Forgiveness (10 page)

I forgive myself for judging my body as

I forgive myself for judging my body as

– I F
ORGIVE
M
YSELF FOR
B
ELIEVING
–

EXAMPLE

I forgive myself for believing that my body is fat and that I am ugly.

I forgive myself for believing

I forgive myself for believing

I forgive myself for believing

I forgive myself for believing

– T
APPING
S
EQUENCE
–

Review Basic
Tapping Sequence
Guidelines.

1. Review each of the day’s 12 Forgiveness Statements out loud. This will help you identify the specific aspects of the issue that you want to tap on.
   
2. Rate the intensity level of any unforgiveness you hold about today’s topic on a scale of 1 to 10. Write the number down.
   
3. Neutralize all subconscious resistance. Repeat a Reversal Statement 3 times while tapping continuously on the Karate Chop point.
   
4. Focus on the issue you’ll be tapping on. Repeat a Set-Up Statement 3 times while tapping continuously on the Karate Chop point.
   
5. Tap 7 times on each of the 10 meridian points while repeating out loud the key details from the 12 Forgiveness Statements. This process can be modeled on the bonus Tapping Scripts.
   
6. Recheck the intensity level of any unforgiveness you hold about today’s topic. Write the number down. If the level is at 8 or higher, repeat the entire sequence. If the level is less than 8, tap on a Modified Set-Up Statement, then perform the 10-point Tapping Sequence on your 12 Forgiveness Statements until you are at a 0 level of intensity.
   

– REFLECTIONS –

Few suffer more than those who refuse to forgive themselves.

—
MIKE
N
ORTON
,
F
IGHTING FOR
R
EDEMPTION

– DAY 3 –

I F
ORGIVE
M
Y
L
IFE

Your grace is given me. I claim it now.

Your grace is given me. I claim it now.

“Ask, and it is given. You deny me nothing. If I have not, it is because I ask not.”

—P
RAYER FOR
A C
OURSE IN
M
IRACLES
W
ORKBOOK
L
ESSON
168

– Forgiveness Story by Iyanla Vanzant –

T
he good thing about taking a workshop is that you get to do the work. A really good workshop will provide you with the information, tools, and process required to address the issue that is the topic of the workshop. An excellent workshop is one that will provide you with the information, tools, and process required to address whatever the topic is—and then challenge you do to the work right then and there.

I was attending an excellent workshop. The topic of the excellent workshop was Learning How to Fly … Beyond Self-Imposed Limitations. The Unity Church in downtown Philadelphia was hosting it. The cost was $450.00 for the six-day process, and I did not have the money.

When I decided to leave my position with the Philadelphia public defender’s office, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I was 36 years old at the time, and I had been working steadily since the age of 13. I graduated from college when I was 33, left my hometown of New York, and moved to Pennsylvania to begin what I thought would be the rest of my life. Practicing criminal law, saving people from the pitfalls of the judicial system, and changing the world were the only things on my to-do list.

When I realized that I was not cut out to spend the rest of my life going in and out of penal institutions and courtrooms, it felt as if I had hit a very large, very hard brick wall. I was in a new city, alone after ending a long-term relationship. I had two children and a cat to feed, plus a very large student-loan bill. I had no vision, no interests, no desires, and no clue about what to do next to support my family and myself.

But wait! I had a college degree. I consider myself fairly intelligent. Actually, I was smart enough to complete my undergraduate degree with a 3.99 GPA. I had some pretty decent work experience. I had worked in retail sales, publishing, advertising, and law. I also had experiences with welfare, homelessness, poverty, domestic abuse, and my drug of choice—unworthiness.

Guess which experiences loomed in the forefront of my mind? Need I say anything more? With all that I had overcome and accomplished, I found myself paralyzed by fear of failure, anticipation of rejection, hopelessness, and my grandmother’s theme song for my life, “You will never amount to nothin’, just like your daddy!” When I came across the advertisement for the workshop, I knew it was the answer to a prayer that I had yet to pray.

When I called the church to inquire about registering for the workshop, I had no idea it had a price tag attached to it. I guess I just assumed it would be free. It was a false assumption.

“We will begin at 6 p.m. Friday. We will meet from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Saturday. We will meet from noon until 9 p.m. on Sunday. We will meet from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. next Monday through Friday and again from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. next Saturday. Are you still interested?”

“Absolutely.”

“Great! How would you like to pay your registration fee?”

“Oh! I’m not sure. How much is it?”

“Four hundred and fifty dollars. We accept cash, checks, and credit cards.”

It was then that I knew this was going to be an excellent workshop and that I needed to start praying. I told the lovely woman I would get back to her.

It is not until your back is against the wall that you discover things about your character. I was a fighter. In this case, I was fighting for my life and a way to move it forward. I knew that I was very resourceful. I had raised three children without much support from their fathers, and none of us were hungry or naked. I also knew that I had a very limiting tendency to believe that I could not have what I wanted, so why bother asking. With this awareness, I shifted from fight mode to surrender and began to pray. I don’t remember what I prayed for, but I do remember what I prayed about. I prayed for guidance and direction. I prayed for forgiveness of everything I believed about myself and my life that was untrue or unloving or useless. I prayed the words of the 23rd Psalm because that was my fail-safe prayer. I prayed the words of the 27th Psalm because that was my lift-me-from-this-mess prayer. I prayed the 91st Psalm because I knew it by heart, and then I wept and prayed, “Dear God, help me.” Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh when you stop weeping.