On Fighting Giants

 On Fighting Giants

On the North Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is a very beautiful and picturesque spot known locally as The Giant’s Causeway. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and attracts over a million tourists every year. It’s made up of mostly hexagonal shaped basalt pillars and columns that start at the cliffs and stretch out, in steppingstone-like formation, across the North Sea to The Isle of Staffa in Scotland.

Legend has it that an Irish Giant named Finn MacCool had a barney with a Scottish Giant named Benandonner who challenged Finn to a fight. Finn built the Causeway so he could meet up with Benandonner for the fight. There are two endings to this Gigantic tale. The first ending is that they meet and fight with Finn coming off as the winner and Benandonner was never heard of again. The second ending says that, upon seeing that Benandonner was bigger, Finn ran back to his cave and hid. Benandonner came looking for him so Finn’s wife, Oonagh, dressed him up as a baby and tucked him into a cradle. Benandonner, upon seeing the size of the ‘baby’, scurried back to Fingal’s Cove destroying much of the Causeway behind him. 

The Spoiler Alert Truth is that the Causeway is the result of volcanic eruptions millions of years ago and the basalt cooled down quickly forming the distinctive shape of this wonderful feature. Personally, I prefer the Giant story, yet my moral of this tale is simply this: No matter what the myth a plausible answer is usually the reason behind it.

So why the tale? The title of this chapter is titled On Fighting Giants, and we all have our own personal giants to fight at some time or other, many of us constantly. By Personal Giants I mean such things as deeply ingrained, almost instinctive, habits which seem impossible to get rid of. Our inner demons, or barriers, which prevent us from doing all the things we want to do by popping up out of nowhere telling us No We Can’t because then this or that will happen, and you’ll get hurt or lose everything and blah blah blah! You know the kind of thing, right?

For example, when alcoholics kick the addiction, they still claim to be alcohol dependent and any periods of time without succumbing to the Demon Drink are known as Dry Periods. They don’t say “I’m an Ex-Alcoholic”, they say “I’ve been dry for…”. They say this because they believe they could easily revert to dependency if they had a few alcoholic drinks. I disagree with the thinking behind that. Yes, I believe they would become dependent again if they fell into temptation and started drinking again on a regular basis, however if that kind of thinking was eradicated in the first place, then perhaps that wouldn’t be the case because they would be in full control of their subconscious choices. The idea that a leopard can’t change its spots is, in my opinion, only true where leopards are concerned. Humans can, and do, change dramatically whatever the circumstances they’re faced with. Ask any Paralympian if it’s possible to conquer the impossible and I bet you can guess what answer they would give.

Recently I watched a programme which featured a 15-year-old girl who is a double amputee below the knee. She took part in a charity ramble for Children in Need, a UK children’s charity, where she wanted to complete a two-mile course through the Lake District, Cumbria, England. The course was across rough ground, including a 700-meter climb, slippery and uneven terrain and even the downhill section was very tough going as it created extreme and painful pressure on her knees and thighs. 

She wore prosthetic legs so she couldn’t ‘feel’ her way like able bodied people can. The most she had walked using those legs up to this point was the ten minutes to her school. Even with the support she had around her, it took her the best part of a day to complete the course, about eight or nine hours in total.

Did she feel like giving up? Of course she did, but she didn’t. She was in pain, she had to make many stops to rest and receive some assistance from the physiotherapist and yet, not once, did she consider giving up, she was determined to complete the hike. She conquered her personal Giant. A remarkable achievement and I believe many of us, able bodied or otherwise, would probably have struggled and possibly even have given up after a few hours. She was proof that if your Why is big enough, nothing else matters. 

So, what kind of Giants might we have to fight and conquer? In the previous chapters I’ve shared how the Gratitude Precepts can help you overcome and get rid of many of the nasty little habits holding you back and how to create new ones, so here I want to go into more detail and show you that, no matter how big or strong the barrier, you can smash right through it.

Is it really possible to overcome any bad habit, conquer any personal Giant, no matter how ingrained? I would say yes. I don’t care if you’ve been smoking for fifty years, you can stop, period. I don’t care if you’re a Substance Abuser, you can become and stay clean. I don’t care if you’re incredibly shy, you can change and gain a boatload of confidence. I don’t care if you’ve always been a loser, you can win and continue winning. You can beat any Personal Giant - any addiction, emotional imbalance, self-esteem issues, attitude problems or whatever – if you want to! That’s the key, which I massively stress, you must want to. That is the strongest foundation to stand on when fighting your Personal Giants, any other foundation will have the same effect as that house in the parable which was built on sand – it will collapse.

