . even the difficult things. Love, on the energetic level, is simply the free flow of energy between elements in our lives—between myself and my soul, between myself and other people, and between myself and the universe.
Our egoic senses wrongly tell us that we are separate from others, but in reality, we are not. Through energy, we are connected to everyone and everything, and when we attempt to cut off from or reject anything because of our judgments and resentments, we cut off energy from ourselves and the other person. Thus, when we forgive, we reestablish energy flow, and true healing can begin.
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In fact, forgiveness is a necessary element in all the major problems that humans face. All relationships require personal responsibility first and then forgiveness when we fall short. Ultimately, you can only take responsibility for your part in any problem. You cannot force anyone to change a behavior or offer an apology for something, so let that go, understanding that they have their own healing journey to walk.
The same is true of political divisions in the world. If we cannot forgive, how can we ever overcome these divisions? Anything less inhibits the flow of energy between people and cultures, which in turn prevents us from acting harmoniously on behalf of Earth. War is an exaggerated version of the kind of non-forgiveness we experience individually; it’s a refusal to compromise and exchange energy constructively. That’s why individual healing is so important for healing the world. When we forgive ourselves and others who have harmed us, we take the first step toward healing the world.
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