March 13, 2018 Group Meditation Part 1 of 2
This 31-minute forgiveness meditation was lead by Freeman at the Boundless Love Project’s Group Meditation. After doing this meditation, we suggest you watch the video in The Boundless Nature of Forgiveness blog post, which the group did afterwards.
Meditation details
• This loving forgiveness meditation includes asking forgiveness to people you have harmed, forgiving others who have harmed you, and forgiving yourself.
• 31-minutes long.
• After listening, be sure to watch the video in The Boundless Nature of Forgiveness blog post, which is part 2 of this group meditation.
Forgiveness Meditation Script
We provide this script as reference material for students, and as a helpful aid for other meditation teachers who would like to use this meditation with their students.
If you are considering using this meditation script to lead others in meditation, we encourage you to have a bare minimum level of experience and competency in meditation. This minimum level of competency includes one or more years of daily meditation practice, completing one or more 10-day long meditation retreats, maintaining an ongoing meditation practice, and the ability to be very calm, focused, and mindful while leading the meditation.
Forgiveness Meditation
[Ring Bell]
We do this practice out of love and compassion for all beings and all life everywhere, including our own.
May we know the peace of accepting the truth of reality as it is.
May we know the security of having our intentions arise from unconditional, boundless love.
May we know the freedom of renunciation which liberates us from greed.
May we know the joy of living skillfully for the benefit and welfare of all beings and all life everywhere.
May all beings and all life everywhere be loving, peaceful, compassionate, and joyful.
Get settled in and comfortable, so your body and mind feel calm, relaxed, balanced, and stable, as well as energized and alert.
Take three slow, deep, effortless breaths.
On the inhale, feel the energy in the body. On the exhale, relax and calm the body.
Lovingly scan the body for any areas where there is tension or tightness and invite those areas to relax and soften.
As you continue to lovingly scan the body, let go of the need to do, achieve, or accomplish anything, including the desire to do this meditation correctly.
If any emotions arise during this meditation, gently allow them to arise and pass away without acting them out or trying to interfere with them.
With patience and peace, allow everything to be as it is. Allow everything to unfold as it unfolds.
With love, we are going to do a forgiveness meditation. With great kindness, gently rest your awareness on your heart area, the space in and around your physical hart. Feel all of the sensations in the heart area: the expansion and contraction of the breath, the warmth of the heart, a peaceful spaciousness or ease. Patiently rest your awareness on the heart area for the duration of this forgiveness meditation.
If your mind becomes unbalanced during this meditation, feel free to switch to breath meditation -- to help stabilize the mind -- or switch to mindfulness meditation, to investigate and gain insight on any delusion that is arising. Let your own wisdom guide you on what will be most skillful thing for you to do.
Maintaining awareness on the heart area, gently offer yourself some goodwill and kindness.
May I be safe and protected, healthy and strong, peaceful and happy.
May I open to this practice with ease and patience, allowing it to strengthen and unfold in its own lawful manner.
Compassionately resting your awareness on your heart area, bring to mind a situation where you harmed someone, either accidentally or on purpose.
Choose a situation that remembering will not emotionally overwhelm you; that you can remain balanced with. Maybe some harsh words spoken in anger. Breaking a promise. Or some thoughts of ill will or envy towards someone.
With great mindfulness and compassion, calmly and objectively reflect on the facts of the situation, and how it caused you to feel. Reflect also on how caused the one you harmed to feel.
If there is a pain that arises in your heart, remember that these sensations are “not me, not mine.” Sensations are temporary visitors and teachers that you can welcome, be close to, and feel fully. There is no need to suppress them or run away from them.
Peacefully remember that it is difficult being a human being. Even with the best of intentions, we often harm others.
Imagine the being or beings who you harmed in front of you. Or simply have a sense of them in front of you. Compassionately keeping your awareness on your heart area, silently say to them the following, while allowing the meaning of the words to settle into your heart.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me for any harm I caused you.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Maintaining half of your attention on your heart, notice how your heart and mind are reacting to being in relationship with this being.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you for any forgiveness you are willing to show me.
I love you.
I wish you love, peace, happiness, and joy.
Notice how you are relating to this experience. This is how it is for me right now. May I accept this moment just as it is.
Now let go of this being or these beings with love. Sending them blessings and goodwill as they part.
Peacefully recollect another situation in which you have harmed someone, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Compassionately, calmly, and objectively reflect on the facts of the situation. Remember how it caused you to feel. Remember also how those who were harmed felt.
If strong feelings arise, do your best to let them be, and to calmly hold them in your awareness. Hold them with as much calmness, spaciousness, and relaxation as you are able.
Recollect that it is challenging to be human with an ego. Our egos run conditioned programs that cause us to harm each other.
Lovingly placing most of your awareness on the heart area. Either visualizing or having a sense of the being or beings who you harmed in front of you, silently say to them these words, while allowing the meaning of the words to settle into your heart.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me for any harm I caused you.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Peacefully and objectively notice how your heart and mind are reacting to your apologies.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you for any forgiveness you are willing to show me.
I love you.
I wish you love, peace, happiness, and joy.
Gently notice now what is arising for you. This is how it is for me right now. May I accept this moment just as it is.
Now let go of this being or these beings with love. Sending them blessings and goodwill as they part.
Gently now, starting with a small offense, bring to mind someone who has harmed you. Someone who you are pretty sure you can open your heart to. Someone who does not make you feel unsafe.
As you visualize them, or have a sense of them in front of you, recollect on how it is not easy to be human. We often get caught up in the delusions of fear, greed, and confusion, and act unskillfully harming ourselves and others.
Also, gently reflect on how unpleasant it is to hold resentment, anger, and ill will in your heart. Reflect on how these unskillful states are physically and mentally exhausting, and how they impair our own health and happiness.
So, as best as I am able, I forgive you.
Out of love and compassion, I forgive you.
I am ready to open my heart to you.
I am ready to let go of all ill will, resentment, hostility, and anger I have towards you.
Notice how your mind and heart are responding to offering this forgiveness. Allow whatever is arising to arise and hold it with peace, ease, and forgiveness.
Using your own words, offer them your forgiveness. Do your best to connect with the feeling behind those words.
Now let go of this being with love, offering them your goodwill as they depart.
Finally, let’s offer ourselves forgiveness for being an imperfect human being. All of us have egos that cause us to be unskillful. All of our egos have caused ourselves and others suffering.
Recollect that forgiveness is letting go of anger, letting go of ill will, letting go of resentment. Forgiveness is something we do for our own health and well-being, as well as for the health and well-being of all life.
As best I can, I forgive myself for being an imperfect human being, who is often run by ego.
With love and compassion, I forgive myself.
I forgive myself.
I am ready to open my heart to myself.
I am ready to let go of all ill will, resentment, hostility, and anger I have towards myself.
I love myself.
I care about this life.
Using your own words, offer yourself forgiveness. Do your best to connect with the feeling behind those words.
Calmly notice what is arising in your heart and mind. Allow awareness and peace to compassionately be with whatever is there.
May I open to this, with balance and ease.
Continue to calmly be with whatever is arising as we share the merits of our practice.
We share any merits gained from this practice with all beings and all life everywhere.
May all beings and all life everywhere be free from suffering and misery.
May all beings and all life everywhere abide in a deep and lasting peace.
May all beings and all life everywhere know the highest forms of happiness and be at ease.
May all beings and all life everywhere know their deepest essence to be: joy, peace, compassion, and unconditional, boundless love.
May all beings and all life everywhere be liberated, fully liberated, permanently liberated.
[Ring Bell]