Forgiveness in the Time of Shelter-Free 8 Week Zoom Class

Did you ever feel like a past hurt was forgotten until something happens and you find yourself reliving it all over again? This Great Shelter has united our world. Everywhere we are experiencing the need to limit our social interactions. Staying home, missing work or school...for a great many has produced a profound sense of isolation and loneliness.

Many report feeling depression,  grief, frustration or even anger and resentment. Some people have had sleep disturbances or insomnia. Others say they have lost their sense of well being the longer this Shelter in Place goes on.

Have you had the experience where you thought you had worked through something? All the sudden something happens or something doesn't work out and the issues you thought you had resolved pop into your life again? 

Anger, resentment, sadness a sense of longing for things to be different can take over when we least expect it and we can loose our normal peace and ease. 

Hawaiian Forgiveness or Ho'o pono pono is a simple, easy to learn practice that can permanently resolve old hurts and the burdens these hurts place in our hearts.

Long ago in a paradise we now call Hawaii, there was no formal code of law and no written language. To protect the safety of the family and tribe the Hawaiian’s used a forgiveness technique Ho’o pono pono. 

Today, around the world this practice of Hawaiian Forgiveness is used as a direct means to experience deep peace and inner freedom and to unburden the weight of our past. 

Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science described Forgiveness as the way to know the Divine within as Love.  The more inner freedom we can create for ourselves the greater ability we have to know love, peace and a greater connection with the Divine. 

Everyone has their own understanding of the Divine. The world's great religious traditions share the idea of the Divine as love. However, we can experience the Divine in different ways. For some,the peace and power that comes from being in tune with Nature and Mother Earth is their greatest sense of the Divine. Others may know it as Oneness with all Beings or a sense of Unity with the entire family of humanity. 

June 15th my free 8 week Zoom class "Forgiveness, Peace and Happiness" begins.

What could greater personal freedom or relief from your past mean to you right now?

I believe what you will discover in this class will be alive in your heart and make a real difference for you, long after our time together is complete. 

 

This weekly 90 minute class runs for 8  weeks.  There is no book to purchase, I’ll provide the handouts for class. I hope you can join me. 

The Class:  "Forgiveness,Peace and Happiness"

via Zoom with Dr. Siota Belle, PhD

                        

Wed June 15-Aug 12 2020

1:30-3pm Pacific Daylight Time

Cost: No Tuition Frees

Link to enroll:

https://santarosajuniorcollege.formstack.com/forms/non_credit_enrollment_form

Course number: OA 505 Section 8853 Forgiveness, Peace & Happiness

For more information:email:drsiotabelle@gmail.com

or call 707-566-6895

The class will not be recorded.

You may also enjoy my articles:

"Hawaiian Forgiveness, Ho'o pono pono and Healing" 

https://tinyurl.com/Hawaiian-Forgiveness

or "Freedom and Forgiveness"

https://tinyurl.com/FreedomandForgiveness

 

I'd love to hear about your experiences with Ho'o pono pono and forgiveness. I can be reached at drsiotabelle@gmail.com

Love, Healing and Finding Your Own Wholeness

I believe that loving ourselves is the first step to healing and achieving wholeness. Yet sometimes the burdens from an illness can send us into a downward spiral . If we can find a place within ourselves that we can love-no matter what the challenges of the illness-healing and recognizing Wholeness can begin to blossom within us.

The end was the beginning:

Once a successful nurse and health administrator  had 3 major challenges happen all at the same time:

*She got the diagnosis of Amylateral Sclerosis(ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease which is a severe and chronic illness.
*Her home  was burglarized.
*She lost her job.

Her doctors told her she less than a year to live. Within a few months she was in a wheel chair; barely able to move. Waiting for death- just sitting in her chair she realized that she did not want to die before she experienced unconditional love.

Instead of making funeral arrangements: 

But she hated herself, her body and inside she felt mean and critical of those around her. Somehow she understood that  unconditional love was not possible with so much self hatred. She began a daily practice of looking at herself in the mirror-no clothes- on just sitting and staring at her sagging body that could no longer support her.

Writing It All Down

At first she wrote down every negative thought she had about herself, and her failing body. It was a shock to discover  that she had no loving thoughts left at all. She stared at herself day after day until that moment when she found one thing about herself that was acceptable.  With that she began to rewrite  her negative thoughts into positive statement about herself. As she reached a point of complete self acceptance with her imminent death a shift began to occur. As she learned to love herself …..her body began to heal…

From getting to giving:

She stopped expecting something in return for any of her actions. She began giving to those around here without trying to impress anyone. Each night before sleep she would evaluate her day and ask had she been of service to anyone? Had she been loving? Slowly this practice began to transform her body.

Forgiveness replaced resentment: 

She realized that the only person resentment over past actions was hurting was….herself.

Self-hatred became self-acceptance and then unconditional self love:

Her lifelong disapproval of her own appearance was a heavy burden. No matter what her body looked like now-she came to understand that the first person to love was herself.

Love had to begin inside her. She made the decision to learn to love herself and her body before she died. It was not easy but she began to say out loud. “I love you”  Over time her affection and self acceptance became very real.

For the first time in her life she began to know complete contentment and love for herself that grew and blossomed. Soon she was able to begin sincerely loving those around her with no expectations of anything coming back.  As those around her experienced her change they began to love her and she grew to easily accept their love for her.

From escape with death to accepting life exactly as it is:

She realized that she had felt quite dissatisfied with her job and wanted to quit anyway. She now could look at her entire past and understand that other choices had always been available to her.

Celebrating being alive every minute: 

As she continued with her mirror; she awakened to the idea of celebrating every moment that she was alive-instead of planning her death.

Sharing inner feelings and hurtful emotions is how to let go of them:

Anger, resentment, disappointment  such painful emotions were difficult to identify at first. As she began sharing openly what was really going on inside her  she realized these old hurt feelings were no longer serving her and they began to disappear. Instead of avoiding closeness and intimacy she opened herself to love. With this shift opening her heart to emotional, spiritual, intellectual and physical love brought her the true experience of unconditional love.

So what happened? 

As this woman-let go of her past hurts, inner pain and resentment she was able to accept her self  just the way she was.  She opened to love in every remaining moment of her life. Her body slowly restored itself and she was able to walk again, resume work and begin a new career. Evy McDonald has now been in remission for 34 years.

This is a true story of a courageous woman who recovered her own wholeness and healed herself by discovering her ability to love.  You can read more about Evy's story in the references below.

For those who are close to death opening to love may not change the time of their passing-but it can lead to a more peaceful acceptance of what is meant to be. Opening to love can bring ease, healing and positive change and of course opening to love always brings well-more love.

I enjoy hearing about your healing adventures and respond to all communications so let me hear from you by posting your comments or emailing me direct.

References: 

1.Evelyn R. McDonald, M.S., Sue A. Wiedenfeld, Ph.D., et. al., “Survival in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: The Role of Psychological Factors,” Archives of Neurology,  Vol. 51, January 1994.

2. Evy McDonald, R.N., M.S., M.Div., “Another Perspective of ALS,” Holistic Medicine, March/April 1988. http://www.ahha.org/articles.asp?Id=55.

 Join me at The Wholeness Project-Fulfilling the Hearts  Desire for Oneness

August 9, 2014 Oakland California