Ending Self-Punishment Through Self-forgiveness (Self-Hypnosis)

Letting Go of Past Hurt Through Forgiveness
Forgiving others for past hurts is easier said than done. But when you forgive, it helps you to let go of the emotion attached to memory. To not forgive is to suffer for what others have done. By refusing to forgive, you remain the victim, because it keeps you locked in the struggle, a kind of prisoner to your own past. It’s fair to say that you may never forget certain wrongs done against you, but you can choose to forgive.

Forgiveness benefits you and not the other. As life goes on, from time to time you will recall the hurt and may even have to forgive it again and again. But over time the vividness of these memories will fade, because through forgiveness they cannot remain where the perpetrator owns you. Forgiveness is not an act of surrender, but rather it is a desire not to hold resentment in the act of self-interest. Holding anger and resentment against those who have hurt you by not forgiving them, means you are bound to them by an emotional link. When you forgive, the link is broken and you are free. Mahatma Gandhi once said “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Ending Self Punishment Through Self-Forgiveness
Sometimes we are more forgiving of strangers than we are of ourselves. Making mistakes is a part of life. When you don’t see a mistake as something to learn from, it can be perceived in the mind as something for which you must be punished. In the past you may have sinned in your own eyes, but instead of forgiving yourself, you may have deliberately repressed it. In hiding this memory that made you feel guilty or ashamed, your mind was probably doing what it thought was right for you at the time. But in trying to forget it, all you actually accomplished was to allow punishment to happen at a deeper level. When punishment happens at a deep level, it produces symptoms. There are times when you even have to forgive yourself for things you have not done. In the earlier stages of life, sensitive children direct blame inward for the actions of others. So now you must also learn to forgive yourself for holding onto this self-blame for so long. What others do to us is often the cause of our own self-punishment. What you really need is less self punishment and more self-forgiveness. If you find it hard to forgive yourself, start by forgiving yourself for not being a good forgiver. This in itself is forgiveness, and you have already taken the first step. The self-forgiving person is not a selfish person simply because they chose to let go of self-punishment. On the contrary, the one who remains unforgiving in their world of self doubt and persecution is more likely to lead a selfish life.