The Spiritual Law of Forgivenessa

If you’ve ever wondered why you seem to be blocked around money and abundance, then maybe it’s time to look at the spiritual laws that govern prosperity. According to Edwene Gaines, author of The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, these four laws are tithing, forgiveness, passion and planning. In this article we will focus on FORGIVENESS.

What is forgiveness? By definition, to forgive is to overlook, pardon or excuse a slight, offense, hurt, mistake, crime, sin or transgression. In the Christian tradition, we are told to forgive others, even unto seventy times seven. Notice that there is no requirement for the offending party to repent or express remorse. It’s OUR job to forgive, no matter what the other person does (or doesn’t do).

This is actually a highly-evolved position. In the Old Testament and many similar religious traditions, vengeance is more highly valued than reconciliation. Maybe it’s more accurate to say that the Law takes precedence over mercy. Jesus Christ came to complete the old Law, and introduced a new commandment: to love one another as He loved us. Forgiveness is an integral part of this. After all, almost the last thing Christ is reported to have said was, “Forgive them; they know not what they do.”

Now, what does this have to do with prosperity? Well, unforgiveness means you are dwelling on your hurts and offences, instead of being thankful for your blessings and all the parts of your life that make you feel good. Whatever you focus on expands in your life, so if you are focused on feeling hurt or worried, the universe assumes you want more of that. God/Spirit is forgiving, so if you stick with unforgiveness, then you are not in alignment with your divine nature and/or blueprint. You cannot be at your brightest and best if you are operating at the low frequency of unforgiveness.

Now, forgiveness doesn’t mean that you condone what someone has done. It doesn’t let the other person off the hook of their own conscience. It DOES mean that you no longer intend to carry that grudge or unforgiveness around with you, poisoning your life. You care enough about yourself to smooth out your energy fields and focus on what you want to experience in your life NOW, rather than the hurts and offences of the past.

In fact, forgiveness is more about you than the person you are hurt by or annoyed at. Holding onto unforgiveness is like poking yourself in the eye and wondering why it doesn’t hurt the person you’re not forgiving. There you are, fuming, and the other person doesn’t even notice! How annoying is that?!

Refusing your forgiveness doesn’t actually solve the problem or situation that needs forgiveness. It just keeps you stuck in resentment and pain. Meanwhile, that stuckness blocks the flow of prosperity and blessing in your life. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that you give them permission to hurt or abuse you; it just means that you aren’t spending any more of your precious time and energy focused on feeling hurt, indignant or wronged. You’re lightening your load by dumping that luggage overboard!

Start by forgiving everyone you have ever put outside your heart, no matter what the reason or how justified the grudge. Imagine that each piece of unforgiveness is like a potato that you are carrying around in a plastic bag. After a week or so, those potatoes are pretty slimy and vile, right? So throw them out! Chuck them through the nearest window right now – with sound effects! (You need actions to engage your right brain and sounds to engage your left brain; actions and sounds together integrate both sides of your brain.)

Make a start by forgiving everyone in your past, in your family, and at work. Forgive God (or your concept of God) for hurting, ignoring, or abandoning you; forgive yourself for any hurts you have caused to another, or any self-sabotage in your own life. Throw out those rotten potatoes every day, and see how much lighter you feel!

Also, start from where you are. If there is someone you really can’t seem to forgive, try saying, “I forgive you, you sorry SOB!” If you do this every day for a week, the next week it may be easier to simply say, “I forgive you”, the following week you might start to believe it. When people hurt you, there are only two reasons: either there is a misunderstanding, or the person is a sociopath (someone without a heart chakra). As the latter is relatively rare, chances are good that there is some kind of misunderstanding… and once you stop thinking people set out to hurt you deliberately, those misunderstandings are easier to forgive.

If you have any kind of debt, look for the unforgiveness that is keeping it in place. In The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, Edwene Gaines tells the story of finding out she was liable for her ex-husband’s debts. After getting over her rage and disbelief, she decided to forgive her way out of debt – and she did. I’ve found this myself – that forgiveness is key to clearing debts.

Try it yourself! Instead of holding onto your grudges, see how quickly you can clear them! Give yourself the challenge of finding out how fast you can free yourself from debt by releasing the chains of unforgiveness. At the very least, you will feel better, lighter, and more able to move forward into your divine abundance.

So there you have the second of the four spiritual laws of prosperity: tithing, forgiveness, passion and planning. Try these four spiritual laws for just three months, and see how quickly your income goes up!