Forgiving Self for Past Mistakes

Ask the Author: Question & Response

Almost seven years ago, I made a mistake that has haunted me day in and day out. Each and every day that goes by, I torture myself. I have been presented with a wonderful opportunity to move forward in my career but constantly hold myself back because I am ashamed of my past and can not find it in me to forgive myself. I know I’m a loving person and would have made different choices had I known what I know now. I am always the first to forgive anyone who hurts me, but as far as self-forgiveness it’s been almost impossible. How can I stop punishing myself? Where do I find the strength to hold my head up and stop being ashamed for being human?

– Heidi, USA

Woman dreamingHave you ever, while asleep, experienced a dream that you thought was completely real while you were in it? Have you ever experienced a dream where regardless of how much pain you suffered, put yourself through, or how scared you were during it, you still swore that while in it – it was real? Have you ever had a dream where regardless of how confusing, regardless of how little sense it was making at the time, you still supported it as real? Anytime, regardless of physical manifestation, where you judge, criticize, condemn or pass judgment on yourself or a brother or sister, it is a dream you are currently seeing as real. You are experiencing the dream as real, so much so that while in it, you would even swear to its reality. This dream is not your truest self. This is not your real self. This is not your Godself. This is merely an illusion you are temporarily experiencing as real, believe as real, and thus support as real. Yet my dear friend, I know that inside of you, maybe deep inside of you, you know that it is okay to forgive yourself. You know that you have every right to forgive yourself. You understand that forgiveness is the real, authentic, valid and healthy thing to do. Have you ever had a bad dream or a stressful time in a dream, yet once you woke up, you were so relieved and thankful that it was merely a dream? My friend, soon you will wake up from the dream, the false learned belief, that it is not okay to forgive yourself.

Have you ever opened an e-mail you thought you wanted to look at, or that might have some useful information and unexpectedly and unknowingly infected your hard drive with a virus? A computer virus, once on the hard drive, can lie dormant until a specific word, or even a phrase is inputted. Somewhere along the line, somewhere in your life, you were learning about forgiveness and were unexpectedly and unknowingly contaminated with the idea that it is not okay to forgive yourself. This idea did not come with your hard drive. This idea simply was unconsciously accepted into it, and now you believe that it is simply a part of who you are and thus defend and support it as real. You do not defend yourself against this foreign object because somewhere within you have convinced yourself that this foreign thought system is part of your real self. Regardless of how little sense it truly makes, you keep defending it as part of who you truly are. It is not until you get that this thought system is a virus, that you unconsciously and unknowingly accepted, that you would look to clean it up.

My friend, forgiveness and self-forgiveness is your birthright. It is your inheritance. Yet regardless of how rich and wonderful your inheritance, it can not be enjoyed, nor can you benefit from it, if it is not accepted. And your decision to accept or not accept it is a choice you make, your free will. For what God has gifted you – can never be taken away from you, but it can be refused by you. Thus accept God’s inheritance or put your faith into that false learned belief that you are choosing to support; it is your choice to make. The dream, the hidden virus is your ego’s effort to replace God’s inheritance.

Whenever the emotions or incidents you experience are perceived with aversion, you have chosen to trust your egoself’s plan for the universe over God’s plan. You have chosen to have faith in the way you believe life should be, rather than having faith in God’s plan. You have chosen to depend on your perception over God’s knowledge. You probably don’t know what you are going to have for lunch tomorrow, let alone what is in the best interest of the universe.

In every circumstance, in every instant, you have been gifted with the free will to choose how you will react. You can choose to react with judgment, worry, conflict, chaos and confusion, or you can choose to react with trust, peace of mind, love and joy. Every instant, regardless of its manifestation, allows you the opportunity to begin anew, to experience life with peace of mind, love and joy. The knowledge that you have the power to react to any circumstance, any time, and in any way you desire, is the beginning of understanding the absolute power of free will.

