Monthly Message from Michael Mirdad

Forgiveness: The Highest Expression of Love

The highest expression of love is not romance, but forgiveness. Any ordinary human being can love someone, but it takes an extraordinary human being to love and forgive.

The only thing in this world that can bring you all that you could possibly want is forgiveness. This is because forgiveness releases us from all mis-perceptions about ourselves and others. If you want more money or better friends, all you have to do is forgive whatever blocks these gifts from coming to you. All else that we study on the spiritual path is mere theory if you do not understand and apply the principles of forgiveness.

Forgiveness can enter our lives the easy way—by recognizing its value and choosing it—or the hard way—by becoming tired of the painful effects of non-forgiveness or false forgiveness and by being forced to experience the humbling process of “Dismantling.” In either case, true forgiveness requires that we be open to seeing people and events differently. We also have to demonstrate a willingness to relinquish our hurts and anger (judgments) concerning all relevant people and events.

Taking Responsibility

Additionally, when practicing forgiveness, we are called to take responsibility for any part we may have played in creating discordant or hurtful events. When we learn to take responsibility for our own lives, we soon find that we no longer place inappropriate expectations or projections onto others. This huge step—taking responsibility for our pain—is the most difficult, since most people don’t know how to recognize the part they may have played in creating discordant situations, not to mention that they usually don’t want to. However, ignorance does not excuse us from the law of responsibility.

Spiritual Forgiveness

The highest form of forgiveness is actually not compassion. The highest form is “Spiritual Forgiveness,” which is the practice of forgiving as God forgives. So when you are upset by something someone has done, forgiveness, in its truest sense, means moving beyond even compassion to a level of consciousness that affirms that whatever we thought happened actually did not occur.

Since God always remains in a pure state of Mind, It can only see purity, never flaws, and therefore sees nothing to forgive. At this level, the highest of human understanding, we realize that there is ultimately no-body and no-thing to forgive—neither in ourselves nor in others. Here we understand that if ever anyone truly did harm us, that person merely acted out (or reflected to us) some unhealed issue we once held inside of ourselves. We now realize that to truly experience forgiveness for others, we must also forgive (heal) the core issues within ourselves.

Practicing Spiritual Forgiveness means coming to understand that since God, who is Love, is all there really is, then all else must be untrue or false. In other words, as soon as you see an error in another, you are not seeing as God sees, which means you are not seeing the Truth about yourself or someone else. Since you are not seeing with the eyes of God and are not seeing the Truth, then what you are seeing is false. Therefore, to react as though it were true would be insane, since you are reacting to things that are not really there.

Thus, any event we’ve ever experienced that seemed to lack Love must have been false or an illusion. Once we understand this, we realize there is nothing to forgive. And although this is the highest level of forgiveness, each person should only practice a level they can understand and believe in.

Spiritual forgiveness heals you of the perception of separation from God, which in turn accomplishes a mini-version of your return Home and starts the process of experiencing miracles in any part of your life. Therefore, when you truly forgive, you are coming closer to “being as God” than in any other moment, because to truly forgive means to see and feel only the light within yourself and others, as God sees.

Now when we ask for the strength and clarity to forgive, it doesn’t mean asking for the strength to forgive someone who has upset us. Rather, it means asking for our mind to be healed of what we thought happened. It doesn’t mean trying to deny that something occurred, as much as it means releasing our interpretation of the event. This includes releasing the power we allowed it to have over us, but this is not the primary focus.

To blame others for your misfortunes shows you are in need of education.
To blame yourself shows your education has begun.
To blame no one shows your education is complete.
–Epictetus

Healing Through the Miracle of Forgiveness

In releasing such perceptions, our soul is restored to its original state of grace. All problems (from sickness to financial) are related to our wounded mis-perceptions and are healed through the miracle of forgiveness. We are released as we release others. This truth is expressed in an ancient prayer stated in a new way: “Forgiven are our debts, as we have forgiven others.”

Since it is our choice to release old hurts, resentments, or judgments, we create our own healing by choosing to forgive. This, of course, confirms that healing itself is a choice. In other words, others may have hurt us, but our choice not to forgive keeps the pain and suffering alive. Therefore, our life cannot and will not improve faster than we improve, and we cannot and will not improve faster than our ability to love and forgive. 

Conversely, when we say, “No,” to living a life of love and forgiveness, we keep ourselves bound to the past and out of the moment, wherein Peace is found. When we say, “Yes,” to true forgiveness, we are immediately shifted into a state of “grace”—not the kind of grace where you are granted some sort of spiritual amnesty, but the grace that exists in the mind and soul of one who has accepted his or her original identity—holy and sinless.

But why is it that after so many seemingly sincere attempts to forgive, there are still signs that we have not yet reached our goal and found peace and healing?

Soul-Level Healing Releases the Shadows of the Past

The archetypal story of the helpless damsel held hostage by the dragon is a metaphor representing the human condition. Without complete forgiveness, we are trapped in the thought systems of the ego that tells us we are weak and flawed and that someone else is responsible for our condition. The damsel, who represents our soul, must wake up and realize she is merely dreaming. Then, even when she wakes up, she all too often has become so used to the nightmare of being controlled by the dragon that she still tiptoes around so as not to awaken the enemy. She is careful to be cautious of what might be lurking around every corner.

Like the princess caught in the dragon’s lair, we can still remember criticisms and hurtful events from the past. These haunted memories still affect us, even though they are no longer actually happening. We must learn to recognize that some of our recurring issues are merely shadows and memories of the days when we had not yet healed. Then, we must learn to not react to such shadows and to instead bid them farewell, moving toward greater love and trust, which comes from seeing all things the way God sees them—healed and Holy.

Love and Light,
Michael Mirdad

Learn more about Micheal Mirdad.

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