“Wanting To” is the first and probably the most difficult step because you are making a conscious decision that will dramatically change your life forever. I mean, that’s scary stuff right there! I will warn you right now that you can expect pain and anguish, you can expect wanting to give up and return to your cuddly Comfort Zone and even expect your peers to try and drag you back from your new course. Oh yes, your mates, muckers, posse, buddies, Homies – many of them won’t like what you’re attempting to do and will do all they can to stop you. Why? Why on earth would they want to stop you from improving your lot in life? 

Have you ever seen what Crabs in a bucket do? You might be thinking they don’t do much, probably just mill around feeling sorry for themselves knowing they’re going to end up on someone’s plate or as a jar of sandwich paste. And you would be right in that respect, but do you know what happens when one of the crabs tries to escape the bucket prison? The others gang up on it and drag it back, even ripping off legs and claws to stop it from trying again. It’s true! It’s a well-documented fact, check it out on YouTube where you will find several videos about it on there. The thing is, we humans do the same kind of thing, not that we’ll end up in a jar of sandwich paste or have our legs ripped off – at least I sincerely hope not!

Seriously though, what I mean is this: If those in our peer groups, those who we spend the most time with, are simply existing instead of living, then watch what happens when you try to break free from that mediocre existence. They will attempt to pull you back, just like those crabs, so that you stay within their confines. So again, why? Here are three possible reasons:

1. For some it could be based on jealousy in that they don’t want you (or anyone around them) to be better than they are. They know they’re living a crap existence but are not willing to do something about it, so they hinder everyone else who tries.

2. For others it may be a control thing, they want to keep you under their control, they want to dictate how you should lead your life. This is a sure sign of insecurity. Maybe they would like to break free, smash through their own barriers, but are frightened of the unknown possible consequences, so it is better to maintain control and keep others around them in that self-same existence to help them feel more secure.

3. For most it’s a misguided sense of protective instinct, they are trying to protect you from perceived harm. This maybe comes from our dark and distant ancestral past where those straying outside of the group or tribe without support tended to end up being eaten by ferocious wild beasts or murdered by a rival tribe and the like. In modern times this means your friends are fearful for you, they don’t want to see you get hurt, disappointed and want to keep you smothered for your own good. Does that sound familiar?

For all these reasons anything outside the Comfort Zone is dangerous and needs to be avoided and the best way to do that is to stay inside, taking it easy and existing until your time is up. Sadly, many who try to escape usually succumb and return to the safety of the Herd, so to speak. Happily, others break free and so can you. The best way to get out of your Comfort Zone is to create a new one and when that gets too comfortable you create a new one and when that gets too comfortable  – well, you get the picture.

Whether this kind of mentality has been inherited from our ancient ancestors where the Group or Tribe provided protection against wild beasties and so on, or whether it’s something that’s developed more recently with the advent of technology making our lives much easier and therefore we have become more complacent and even lazy, the fact is the majority of us don’t like getting out of our Comfort Zones – for there be Giants!

Fear of Failure is a big player in this kind of attitude, mainly because it’s seen as a weakness and we, roughty toughty men in particular, can’t be seen to fail – can we? Yet we’ve all done it. We’re all guilty of it at some point in our lives. In fact, I would say we do it every single day, we all fail at something. Is it really such a big deal? I mean, we’re all still here, aren’t we? For the most part failing hasn’t harmed us one iota. However, for the majority out there failing is a big deal, a humongous deal. As I said, failure is viewed as a weakness, a missing of the mark, a sin in many ways. If you fail then you’re nothing, is the attitude of many, yet quite the opposite is true.

We didn’t start life as failures, in fact we started out as being absolute winners! We all fought off thousands, maybe millions of others and survived a dangerous and treacherous journey to win the all-important race – the chance to fertilize an egg and be born. What a fantastic achievement!  Whilst swimming to victory no thought was given to failing, nor was any consideration given to the consequences of a ‘What If’, We just did it, admittedly instinctively, but we still did it – we won! So, give yourselves a well-deserved and huge Pat on the back for that massive achievement.