Letting go and feeling peacful - woman blowing dandelionWhen the Bible uses the words “Thy will be done,” it is also and equally saying “May your highest will be done.” There is no difference. Trust, peace of mind, self-forgiveness, love and joy will come about by choosing to have faith in God’s plan for your life. Your highest will and God’s will are one. God’s plan for your life is your highest will for your life. In every moment of your past, regardless of how you choose to perceive it now, you made the best decision possible with the tools you had then. Since you made the best decision possible with the tools that were available to you, then you have acted through your highest will. In a gentler light, problems, mistakes or difficult situations can be seen as lessons, learning opportunities and gifts presented to you by your Godself in order to remember your perfection and your brother’s and sister’s perfection.

When you write: “I know I’m a loving person and would have made different choices had I known what I know now.” – isn’t what you know now a result of what you have learned from the past? Thus, is not the past, in large part, responsible for what you know now? Should you regret the past, or be thankful for the lessons and knowledge it has brought you, and for the person it has now made you into? Should a person who is “always the first to forgive anyone who hurts me” not be grateful for this ability, for this gift to her brothers and sisters and to the world? And is not your past, in part, responsible for this beautiful contribution and offering that is so needed on this planet at this time? Would all your present and future brothers and sisters not bow in honor and gratitude to all the brothers and sisters of your past for helping you become the person you are today? Would your present self not bow in honor and gratitude to your past self for the person you are today?

Relaxed mom and happy baby.

You are the vehicle God uses to express Himself on this planet. Allow Him to flow through you. When you’re loving, forgiving, joyous and peaceful, you are allowing His expression to be experienced. Believe it or not, you make the final decision of what will flow through you and into the world. Not even God would force Himself through you. When you allow God to flow through you, this is your natural flow, this is your trueself, and this is your Godself. My friend, if you allow God to flow through you, you would want no other way. When you allow God to flow through you, peace, love, forgiveness and joy extend through you and into the world. Self-forgiveness, forgiveness and love are offered immediately to your brothers and sisters and to yourself. For what you offer your brothers and sisters, you experience and gift yourself; for it must first flow through you. Allow yourself to see and feel God’s expression being expressed through His other vehicles and all you will experience will be peace of mind, love, forgiveness and joy. You, your brothers and your sisters are, in the most literal sense, the physical expression of God on Earth.

All experiences or situations are lessons and gifts.Situations and experiences that you create in your daily existence, and have created in your past, can be perceived in two ways. Positive and true perception occurs when you work with your Godself. This means that you perceive all experiences or situations as lessons and gifts. The other way is to work with the ego and use negative or false perception. In this instance, you perceive the situations with judgment, experiencing them as errors, problems, bad decisions or plain bad luck. My dear friend, understand this, every day of your life, you can choose to live in Heaven or Hell. Every day of your life, knowingly or not, you make that choice. How much you choose to suffer is, in the end, up to you.

My dear friend, when it comes to self-forgiveness, have you not aligned yourself with the ego long enough? Your tolerance for pain may be high but it is not without limit. There will come a time in your life when you will say: “Enough is enough. I will punish myself no longer.” When that time comes, and you once again trust God’s plan, you will not only be aligning yourself with God, but you will be gifting your past to him, and thus once again becoming a vehicle for bringing all His other lost and confused sons and daughters home.

The poem that follows, “An Unknown Confederate Soldier, A Creed for Those Who Have Suffered,” is one that so eloquently summarizes our desire to follow our own plan based on what we think is best for our lives. The author shows us that when we trust God’s plan, the result is a life with much more meaning than we could possibly have imagined.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey…

I asked for health, that I might do great things.

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things…

I asked for riches, that I might be happy.

I was given poverty, that I might be wise…

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God…

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.

I was given life, that I may enjoy all things…

I got nothing I asked for – but everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among men, most richly blessed!

My dear friend, you have never been disconnected from your source. Your source is an all loving, all forgiving God. Thus if you, at the current moment, do not have the strength to forgive yourself, then invite that part of you that is connected to God to forgive that part of you that is believing and experiencing the dream that you can’t forgive yourself as real. Let me ask you, if you saw your child having a nightmare, would you judge and ridicule your child for thinking the dream is real, or would you very gently and lovingly wake her? Would you punish and convict her as guilty for what she experienced, or would you dry her tears, turn the light on and tell her that it’s all okay now? Would you continue to hold the nightmare against her, reminding her of it every day, or would you hold and comfort her until her fears melted into the nothingness from where they were created? Do you not think that God just might be as kind, gentle, loving and forgiving as you are? My dear friend, there is a part of you that understands what it is that I’m reminding you of. It is this part of you, your Godself, that I’m asking to stand up, hold its head high and awaken that part of you, your child or ego-self, that is now experiencing that nightmare as real.

