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Ignorance and Forgiveness:
By Madam Evelina Maria Bellenda:
There is a common mythology in the Western world to the effect that people are separate from nature and all of nature consists of separate things and beings. When we say I or me, we have that sense of separateness in mind. Our skin becomes a boundary in effect. I is inside the skin and everything else is outside the skin. From that perspective, God or any other divinity must be outside us rather than within.
I will submit that thinking of ourselves as separate is a profound form of ignorance. We seem to be ignoring or ignorant of a large part of the evidence that presents itself. Some of the most convincing evidence that we are not separate comes from our scientific community, particularly in the field of subatomic research. There, they are concluding that the universe is some kind of an energy field and particles are simply manifestations of energy.
That means we are not separate and cannot be separate from nature or from each other. We are intimately connected. We are one with the universe. There is much other evidence to support this idea. We have all of the paranormal experiences that are reported to us by various people. I myself have had such experiences. For sure, it could be illusion or even coincidence. You may take that position and you are welcome to it. The truth is, the findings of our scientific community tend to verify the validity of those experiences.
There is also the evidence we have from Dr. Jung, who was one of our great psychological philosophers. He theorizes a kind of a medium he calls the collective unconscious though which this connectedness could occur. He offers his own experience as well as data from his patients. All in all there is very strong evidence that we are not separate, but are intimately linked to each other and to the universe in general.
Understanding this makes it easier to understand some of the
evil and grief we find in our world. People who believe they are separate would
have much less difficulty injuring other people. A person who truly believed
himself to be intimately connected to all other beings would not have such an
easy time causing pain. When I think about it, I have concluded that all of the
deliberately caused pain and suffering in this world was inflicted by people
who believed themselves to be separate. We can take any world situation we
choose and draw that conclusion, be it
I would like to consider this ignorance as a way to find and give forgiveness. When we think of it that way we are doing nothing more than forgiving ignorance. I can forgive ignorance. Thinking back on the incidents in my life where I was badly treated, I can see the perpetrators were truly ignorant. They really believed themselves to be separate from me. So too was I ignorant, believing myself to be separate. We all thought we were separate. I have been ignorant most of my life.
I can assure you, the condition of ignorance is guaranteed
to produce bad behavior. It puts us in what is essentially a defensive posture.
I have caused my share of pain from that posture believe me. So I can forgive
ignorance in others and in myself. I can let go of it. I must let go because I
have things to do. Clinging to the pain caused by ignorance is holding me back.
Forgiving may seem like a difficult
thing at first. However, when we understand the things we are forgiving are
things that came out of ignorance, it becomes easier. That belief in separateness
is a tragic position of ignorance. From that perspective, it is easier to
forgive. It is particularly easier when I remember I was once that ignorant.
This forgiveness is a key factor in achieving my goals. I think of my long term goals as the way I
want my world to be. For me, it has to do with perfection. My very long-term
goal is to build Camelot II on earth. Out of this long-term goal comes an
intermediate goal, which is to build Camelot II within myself. This, of course,
has to do with consciousness raising. I work to move upward on the
consciousness continuum. Part of the practice for this is to interrupt the
cycle of pain and suffering. This means forgiving those who have hurt me and
forgiving myself for the hurts I have caused. It means forgoing revenge and
letting go of regret. It means letting go of the past and doing the next task.
As we do that, we can become more adept and more powerful. We can become powerful enough to build Camelot II. As we grow, it will all reduce to four personal actions and you soul-self is the connection. First is to forgive everyone who ever wronged you and forgive yourself for the wrongs you perpetrated. Then radiate love to the entire world and expect love in return. Next open to the power and wealth of the super-conscious and expect to have power and wealth in abundance. Finally open to the healing power of the universe and expect to have a healed and healthy body, mind, and soul.
It is easier to forgive when you consider the result. If you
radiate this forgiveness honestly through your soul-self, you are laying the
foundation for Camelot II. What you must really wish for these perceived
enemies is peace harmony and prosperity. Offering this through your soul-self
may let them find internal harmony with their own ego-self and soul-self. Then
they can come into harmony with the super-conscious. People in harmony are at
peace and are not a threat to anyone. We can wish them prosperity and they will
become part of Camelot II. We can
bring it about when enough of us become conscious and aware. Camelot II belongs
to everyone and it can happen.
One of the
problems is the confusion, in our culture, about the meaning of forgiveness.
Many people, without thinking about it, will understand it to mean going back to
business as usual. All is forgiven. Everything is the same as it was before.
Trust is reestablished. That is utter nonsense. Trust and forgiveness are two
very different concepts. The fact that you can forgive someone does not mean
you must also trust them. It simply means you will hold no malice for what they
have done. You will not seek revenge. You will not try to teach them a lesson.
This is more important to you than it is to your adversary. It’s a matter
of keeping yourself on the path. It’s about keeping your mind and heart
clean. It’s about the purity of your soul.
When we think it
through, we must conclude forgiving is nothing less than rational behavior. It
is in our own long-term best interest. The momentary thrill of revenge is
simply not worth the damage the violence always does to our own consciousness.
It matters not whether the violence is physical or emotional. The result will
be one more scar on our psyche. That is one more obstacle in the way or our
journey home.
I must point out here the forgiving must be sincere.
It’s not about mouthing words.
Pretending to forgive just leaves a festering boil on our soul. The rage
and pain will still be there. Forgiving is about feeling and believing it is
the correct and most fulfilling action. Once we do it a few times, we come to
understand it is a consciousness-raising act. In its own way, it is as powerful
as meditation or prayer.
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