Nothing can throw our shamanic energies out of balance like harboring resentment. When we hold grudges, we tie ourselves to someone else’s destiny and get dragged off our own path. Forgiveness is essential for any shamanic practitioner as it keeps your energy clean for the work you are called to do.
The opposite of forgiveness is resentment. This is the energy of “You owe me something.” In the course of any human life, cruel words, financial betrayals, broken relationships, and other incidents can inspire resentment. The advanced soul will see these as learning opportunities and respond with compassion from a deep knowing that all is temporary and only Spirit is real.
But for the rest of us evolving souls, the hurts of life feel like a loss and create resentment.
Some of us may also unconsciously use our shamanic powers to strengthen that resentment and bind ourselves and the other person with chains of energetic debt. We may hang onto the person energetically until they pay us what we’re owed
Is there anyone, or a situation that you are hanging onto energetically right now? Is this helping you in any way?
Shamanically, resentments are major energy leaks. As healers and practitioners we need all our energy and power to do the work we have incarnated for. We need to dissolve those leaks everywhere in us, and radiate the powerful frequency of forgiveness wherever we go. Then we’re really cooking with gas.
Here are three practical shamanic techniques of forgiveness that may serve you, your clients, and eventually the whole world.
Forgiveness is For Giving Space
Resentment energy is a binding, constricting energy. It wraps energetic chains around you and the other person and doesn’t allow either of you the space to evolve. To counteract this, try the following meditation.
Close your physical eyes and activate your inner spirit eye. Imagine the person you are angry with in front of you. Make sure they are at least 10 feet away from you. Now imagine a bubble of energy around them that represents your feelings towards them. Really take your time looking at the bubble without changing it or judging it. Notice the colors, shape, size, and any energetic movement you can see. Now take a moment to see how this energy is affecting that person. Are they speaking or gesturing? Are they still and quiet? Can you see any of their energy interacting with yours?
If you feel emotionally activated by this, move the person further away. You can always open your eyes and take a break back in the physical realm. When you’re ready, return to the meditation and now imagine that bubble of energy expanding around them. Imagine it 10 or 20 or 50 feet out from their body. Notice any differences in the bubble or the other person. Now imagine it 100 or 1000 feet out from their body and look again at what’s happening. The goal is to give them space to do and be exactly who they are without interference and without it negatively affecting us.
As a bonus practice, do this same exercise but with yourself as the person in the bubble. Many shamanic practitioners will find that we can only forgive others – give space to others – to the degree that we give space to ourselves.
Coming into Present Time
Resentment energy is a power leak because it is 100% past-time energy. If you’re not fully in the present moment, you’re not in your power. For this exercise you’ll need a rattle and your imagination. Begin by imagining an enormous golden sun above your head. Let the nourishing cosmic sun energy radiate brightly.
Now in your mind’s eye see a gauge of some kind in front of you. It could be digital, analog, or even like one of those old-fashioned scales at the meat market. Ask this gauge to show you on a scale of 1 to 100 how much of your energy is in present time. You could also ask to see how much of your energy is in the past, or more specifically, how much is in the past with this particular person/issue. Usually when I do this exercise my gauge only goes to 60% or 70% so don’t judge yourself even if you’re all the way down at 15%. This gauge is simply an informational tool for your healing.
Once you get your number, begin rattling with the intention that the rattle is calling all your energy back from the past and filling you up in the present moment. Continue doing this, being as thorough and slow as you need, until your gauge fills up to 100%. Notice that as you’ve been doing this, your golden sun has also been filling up with your light and the light of the cosmos.
Now reach up with your energetic hand, pop that golden sun, and allow it to fill all your energetic bodies and aura. Repeat this process as many times as you’d like or whenever you notice yourself stuck in a resentment.
An Equinox Ceremony for Right-Sizing Ourselves
In shamanic cultures, Spring is a good time to purge the old, stagnated energies of winter and prepare the ground for new life. In my Christian lineage, Spring Equinox coincides with the light-body resurrection of Christ. One of his final acts toward his liberation – a truly remarkable one – was to ask for forgiveness for his tormentors and killers.
You can use the Equinox sun to create a cleansing and renewal ceremony for yourself.
First, write down everything from your past that still hurts or that you hold a grudge or resentment for. If you want to make this an equinox ceremony, you can give these harbored grudges and resentments to the setting sun on March 19th. You could burn it in a fire, bury it, or dissolve it in water.
Then set your alarm to wake up before the sunrise on March 20th. Dawn light offers a fresh, pure energy of newness. Equinox sunrise in particular also offers us deep inner balance. Direct the dawn light into your crown, your heart, and your belly. Watch with your inner eye as the light fills you with present-time energy. Make sure the light fills all those spaces within you that harbored resentment and pain. Take a moment to meditate on the eternal forward movement of the Earth and Sun and notice any places within yourself that are relieved to be in sync with present-time instead of trapped in the past.
May these and all other practices of forgiveness bless your sacred journey as a powerful, forgiving shamanic practitioner.
Cindy, thank you for your helpful perspective on forgiveness and your practical, accessible practices one can use. The whole framework offers us an immediate and clear understanding on our disempowerment around forgiveness and important next steps.
One part is not clear to me, though. In the first practice of seeing the energy of our resentment around the other person, the exercise tells us to expand that energy and make it even greater. Am I missing something?
Hi Cecile, thanks so much for your comment. I can see I didn’t write that part very clearly. The idea is that your feelings for the person are inside the bubble. The bubble itself is just the membrane holding them. When we expand the bubble, it’s the same feelings in a bigger volume of space. This gives spaciousness to both your feelings and the person which allows both to move, flow, and transform more easily.
Okay, that helps in understanding it!
Omg what a lovely treasure, wisdom and practice! Thank you my dear friend!
You’re very welcome!
Good stuff Cindy, forgiveness is powerful spiritual alchemy. I believe that forgiving ourselves when we finally come face to face with our own shadows or darkness which we have kept hidden, is the hardest step of all, because it means looking bravely behind the protective curtain or veil of our making. But like anything else, practice makes it easier.
It is spiritual alchemy indeed. And yes, practice does make it easier over time. Thanks for reading.
What a great practice of using a bubble for others! I have done for self clearing, but never thought of doing this for others. Love this idea.
Yes, it can be so helpful and really clear up the relational energy between yourself and other people, and can open up new possibilities for moving forward in that relationship. I hope it benefits you greatly.