Meditation / Guided Visualization:

Try the following meditation:

Read completely through the following meditation a couple of times to get a feel for it. Then find a quiet place, sit down, close your eyes, relax and give it a try. This meditation is heart-centered, meaning you must use your heart and soul to guide you through the process. If you currently are emotional, or physically or spiritually tired, you might want to wait for another day. Yet, if you feel tired and still want to try it, please do as your gut tells you. You may use this meditation as many nights or times as you wish. Finally, do not judge yourself if you feel that “nothing happened.” Many times, progress does not come in the form that the ego expects. I promise you that progress will be made, for I have witnessed how one honest moment spent with God completely raises the vibration of not only this planet but also of all of its inhabitants.

Before going to bed one night, go to your room. Sit on a chair and take a couple of minutes to just concentrate on your breath. Breathe deeply. Close your eyes. With every breath you take in, feel God’s white light and love entering your body. With every out breath, feel the stresses of the day leaving your body. Visualize yourself on a chair, sitting in darkness. Then visualize a fog coming toward you. This fog is full of white light. This white light represents God’s love. Feel His light and love slowly surround and envelop you. Give Him permission to enter and ask your guardian angels and guides to also come in.

Surround yourself with the white light of protection and feel the light surrounding you, embracing you, protecting you.

Tell God, Jesus, your guardian angels and/or guides (or whatever divine energy you believe in) that you are now ready to exchange pain for peace. That you are now ready to forgive yourself. This pain can be anything from an emotionally trying time – to a time where you have yet to forgive someone or even yourself. Go back to a time when you once experienced this pain. Understand that you are now completely protected. Understand that nothing can hurt you any longer, because you are now completely surrounded by your spiritual family. They are here to assist you, to support you, and to protect you.

My dear friend, no longer choose to punish and torture yourself. Visualize yourself surrounded by not only your spiritual family but also all of your present and future brothers and sisters that will be blessed by you and your power of forgiveness and self-forgiveness. Feel them all assisting you in lifting your chin up and holding your head high. Ask them to help you accept and gift yourself with what you have so often gifted others – forgiveness. Even imagine those who were, in one way or another, involved in the painful incident – now in your corner, offering you the strength and support you need to forgive yourself, forgive others and move forward. Know that in this higher state, they will gladly do the same for you. There is now an incredible amount of love and support surrounding you and your intention to accept self-forgiveness.

Bring that pain into your thoughts and now begin to offer it to God. See yourself handing all the pain you experienced over to God. A little willingness is all it takes. Visualize yourself slowly and deliberately grabbing all the dark pain out of your body and mind, and putting it into a bag. Feel the weight of the pain that you are extracting from your body. See the bag turn black as you continue to release your pain into it. Feel the bag getting heavier and your body getting lighter. Hold this bag in front of you and offer it to God. See God gladly take this bag from you, and as He does, see it being slowly dissolved into His light. As the bag begins to dissolve, feel yourself becoming lighter, for you have finally chosen to let it go. The weight has been lifted. As you begin to feel lighter and free, feel God filling those now open spaces within your body with His light. Feel His light expanding throughout your body, filling up all the crevasses that were once dug up by the ego. By your choice, His truth now replaces your illusions. See the chains that have shackled you to the past and not allowed you to move forward break, setting you free to pursue all wonderful opportunities to move forward in your life and career.

God will gladly take all memories of pain from you because He loves you. See your pain being dissolved in His light, and feel His peace enter you. Let His love enter you; feel the waves of love entering your spirit. You and God are one. He has absolute love for you. Let Him forever take the pain away and replace it with His love. Feel His love filling the places in you where pain once lived.