The question now is, where did it start going all wrong? When did we start to fail and become obsessed with failing? Sadly, that’s down to our parents, grandparents, other ancestors, peers, environment and personal experiences. A right Fail Cocktail guaranteed to make you feel lower than low, sorry for yourself and bathe in the abject guilt of failure. Yet failing is not the end, it’s the beginning because, even if you were one hundred percent successful one hundred percent of the time, you would still fail. Why? That Success would cause you to fail to appreciate your success, you would take it for granted, become blasé about it. The simple fact is this: To become truly successful you must first fail.

Thomas Edison is well known to have failed many times; it took him more than ten thousand attempts to discover a material suitable to use as a filament for his electric light bulb. In the end, after trying everything he knew, it was during a walk in his garden when he had a Satori moment and came up with the idea to use bamboo. This was to be his very last attempt – and it worked! 

We have many fears – the unknown, heights, spiders, water, trust, success and so on – but all these Personal Giants can be surmounted. Look at it this way, how do you view a molehill? Up close it is easily dealt with, usually with a spade or shovel, right? Further away it’s insignificant, a blip on the landscape – unless you are a gardener then it can become a mountain! Yet that ‘mountain’ is so easily dealt with, it’s nothing to worry about. That’s how we should view our issues, as molehills that are easily dealt with using the correct tools. Personal Giants can be felled like a tree in the same way – remember David and Goliath? 

But what about real mountains? I hear you cry. Well, what of them? The answer on how to deal with real mountains is very easy, you climb them and stick a flag on the summit! I know, facetious, but true, nonetheless. However, climbing a real mountain takes grit, determination, endurance and stamina as well as a guide and the right equipment. The same goes for those issues that appear as mountains to you, that appear unsurmountable – ask for help, accept the guidance and then climb the buggers and stab them with a flag!

It is all a matter of perspective. Mount Everest doesn’t look so awe-inspiring or daunting until you get up close. Even then, by focusing on one step at a time, you can conquer it and enjoy the view – weather permitting. With the right attitude, grit, determination, endurance, stamina, the right tools and equipment and a good guide you will conquer any mountain that stands in your way. Or molehill for that matter, for we do tend to make mountains out of molehills, don’t we? Change your perspective, flatten it with a shovel! Focus on what’s important and relevant, not the What Ifs and Could Have Beens.  

Do you still think you won’t be able to do it? Do you still think those barriers are too high, too wide, too deep to smash through? Well, take this into consideration.

The power of the Mind is phenomenal. No supercomputer ever built to date can match it for its thinking capacity. In fact, I read somewhere that the world’s largest supercomputer, I think it’s in Japan, is the equivalent to the brain of a fruit fly in comparison to the power of our minds. And by Mind I don’t mean brain for the Mind isn’t tangible, you can’t see it. Your brain isn’t your Mind, that’s just jelly and electrical impulses, a storage facility. Your Mind is what makes up You, your conscious and subconscious self, your Inner Self or Soul if you will. It’s pure energy and that is what returns, as the Bible says, to Source once our physical selves stop working. However, it’s not infallible.

Whenever you’re working on a computer, whether you are writing, calculating, photo-shopping or whatever, that is like your Conscious Thought, it’s in the now, the present. If you were to close whatever you were doing without saving it – and who hasn’t done that – all your hard work is gone (yes, I know there’s auto-save but bear with me here) and you would have to start all over again. Similarly, thoughts come and go at a rapid rate of knots within our conscious minds and, unless we focus on them, then they’re gone forever in most cases. 

 Going back to our document on the computer, if we did indeed save it then we would be able to retrieve it at any time at will. The same goes for any thoughts we focus on and mentally ‘save’ in our subconscious minds. However, and this is the important part, just like a computer you can fall prey to the Garbage In, Garbage Out syndrome. If you’re constantly feeding your subconscious mind with a load of crappy stuff, then I can guarantee you will be suffering from, as Zig Ziglar used to say, Stinkin’ Thinkin’ and need a serious Check Up from the Neck Up! Getting the idea?

I used to be very much an introvert and growing up I had few friends and spent more time with my head buried in a book than playing outside. Yet, even back then, put me in front of a crowd and I became a performer, an actor, an entertainer. I loved, and still do love, being on a stage and entertaining people. Back then it was Amateur Dramatics, these days it’s been Podcasting, YouTubing, Tik Toking, public speaking and so on. I do get nervous at first, but I soon flow with it.

