Now Let's Talk About Forgiveness

Once you have journaled I want you to move into today's forgiveness visualization. This practice is going to gently guide you to feel into whoever or whatever you have been holding onto. It might be a parent who did not show up the way you needed them to. It might be a partner who hurt you. It might be a friend who betrayed your trust. It might be a version of yourself that you have been blaming for a really long time.

And it might be your body.

So many of us are carrying years of resentment toward our own bodies. We have blamed her, punished her, been angry at her for not looking a certain way or for changing in ways we did not ask for. That resentment is heavy and it is keeping you from fully stepping into the life and the self love that you deserve.

Here is what I want you to know about forgiveness before you go into the visualization.

Forgiveness does not mean that what happened was okay. It does not mean you are excusing someone's behavior or pretending the pain did not exist. Forgiveness is not for them. It is for YOU. It is the decision to put down the heavy weight of resentment so that YOU can move forward freely.

Carrying unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to get sick. It only hurts you.

When you are ready find a quiet comfortable space and press play on today's forgiveness visualization. Let yourself really go there. If emotions come up let them. Tears are welcome here. This is a safe space to feel it all and finally let it go.

When you are done come back and write down anything that came up for you. Who did you see? What did you release? How do you feel?

And then I want you to write this down and say it out loud:

"I choose to forgive. Not because it was okay. But because I deserve to be free."

You are not what happened to you. You are not the stories you have been carrying. You are not your shadow side. You are a whole, worthy, beautiful woman who deserves to walk forward with a light heart and an open soul.

Today you get to put it all down. 💛

Today we are going to go to one of the most powerful and transformative places in this entire journey. We are going to look at the shadow and then we are going to practice one of the most liberating things a human being can do.

We are going to forgive.

But first let's talk about the shadow because I think it is important that you understand what it is and why looking at it is actually an act of self love.

What is Shadow Work?

We all have a shadow side. It is the part of us that we hide, repress, and pretend is not there. The parts of ourselves that we have decided are undesirable, shameful, or unacceptable. Maybe you were told as a child that certain emotions were not okay to express. Maybe you learned to push down anger, jealousy, sadness, or fear because it was not safe to feel them. So you buried them. And they have been living in the shadows ever since.

Shadow traits might look like:

✧ Anger or outbursts of rage

✧ Jealousy or envy

✧ Being overly critical or judgmental of others

✧ Defensiveness

✧ Stubbornness

✧ Needing external validation or approval

✧ People pleasing

✧ Self criticism and self blame

Here is the thing though. These are not bad parts of you. They are hurt parts of you. They developed as coping mechanisms to help you survive experiences that were painful or overwhelming. And in order to find true self love we have to be willing to look at ALL of ourselves, including these parts, with compassion and without judgment.

Because you cannot heal what you are not willing to see.

I want to start today by just acknowledging how far you have come. You have been showing up for yourself every single day and doing the kind of deep inner work that most people spend their whole lives avoiding. That takes real courage and I see you.

Take a few minutes to sit quietly and journal on these prompts before you move into today's visualization:

✧ When you really think about it is there anything you are currently in denial about or avoiding?

✧ What or who has triggered you recently? What did they say or do? Why did it bother you?

✧ Do you struggle with showing yourself compassion? How does showing yourself compassion make you feel?

✧ Did you grow up in an environment where your emotions were welcomed and validated? How has that shaped the way you relate to yourself today?

✧ When was the last time you truly gave yourself grace and forgave yourself for a mistake? What was holding you back from doing it sooner?

✧ What does self love mean to you right now in this moment compared to when you started this journey?

Sit with whatever comes up. Take some deep breaths. You are safe here.