He is so grateful for the exchange because He knows that one of His children has just taken another step toward Him. He is so grateful for the exchange because He knows that one of His children has just exchanged the illusion of pain for the truth of peace. He is very grateful to you and I know you’ll be grateful to Him.

Thank Him with all your heart and feel Him receiving your love and thanks. Send waves of love and light into His light that you now are. Thank Him for being there for you. Thank all of your spiritual family for their protection and support. Spend some time in the light, in quiet gratitude.

Say goodbye and let God, your guardian angels and guides go with the understanding that they are always with you, and that any moment you ask them to be with you they will be. For today, you have rediscovered a moment in time that had been hidden to you, but that you now acknowledge is always available. All you need to do now is ask, and Heaven will gladly come to you. All you need to do now is ask for forgiveness and peace. As you ask for them, you remember their ever present availability. And as you remember them, you will experience them and forever offer them to yourself and others.

 

This Q&A Includes The Following Topics:
  • Forgiving self for past mistake.
  • How can I stop punishing myself?
  • General forgiveness strategies.
  • Meditation / Guided Visualization: Exchanging pain for peace, surrounding yourself in pure God light, forgiving self.

 

This question and response can be found in the book - There is Another Way: Overcoming Real World Challenges. If you enjoyed this Q&A, you'll really enjoy the book which is filled with inspiration and effective strategies for overcoming life's challenges. The book is due to come out in 2025. Click here to sign up for our newsletter so that you can be notified when it is ready. Thanks.

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Comments (20)

This wisdom of connecting with our highest self and the divine is the reminder we all need when we fulfill the call for help and healing to raise the vibration on this planet. The illusions and pain we experience only remind us that there is a better way to experience peace. Thank you my friend for being a guide and light to so many including myself 🙏😇. Looking forward to the new book.

Thank you Renee for being open to the message.

Every time the ego tries to have us judge and thus lose our peace of mind, this is not a moment to judge ourselves as “less or not spiritual enough”. It is instead a moment offer to us by the Universe so that we may practice choosing forgiveness over judgment and thus experiencing peace instead of pain.

The more we get to practice consciously choosing forgiveness over judgment and thus being at peace over being in pain, the brighter our light will shine. The brighter our light shines, the more it will help others see that there is a way to get out of pain and darkness and back into alignment with the state of peace, the light in us.

Once we live in this more conscious and consistent state of peace we will look at our past and those from it with gratitude instead of judgment because we will recognize that it was their participation in our experience that gave us the opportunities to practice rejecting the ego’s mindset and instead accepting and aligning with the Mind of God.

Once consciously aligned with the Mind of God, once love and compassion become our natural and primary responses, our love will overflow from us touching all those we think of and meet. It is here, in this state of mind where a Heaven on Earth can be experienced and shared.

Once aligned with the Heavenly mindset, through our example others will be able to see that the choice to experience the light in them is always, even in the seeming darkest of times, thanks to free will, just a simple choice away.

Peace. JBC

It’s really my first time to ”encounter “this kind of meditation to forgive yourself . I’ve heard about first to love yourself before loving others . There’s still guilt feeling inside me because of my past failures and mistakes . That in order to forgive others ,I have to forgive first myself . Many times , I thought I have forgiven those who hurt me ,especially my relatives but still I could still feel the hurt and pain even we’ve already patch up our differences ,it’s never been the same as before .
Thank you very much for this meditation for enlightening me up , inspiring ,letting go of the dark and recieving the light and be Godself .

Thank you Marcitas for being a member of our community and for being open to the message. God is Love and All, and so every step along the sacred path that you have co-created with God, will be used by God for good, will be use by God to help you grow, heal and awaken. Every single time you feel hurt, that is simply the Universe reminding you that you can heal, that you can choose peace instead of pain, that you can once again forgive self and others and find peace. God is Love and All, and so anytime the some illusionary thought of guilt, shame or pain enters your mind, make the conscious choice to offer it all to God, feel it lifting off your shoulders and dissolving in God’s Love and Light. God desires you to have peace, God desires you to teach peace, give all that is not peace to God, so that you may one day teach others how to truly align with God, be One with God and All, and find peace. Peace. JBC

Wow, thank you so much, I haven’t been in touch with God for a long time. When I can’t forgive myself for my past mistakes, your words made me remember that He does. I will try to not make my mistakes define me as a person and learn from them instead. Someday, I hope that I’ll write something as beautiful as this piece that will help someone realize their self-worth.

