Several Simple Tools For Emotional Growth Through Forgiveness

John Grey goes into detail about it in his 'Men are from Mars' book, and it stayed in my mind. I found it to be a good tool, so I thought I'd share. It consists of crafting three types of letters.

It's important to first get a handle on what you're angry about, so the first letter is aptly-named the ?emotion? letter.

After you are sure what it is you are angry about, start by jotting down a letter to the individual, place or thing that you are dwelling on. It may be a letter to somebody who disregarded your feelings, who is not carrying out what you wish him/her/it to do, or write it to your home for burning down -- Wherever your discomfort sits. It doesn?t make any difference if the recipient of your letter is alive or in a position to learn the letter or not. Just write the letter and let your feelings of sadness, frustration, betrayal, disappointment, etc, to flow onto the paper.

The second letter is termed the ?response? letter.

This is a role-playing letter, which you create, that's an imagined response, from the viewpoint of the recipient of your anger, directed TO YOU. This is a letter written for you that says precisely the loving words you would like/want to have said to you. It is irrelevant if they're things that would ever be spoken or not, the crucial thing is that you jot down everything that you'd most want to listen to.

The third letter is called the ?forgiveness? letter.

The forgiveness letter is a brief letter written from you to the offending person. This one must contain phrases of forgiveness and love. Should you not yet ready to express this, then let them know in the letter that you have an interest in forgiving them. Carry on crafting various letters till you are in a mindframe to forgive them.

If that you are finding the rage and hurt are more than you can express verbally and you?re just too traumatized to process the circumstance yet, then I've got one other basic series of exercises that can help you discharge some of your rage and uncomfortable feelings.

Get a dozen small filled water balloons. Or perhaps 2 or 3 dozen. Go to an empty field or an alleyway, (with at least one big target). Hold the water balloon within your hand and envision every one of the feelings of injury, anger, disappointment, frustration, more anger, fury, and so on, is now resides in that object.

Then hurl it towards something solid (except a person, of course.)

Hear, sense and enjoy the unbelievably satisfying splatting sound that it will make when it hits.

Permit the feelings you put into that balloon to release from your body along with the energy field surrounding your body.

Repeat as often as you feel the need to.

Your assignment this week is to take a look at the areas in your world wherever you might be holding back forgiveness.

Do the exercises to release your grudges and give to yourself the reward of forgiveness.

Be good to your wonderful self all week.

And most importantly always remember:

You're a perfect being.

God Loves You.

You were made in perfection,

by perfection,

for perfection.

Your success is guaranteed.