Many times it's hard to let go of our anger or hurt from the past and we can see this seeping into our relationships, work situations, family life and dreams. Forgiveness is not always easy because the mind can constantly go back to the wrongs the other person did to injure us.

Forgiveness doesn't mean that what the person did was right. It is really a tool for you to not be living with a level of anger, resentment or bitterness that holds your own life back. Think about it in relation to your own healing. Forgiveness will help you cut out all those nights of internal dialogues fantasizing about revenge and various forms of justice. It will help you create new relationships in your life that include trust, care and nurturance.

Sometimes it is helpful to visualize why that person behaved the way they did. We can't always feel compassion for someone who hurt us, but we can see that they may have had a family pattern they repeated and were just part of that cycle themselves having little insight. This may have made them act unconsciously and you were in their pathway. Perhaps they will never break out of their reactions, but you have an opportunity to break out of your own. Fortunately, we don't have to live in negative emotions and depressed or angry feelings as we gain more insight.

It can be helpful to read some books by Tibetan monks that were able to forgive their tortures or family members of murdered relatives that were able to forgive. Picture yourself ten years from now . Will you continue to harbor feelings of anger and resentment? Do you want to be that person? Or do you want to let your softness, nurturance and loving nature return once again and have the full life you are supposed to live?

Christain Cullen
http://www.squidoo.com/self-improvement-1/