Thank you Alaina for being open to the message and a part of our community. Practice as often as you can, even if its just 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night, uniting with your Creator. Do not judge yourself if your mind drift away from Him, simply catch yourself doing so and non-judgmental bring yourself back to Him. For the first two minutes, in the in breath, practice allowing His love to fill you, and in the out breath let go of all your illusions and judgments of yourself and others. In the next 3 minutes practice again breathing in His love for you, and then practice breathing out your love and gratitude for Him. The more you practice this the more you’ll see, feel, and understand how worthy you are of Him and how much God desires you to connect and spend time with Him. You are His creation, His child, you are forever worthy of his love. Peace. JBC

I would love to forgive myself. I realize that so often during my life I have chosen wrongly even when I thought I was choosing right . I am approaching my end and need help from G*D to right my life . I am praying for the miracle of feeling connected…..My prayers to you all .

Chris, God is love and there are many expression of this love, such as peace, joy, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, gratitude, charity and many more, so if you want to feel connected to God, offers these energies each and every day to others and you’ll be touching God through your actions, reactions, and interactions. This is something to practice each and every day, and then offer gratitude to all those who are putting themselves in a position in your life that gives you the opportunity to practice offering theses energies and connect with God. We are all One, when you offer forgiveness to others, what you are really saying is “I am worthy of being forgiven, and forgiving myself!” And so you see everyone the ego would have you judge, when seen through God’s eyes, when offered His energy of forgiveness, helps you heal. God Loves you, He wants you to know that, He wants you to practice being this love by offering it to All His children. When you think you can’t forgive yourself, or when such a thought enters your mind, that thought does not come from God, that thought does not come from the energy of Love, that thought is a lie that the ego through its programming has taught you to see it as true. No longer buy into the ego’s lies about you or others. When such a thought comes into your mind, stop it, tell it it is a lie, then do the opposite of what it is demanding. Then become an example to others that the ego can be overcome. Practice, practice, practice until forgiving yourself becomes second nature. Alway remember, God forgives, Love forgives, you are Loves creation, forgive yourself, that is what God wants. Practice every day aligning with this Love, with peace, joy, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, gratitude, charity, all those are your truth, they are all your brothers and sisters, and always remember to offer gratitude for every interaction you have that helps you remember who in truth you are. Peace. JBC

This article was a lovely gift ..thank you..
I am in a space wherein I am finally able to look into the past mistake and at a level deep within that is so full of pain, shame, guilt question the belief that I acquired based on the response pf people around me : that I am no longer ‘god spirit’ as made this huge mistake…I also get a sense that they too were pained , shamed and this caused a deep pain within them as whatever isnt in alignment with the truth is painful. And the truth seems to be we are pure , unchangable, pristine, loving all that is god spirit , sparks of the divine at are truest core… Take away all mistakes , all rights , all trappings , all thoughts, experiences, sensations, emotions, bodies, forms .. All that would be left is TRUTH of us and that is UnChAngable, unshakable , and yes that doesnt prevent us from making mistakes…its a skill to be practices , apply oneself on , and learn… And just as we learn to walk while stumbling and falling and once we do , while waling along the paths of life with careful thought , we may still find ourselves where we inadvertenly stumble and fall, whether due to us , others, enviornment but difference is we gracefully accept this happened beyond our concious violation , and forgive ourselves , coz that moment is just a moment it doesnt define who we are and as we have the learned skills to get back up, we dust ourselves off ( of all the botheration this happened) , we do so , try and see if any learning can be made thatll help in the future Make peace with it and leaving it behind in the moment , start waking onwards once again to our destination …love

Hi Dios, Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful insights. We really appreciate it.

