Forgiveness Part 2
November 4, 2025
Forgiveness Part 2
The spiritual road to self-forgiveness takes its own path. When regret weighs heavily on us, we may try to make amends, but even then, guilt often lingers. Even when we know God has forgiven us, we may hold on to the guilt. What we truly long for is resolution within our own soul; we want to feel free and at peace again. This requires extending to ourselves the grace of forgiveness.
Grace is a soul quality, and therefore a gift of the Divine. It does not arise from the ego alone but is primarily a mental structure. Our minds are powerful and accomplish much, but we need more than mental effort to embody and express soul qualities such as grace. We need supernatural power, the power of the Spirit. When the ego serves the soul, it no longer directs self-forgiveness but yields to the soul’s call to reach into the divine realm to which it is forever tethered.
This is the work of spiritual alchemy, which is the blending of heaven and earth within us. It begins by admitting our own limitations: We realize we do not yet have the grace or compassion needed to step into forgiveness. In this honesty, we invite divine power to merge with our soul, enriching what is already present. Then, our mind, heart, and body receive these gifts, and we can do what once seemed impossible. The elements of our spiritual nature are transformed.
Each center of intelligence, our head, heart, and body, is transformed through spiritual alchemy. Because of the transformation, we speak words we never thought we could say, take steps we never dared, and embody a new way of being. We are not the same spiritual being we were before. The Divine is an endless storehouse of the soul qualities we lack; when these qualities enter us, we are changed and continue to do so.
At its heart, self-forgiveness is about love. The inability to forgive ourselves is often a lack of self-love, self-compassion. But when grace and compassion flow through us as gifts of the Divine, the barriers of self-condemnation fall away. And in being humble enough to accept our own forgiveness, we have the peace we prayed for.
“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here.”—Max Ehrmann, Desiderata (1927)
Spiritual practice: If you need self-forgiveness, practice spiritual alchemy; invite these divine super qualities into your mind, heart, and body, and notice what transformations unfold.
Self-inquiry: What would self-forgiveness look like if it relied only on your power, without the gifts of the Divine?
Prayer:
Dear God, I pray for the capacity to forgive myself for thoughts, words, and deeds that miss the mark. I bring them to You, asking for transformation from self-punishment into self-compassion. With my own mind, heart, and body, I cannot do this. But with Your gifts of grace and love, all things are possible. Amen.