Up until a few short years ago I could spend a whole evening in a pub and not speak with anyone except to the barperson to order another beer. That’s how shy and introverted I was, so what changed? I did! I put into practice what I’ve been sharing here and researched the best way to start conversations and conquer shyness or being introverted. I then mediated using Reiki and other exercises and gradually that practice paid off. Today this leopard has changed his spots! I find it relatively easy to start conversations with strangers, making new friends along the way. The confidence I have whilst ‘on stage’ so to speak, is now a permanent part of my ‘off stage’ life as well. Where I was incredibly shy and introverted before, now my confidence shines through and it has helped me become more approachable and empathetic to others. That certainly helps in all areas of my life!

Yes, I still have setbacks, but they are few and far between. I’ve come a long way in the last few years, and I am still growing, still learning, still moving forward. That was a huge Personal Giant I conquered, and do you know what the best about it is? It could very easily be you. 

(Extract from PUNC Living by J Sadler-Scott)

Grounding, Protection And Vampires!

 

Grounding, Protection And Vampires

If the world of Spirituality is relatively new to you, you will hear a lot about these topics as you get more involved with creating a Spiritual Path or Practice. Obviously it will be up to you as to which you pay attention to and which you don’t, if any. Believe you me, there are plenty to choose from! So, let’s take a closer look at each of these, starting with Grounding.

Grounding Your Energy

The idea behind ‘Grounding your Energy’ has been mainly made popular in Western style Spirituality by the New Age Movement. Those who teach these techniques swear by them and they seem to work. Somebody, somewhere, at some time must have come up with the idea and I would say it was probably back towards the end of the nineteenth century and into in twentieth, and as we entered into the 21st Century, it became a very popular teaching. The original idea could have come from when we started using metal rods to Earth Lightning so when Energy Work/Healing became in vogue, this was possibly adapted to fit accordingly.

From a personal perspective, Grounding is not taught in Reiki, or at least not in the Usui Reiki System, because it wouldn’t work. The whole idea of Grounding is to clear any excess Energy stored in your body after carrying out whatever Practice you were doing, such as Chakra Balancing, Past Life, Tarot and so on, and which may have left you feeling a little spaced out or overly energetic and ‘send’ it into the ground, in effect earthing yourself. From a purely Reiki perspective this wouldn’t happen because you don’t store the Energy in your body in the first place, it flows through as you are the Conduit and not the Vessel and this is what I base my view upon.

The thing is, as I see and understand it, we are all made of Energy. We are Energy Beings in a slow moving, or lower vibration, Energy Body which we view as physical. Quantum Physics has proved as much and continues, from a scientific aspect, to explore this to see what else can be uncovered and verified and add weight to what Yogis and Mystical Teachers have been teaching down through the ages.

Therefore, if we are all made of and connected already to all this Energy, and that includes everything in, on and around this ‘University of Life’, why do we need to Ground ourselves? To me it doesn’t really make sense. Perhaps it started out as a Course Filler, an extra bit of teaching to round off a training or exercise which involved Energy work - and I’m certainly not against that by the way - and then it became popular as those who were taught it also passed it on with a little embellishment here and there. Or perhaps a Spiritual Teacher had an unsettling experience which they believed was resolved by using a ‘Grounding Meditation’.

That’s how it usually works, right? And also, just like Reiki in the early days, bits get added on to established practices and meditations as Teachers wanted to leave their own Mark and eventually it evolves into something else. We are very good at that aren’t we? We are experts in taking something simple and overdressing it, wouldn’t you agree it? I mean, look how the Victorians decorated everything in a very ornate way with swirls of flowers and intricate designs, from mundane kitchen floor tiles to Pumping Stations for Sewage! It does look good though and I admire their ingenuity and artistry, even if it was unnecessary!

However, on saying that, as I’ve said there may be other Spiritual Practices which could potentially leave Energy Residues in your body, and which may require a meditative exercise to help calm you, bring you back to Earth, as they say. I’m certainly not disputing that; my perspective is based on my personal experience, and I haven’t needed to carry out any Grounding Exercises after a Meditation or Energy Exercise or even Past Life Regression sessions, but then I also haven’t taken part in an Ayahuasca Ceremony and by all accounts you certainly need Grounding after that!

