All right. Lesson number five is cultivating the practice of forgiveness. What we're going to work on in this lesson is incorporating principles that you've read in chapters nine and 10. of the be solid book. Also, we're going to dig into some of what is covered in chapters 2325 and 27. of the be solid book. When you change what you plant in your inner heart and mind garden, your life changes. cultivating these seeds of love every day, grows you into the best version of yourself.

These practices are how you heal, become whole and live your best life. A way to think about your life like the rain forest, think about the rain forests that are in Brazil. Now surrounding yourself with whole unhealthy relationships. It does what it creates a healthy and whole ecosystem for you to go beyond just survival mode. This is how you thrive All right, but what about the memories and the past pains that caused you so much hurt and trauma? is healing really just a matter of changing your mindset and your social circle?

What do you do about the memories of the pain, the memories of the heartbreak, even maybe the potential that you're going to come in contact with the person who shattered your heart? What do you do about possibly seeing somebody that hurt you worse than anybody else ever has before. In this lesson, we will look at how to let go of the past so that it doesn't trap you into a never ending cycle of pain. And you will learn how to experience freedom and gain the tools to move on in peace. Alright, let's look at lessons and principles of forgiveness. This lesson is focused on an essential element that truly heals the wounds in your heart and mind.

It's a process not a one time thing, just like self love. I'm talking about the practice of forgiveness. Now, in some religious circles and communities, we're taught that you forgive people for their actions and you move on. Never looking back at the problem. I don't know about you, but that one time forgiveness thing hasn't really worked for me. Just like trying to get in shape or lose weight by doing one series of exercises one time doesn't do the trick.

Sometimes we have to forgive the same people for the same things over and over again until we don't feel angry or negative, or bitter or resentful, and we don't have those kind of thoughts about them. Now, depending on the experiences that you've had, this may take several moments of forgiveness and you may find yourself suddenly feeling angry at someone that you forgave months or years ago. That's okay. It's part of the human story. I want you to when you feel suddenly angry, or you feel the painfulness of a past memory, and it causes you to hurt. Maybe somebody that you've said, I forgive you too.

Maybe it's somebody that you've written forgiveness letters to Or you've done the work internally to try to forgive and move on. Here's what you're going to do. Take a deep breath. I want you to tell your heart, I forgive this person for whatever it is that you're remembering that caused you pain. Because sometimes we have to forgive people, the same person for multiple different things that they did to us that causes pain. They don't want you to take another deep breath.

And as you exhale, imagine the hurt and the pain as part of your breath and as you breathe out, let go of the hurt that you've been holding on to. Buddha said holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else. You were the one that gets burned. And that's totally true. We're talking about forgiveness now, because it's a part of the emotional and healing process of healing. It's also a part of our spiritual journey, which we will talk about more in depth in the next Lesson.

But first, let's do a simple exercise to practice the art of forgiving the past and letting go so that you can move on. Alright, we're gonna do a practical exercise. Now. Let's do this simple exercise that will help you forgive and move on, we're also going to incorporate our imaginations because so much of the pain that we feel that we hold on to sits in here, we want to do is want to get it in here out. I'm going to show you some iterations of this activity. And it's what's worked for me and helping me be able to heal, forgive and move on so that I can fully be at peace and so that you can fully be at peace to now some people do this exercise and they incorporate burning things.

I'm going to show you how to do this that doesn't involve any sort of pyrotechnics or any sort of fire. We don't have fire hazard at all. You do however, need a pen, a piece of paper and a small box, maybe a shoe box or something like that. Alright, If you've watched any sci fi movies, and I watch a lot of sci fi, I'm a comic book superhero nerd. Anything that involves spaceships and aliens, you understand the principle that cargo on a ship can be released out into space to float on, into infinity and away from you. We're going to do that with the pain that we've been holding on to.

Now I want you to take your one sheet of paper if you got a journal and that's what you're using, tear out a sheet of paper, take a pen, I want you to write down the name of the person who caused you emotional pain and trauma. And I want you to write a very brief description of what they did. That is hurt you so much. If you want to write out everything down that's up to you. But for the focus of this exercise, be brief, maybe a paragraph or two. The focus is on getting the painful memories out and onto the paper.

Now, when you're finished, I want you to fold the piece of paper in half and I want you to place it in the small box. Now this exercise is some thing that I talked about inside the be solid book, we're going to do the exercise together. I want you to imagine in your mind, and your thoughts, that your mind is like a spaceship. And inside the spaceship, there are all these crates that have things labeled on them. Now, what's inside these crates are things that you're holding on to. You get to decide what you're going to keep on your spaceship.

As you soar through the galaxy of your life. You also get to decide what you let go of releasing it as maybe trash to float out into the universe and be free from yourself. After you've put the piece of paper in the box, I want you to go put the box in the trashcan. And in your mind, imagine that the spaceship of your mind the crate that has this person's name written on it. And inside that crate is this memory this painful experience that you've had. As you put that box into the trashcan.

You are releasing that memory into the infinity of space. Now this isn't something to overthink or overdramatize The point is to imagine releasing yourself from that hot coal that was hurting you and nobody else. And as you release it, now you're free. Now you can move on. Remember, it's okay if you feel some residual anger or pain later on. That's human it to do these exercises over and over and over again.

But if you struggle with ongoing or lingering bitterness and resentment, you're not fully letting go of the pain. Let yourself be free. And if adding a mantra or affirmation to this process helps you do this. I am free. I am free. I am free from pain.

I am free from heartbreak, I let go. I choose to let go of this person. I choose to let go of this experience. I will hold on to it no more. Take a deep breath. Exhale, forgiveness is for you more than it is for the person that you're forgiving.

Forgiveness is about letting go of the pain. Because your heart and your mind want peace, not pain. You were worth fighting for years this exercise anytime you have serious issues with someone that need forgiveness. Now, before we move on, I want to say something real quick. You have done amazing work. This stuff is hard.

This stuff is difficult. This stuff takes practice. It takes consistency and it takes commitment and I am so proud of you for staying with me all the way through these five lessons and doing this work. You're an incredible person and I'm so joyful and so happy that you are staying true to yourself and staying true to your commitment.