The Gift You Give Yourself: Letting Go Through Forgiveness
- Ben Neil
- Jan 17
- 2 min read
In A Course in Miracles, forgiveness is revealed not as a moral duty or an act of superiority, but as a profound gift of release we give to ourselves. It gently teaches that what we are truly forgiving is not another person’s past action, but our own attachment to the pain we have been carrying forward in time. Forgiveness, in this light, is not weakness. It is clarity. It is the moment we choose peace over grievance and truth over the endless replay of hurt.
The Course reminds us that holding onto resentment is like dragging a semi trailer full of emotional baggage behind us everywhere we go. Every relationship, every decision, every moment of joy is weighed down by what we refuse to release. We may believe we are protecting ourselves by remembering the wound, but in truth we are imprisoning ourselves within it. Forgiveness is the willingness to finally unhitch that weight, to stop punishing ourselves for what has already passed.
From the perspective of A Course in Miracles, forgiveness corrects perception. It teaches that the pain we see outside ourselves is often a projection of an inner belief in separation, guilt, or fear. When we forgive, we are not denying that something felt painful. We are choosing to see beyond appearances and recognize that our peace was never truly taken from us. In this recognition, the nervous system softens, the heart opens, and the mind returns to stillness.
What makes forgiveness so powerful is that it restores choice. As long as we cling to grievances, our past dictates our present. Forgiveness breaks that chain. It returns us to the present moment where healing is possible. The Course gently reassures us that we do not need to wait for someone else to change, apologize, or understand. The moment we forgive, we are free. The burden lifts not because the past is rewritten, but because it no longer defines us.
Forgiveness, then, is an act of self-love. It is the decision to stop carrying what was never meant to be held forever. If you feel exhausted, heavy, or stuck, forgiveness may be the doorway you have been searching for. By choosing to forgive, you choose peace. You choose lightness. You choose to set down the baggage and walk forward unencumbered. In the quiet freedom that follows, you remember a truth A Course in Miracles has always whispered: nothing real can be threatened, and nothing unreal needs to be carried any longer.
If these words speak to your heart, I invite you to step into the journey through my books The Initiate, The Initiate: Remembering, Synchronicity: Illuminating Your Destined Path, and Mindfulness: The First Step to Reconnecting With Your Soul. May their pages remind you that you are never alone and that your path, no matter how winding, has always been leading you home.
With Love,
Ben Neil- The Initiate
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