So, does that mean you shouldn’t try any of the Grounding exercises offered? No, certainly not. What didn’t really work for me may work for you. To be honest it was all the Ritualistic stuff attached to it that put me off. I prefer a more straightforward approach on the main, minimalistic to an extent – basically if it’s not needed then it’s purely decorative. But don’t let my personal opinions sway you, find out for yourselves, try them out and see if they work for you or not.

For me there is only one Grounding Exercise that works without fail and that’s getting out into good old Nature. There is nothing more calming as far as I’m concerned than being in the woods, especially ancient ones, or a beautiful park or by the sea or ocean. I love mountains too, just not the climbing bit so much!

By the way, for any Grounding Exercises or Meditation you don’t need to be sitting, standing or lying in a certain position, nor is there a need to carry out certain movements and the like, so there’s no need to feel left out if you have mobility issues of any kind. And that goes for any meditative practice, they can all be done in whatever position is comfortable and best suited for you and guess what? They still work!

Protecting Yourself

Why do we need to Protect ourselves when working with Energy or any Spiritual Practice? In fact, do we need to and if so from what or whom?

 The style of Reiki I’ve been trained in didn’t include the need for Protection Exercises, although they may be in other Eastern Practices. In Buddhism, for example, there’s a Principle taught where the ‘Buddha Nature’ manifests itself from within you and this has the effect of you activating the ‘Buddha Nature’ within others, thereby providing you with the protection you require. The Om Mani Padme Hum Mantra, amongst others, can also be used as a way to protect yourself from negativity.

As part of my Reiki Training, I was taught a ‘Space Clearing’ technique, but it wasn’t part of the Teachings of Reiki’s Founder, Mikao Usui, it was an added extra from another discipline, possibly Feng Shui or Qigong. However, protecting yourself Energetically is not such an Off idea, because setting Boundaries is also a form of protection and we all should have strong Boundaries in place, irrespective of whether or not we are following a Spiritual Path.

Whereas I am not a great believer in the effects of so-called ‘Spell Casting’, there are those who are and that’s what those who make money out of this dubious industry rely upon. They only work if you truly believe in them, which is the same with everything we’ve looked at so far and also will look at moving forward. At the end of the day, it comes down to Faith. However, I much prefer having Faith in something Positive and Beneficial rather than something which is designed to cause harm or extracts payment for ‘Love Potions’ and the like. As always, it’s your choice.

Taking all that into account, there are Negative Energies here within our University, however they are not negative in a dark or evil sense, they are simply the opposite to the Positive Energy we prefer to use, just like a magnet and its Positive and Negative poles where both can be beneficial or not dependent on usage. There is talk of those among us, however, who are thought to be Vampires!

 No Wooden Stakes Required

These so-called Energy Vampires are said to suck the very Energy out of you to feed themselves, just like Dracula in the old movies or in the Twilight Saga or the Lost Boys movie. Well, despite my personal disbelief, I have to report that there is such an entity as an ‘Energy Vampire’ however, it’s not some Midnight Prowler. This is something I have learned from my Tarot and Psychic Development mentor, Richard Knight, and the way he explains it makes total sense.

Have you ever been chatting with someone, say at a party or even with a friend, and you walk away from them afterwards feeling very tired all of a sudden? Despite starting the evening in a super buoyant mood, for example, you feel totally drained after being in the company of this aforementioned person. If so, then you were in the presence of a so-called ‘Energy Vampire’. Don’t be alarmed, however, because here’s the important bit – they did not deliberately set out to feed off and drain your Energy because the chances are they don’t realise they are doing it. In fact, the term ‘Energy Vampires’ is so Hammer House of Horror and gives a more negative connotation than needed, so I prefer to call them ‘Energy Absorbers’ as that is basically what they unwittingly are rather than Blood Sucking Monsters. Oh, and they come out in Sunlight too!

The way Richard explains it is that these are people who, for whatever reason, are seemingly unable to generate any, or very little, Positive Energy themselves so they go to places where there is a high level of Positive Energy such as Rock Concerts, Sports Events, Music Festivals, Comedy shows and so on and absorb whatever Energy they can to restock their personal levels. They are also attracted to High Energy events or individuals such as Spiritual Workers, Motivational Speakers or anyone who is in a great mood. This is why you may feel unusually low after attending a certain event or speaking with a particular person who, by the way, can even be a close friend or family member!

