It’s January and most people are making resolutions. The most common solution is to lose weight. Well, I just finished reading two amazing books by Geneen Roth. Women, food and God and when food is love. I have also requested your workbook. Why weight? and I can’t wait to start revealing my thinner inner self, especially after eating “too many to count” Christmas cookies.

The main premise of Geneen’s books is that when we allow ourselves to feel our feelings and don’t use food as a way to numb ourselves from the pain of our childhood; then we will naturally make healthier choices, stop binge eating, and get back to our ideal weight. There are many more revelations that I experienced in the books and I highly recommend any woman with any type of eating problem (which is most of us) to read them.

The main insight the book brought to me was the reminder that part of releasing childhood trauma, pain, and/or dysfunction is forgiving our parents (or any other adult from our childhood) for any actions they may have taken. that harm us Forgiveness does not make their actions acceptable, but it frees us from the mental prison in which we have locked ourselves, since we have not wanted to release our stories.

I was reminded of a powerful process I experienced when I attended a workshop given by spiritual leader Sondra Ray about six years ago. The Forgiveness Diet originated from one of my favorite spiritual texts: a course in miracles. The concept centers on writing forgiveness statements every morning and every night for seven days to bring about healing in your heart towards those you feel have wronged you. As an added component, each day at the end of the day you forgive yourself.

A therapist of mine recently reminded me of the process and shared that she was able to successfully forgive the man who hit her daughter. Instead of being in jail, she lives with her daughter and they all have a nice, casual, trusting relationship with no animosity. The power of forgiveness is incredible.

After that session with my therapist, I went home and did the forgiveness diet myself. I was able to forgive and release my mom for neglecting me when she was a child. I gave up the need for her to call me and me to call her. As a result, I only called her when I felt inspired instead of feeling like she had an obligation to call. No one kept count except me. It was a feeling of freedom not having to worry if she was going to get mad if she didn’t call her.

I was also endlessly concerned that my mother would put her husband and his job before me, to the point that she severely neglected my sister and me. Once I forgave her and realized that she had to deal with her own childhood wounds, and was willing to give up my story, I received the most incredible gift from her this Christmas.

She took a week off work and took two nights away from her boyfriend (she reunited with her high school sweetheart just a few years ago after my stepdad died). For the first time in my life I felt like my mom cared more than her job or her man. I couldn’t be more grateful. Unfortunately, when we fight and strive and fight our story, we don’t get the love, the attention, the affection that we so desperately crave. It is not until we give up everything that we receive the fruits of joy on the other side of our pain. Forgiveness really sets you free.

Commit to this simple seven-day process and watch subtle, yet significantly powerful changes begin to unfold for you.

The Forgiveness Diet

All you will need for this exercise is a commitment of 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening, and a new notebook!

Select a time in the morning when you will not be disturbed. On a blank page in your notebook, from 1 to 35, omitting alternate lines. Write the following sentence 35 times:

“YO, [your name]forgive [a person you blame] totally and unconditionally.”

Don’t pick and choose who you will forgive or not. Don’t think before you write. Write any name that comes to mind. Try to write 35 different experiences, however, if a name or experience keeps popping up in your mind, it’s okay to write it as many times as you think. When you have completed the exercise, take five to seven long, deep breaths and close the book.

Repeat the exercise just before bed. This time, she writes the following sentence:

” YO, [your name] Forgive me totally and unconditionally. I am free to move towards wholeness and wholeness.”

You may not know why you need forgiveness, but it doesn’t matter, Spirit knows why.

You must repeat this exercise every morning and every night for SEVEN days, forgiving others in the morning before noon, and yourself in the afternoon before midnight. If you miss a day, you have to start over. True forgiveness takes work. Missing a day reflects your unconscious mind’s resistance to releasing the pain. Be kind to yourself and keep trying.

The Spirit will show you if you have really completed your task, so don’t be alarmed if you see or hear from the same person you are forgiving. Pay attention to how you respond to the situation. When you have fully forgiven others and yourself, you will experience a whole new sense of freedom.

The Forgiveness Diet was originally featured in A Course in Miracles and is featured here by Stacy Corrigan of Manifest Your Man®.