Hi guys i know how u feel.im still dealing with my past actions,that made the love of my life walked out.he says he doesnt hate me but,hes very nasty towards me one minute,then next minutes he wants to talk or ask friends if im seeing anyone.i realize he knowd im hurt so hes trying to plsy a game,he laughing and going on with his life and brought his gfriend around me and our mutusl friends.i realize not to be so hard on myself,because hes going on just fine without me.guys it hurts but forgive yourself it will get better.love

Hi,

Thank you for sharing this. I have been punishing myself for years because of the mistake I’ve done in the past. Though I’m serving the Lord, I now realize that there’s still something I have to do to fully serve Him, and that to forgive myself first totally and let Him in my heart 100%. I will try the meditation tonight, and will look forward for its result. Whatever the result maybe, I’m positively hoping it will work very soon, because I really really wanted to get away from this guilt and hatred. Thank you and God bless you! ♥

I dont know if the people i hurt in my past have forgiven me and it is very hard to deal with. I was between 10 and 12 years old. I cant even make sense of why what happened happened. I am 36 now and it is very troubleing.

I also forgot to mention that I suffered from being raped as well.

Im so glad that I found this blog.. I really need to forgive myself for my mistakes as well. I also did things out of impulse and the pain from things Ive been through. I hate myself everyday for them. I cannot seem to move forward past the things ive done and it hurts. I have even thought about committing suicide but the thought of leaving my daughter behind to endure the pain of not having her mother and hurting my husband even more is what is keeping me alive. I really am trying to find a way to once and for all forgive myself for my past. Due to my past behavior, I hurt myself, my husband and my parents (my mother and stepfather). I felt so inadequate so I did things that I thought would allow people, guys and girls like me. I feel like such a failure.

How could I forgive myself as long as the consequences of my mistakes live on? Some days I say “fine, let’s end this painful time, let’s unload this massive weight”, and then at the smallest sign that the reality I have created through my stupidity/mistake/sin/trespassing/lack of wisdom/lack of discernment/acting on impulse, etc. is there, I REMEMBER that I what I did is very wrong. Now, I feel The only way to finally be able to forgive myself is when the CONSEQUENCES OF MY MISTAKES ARE GONE, the reality reversed to where it was before me destroying that part of it. Else, how genuine is forgiving yourself?! Without this objective reversal, any attempt to pretend to have forgiven yourself would be some sort of hypocrite escape from the responsibility of what you have generated. What, do you think just the mere passing of time would “heal” your mistake for you?

What about my case, in which I have been trying to “repair” my mistakes (objectively) and keep failing at it because the reality is objectively “refusing” to allow me to fix them for a reason I don’t understand.

I can only keeping praying to our Good Lord to have mercy and redeem myself from this living hell in which I am 1. Torturing myself over my mistake and 2. I am not able to fix the mistake and return to peace, since it is following me at every step, showing me the extent of my mistake at every step.

Very comforting words. Beautiful meditation. I suffered years of child abuse, and as a result, acted out in destructive ways. Reading this has helped to release a lot of the guilt that I have. I know the guilt is not mine to carry, but I did, none the less. Doing the guided meditation was wonderful. The thought that I am safe and that nothing can hurt me anymore because I am surrounded by my spiritual family gave me such an overwhelming sense of peace, I almost cried from the joy I felt. Thank you for your beautiful words.

Wow That was my exact same question. I was so angry with myself, I was looking through all sorts of information trying to find ways. to forgive self. I found this site and read through past mistakes. I followed the meditation and had faith because I am so tired of being angry at myself. I could not move on. After reading and believing the meditation part i woke up the next day and felt peace.. What a great feeling. My mind does not go there what’s done is done and I cant change it. I dont every want to repeat it. Hope that helps. Its been about 2 weeks and my mind does not think about that subject anymore. Having faith WORKS…..

I have lost the one i love so dearly from some horrible mistakes i have made. I wish not only for him to forgive me but to be able to forgive myself, everyday i punish myself for what i have done. My actions drove him away. I realize it was wrong, and i should have done different. I also know you learn from your mistakes, and i have learned a great deal from all mine. But still deep inside I’m angry at myself.

This hit home I recently lost many friends because of mistakes and I’m having a hard time forgiving myself and figuring out how to move beyond this huge failure in my life. I stumbled on this site and will be doing this meditation until I truely feel the forgiveness In my heart. Thank you

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