There is a positive to this, and it is an important one. These ‘Energy Absorbers’ won’t drain you completely, in fact on the main you usually won’t notice any difference in your mood or energy levels because the amount ‘absorbed’, is minimal. They only ‘top up their tank’, so to speak, and then leave. It’s only in rare cases where they absorb more than they need possibly because you are the only source available at that time. Your own Energy Reserves are quickly replaced, and you would be back to normal after a short break or nap. I know it still sounds gruesome, however it’s still better than having your blood sucked out, right? 

Is there anything you can do to protect yourself in any way? Yes, setting strong Boundaries goes a long way to strengthening your ‘defences’ against an ‘Energy Absorber’, and there are at least two ways to do that which I shall, of course, now share with you.

The first one is recognising anyone within your Social or Family Circle who potentially could be an ‘Absorber’. Is there someone you know who always seems Down and a little Grumpy when you first meet and yet soon seemingly cheers up and leaves bright as a button whilst you, and possibly your friends, feel kind of low all of a sudden? Most of us know someone in the wider family or at work or in your neighbourhood who is like that. Usually we would say they’re a bit pessimistic, however pessimists tend to be always looking on the dark side of things so that’s a different story. ‘Energy Absorbers’ are usually pretty positive, but their ‘Batteries’ need recharging on a regular basis. Either way, my advice would be to limit your time with them if possible, especially if you are going to be with them on your own. If you are in a group then the effects will only last momentarily and will soon pass.

If it happens when you are attending an event, with or without friends, then try to distance yourself from the possible source, the person who is probably absorbing the Positive Vibes of not just you and your friends, but from several people and they will wander from one to the next. Obviously if you are attending a seated event, it’s a bit more difficult however there is a neat little tool you can use which will help. In fact, I would recommend using it in any situation where you suspect there is an ‘Energy Absorber’ – or even a Pessimist - in the vicinity.

(Extract of Chapter 1, PUNC Living by J Sadler-Scott)

Be Compassionate

 

Hi Everyone,

here's another extract from my book PUNC Living, How to Cultivate Peace, Unity, Nurturing and Cooperation and Experience Life Differently in an Awakening World. This is about expressing Compassion and has the Reiki Precept Be Compassionate as it's base. Hope you enjoy it,

J Sadler-Scott

Be compassionate towards yourself and others

At first glance, this Reiki Precept seems fairly straightforward, right? Actually no. This is a biggy and, of all the Precepts, is the most important in my opinion.

One Oxford dictionary defines compassion as:

“sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings of others”

And goes on to say it stems from the Latin ‘compati’, meaning “to suffer with”.

When it comes to showing ‘pity and concern for the sufferings of others’ we all are very compassionate. We donate hundreds of millions of our hard-earned income to charitable causes of all kinds, from adopting kittens to Alzheimer’s research. In UK in 2016 we helped raise over £46 million for the charity "Children in Need" alone, which was a record amount at that time and has since been broken several times since.

All around the world billions are raised through all kinds of events from sponsored walks to wearing red noses, and that’s not counting the many philanthropic wealthy, such as Bill Gates, who give back on a regular basis. All to help those less fortunate than ourselves and all commendable on so many levels.

But you know, there’s still that old saying that says “Charity begins at home”. Now, I know that usually means you should take care of yourself and your family before taking care of others and that does make sense. That wise teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, is reported to have said that you can’t remove the straw out of your brother’s eye if your vision is blocked by straw in your own eye.

So notice, then, that the first part of this precept says we should show compassion to ourselves first before we show it to others. For, indeed, how can we expect to help others if we can’t help ourselves?

What is meant here isn’t to go around begging for sympathy or pity, rather that we should be prepared to forgive ourselves when we make mistakes, don’t hit our targets, fail in something. We shouldn’t beat ourselves up and curse ourselves but, instead, be kind to ourselves and even have a laugh about it, if appropriate.

The main point here is Forgiveness. Being forgiving frees us, gets rid of the shackles of annoyance, anger and worry. It helps to de-stress the situation and it becomes more acceptable and, therefore, easier to find or focus on a more successful course of action.

It’s not easy to be self-forgiving, in fact it’s probably one of the hardest things to do because many of us see it as a weakness. Being self-forgiving is no weakness, it’s a strength and a great one at that.