Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement

When I opened my computer this morning I came across several messages for a Hatima Tova – Good signature.  In the Jewish tradition this means may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year. It is Yom Kippur, Day of atonement, when we hope to resolve old issues and clean up our slate so this coming year will be a splendid one. A great way to practice atonement is through forgiveness meditation.

Yoga, Zen and the Mind

Yoga helps stop the mind’s movements; Zen teaches us to find Just This – this moment. Both teach us that our mind is the cause of most of our suffering. Through practicing yoga and zen teachings, we can shift away from letting the mind master our emotions and way of being. We can instead use the mind as an additional tool in our material (prakriti in sanskrit) experience. The mind can be a tool, not our master.

The Jewish Tradition

Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is like a karmic cleanse in Jewish culture. Many Jewish people go to synagogue and pray for forgiveness. As an alternative, I recommend this guided forgiveness  meditation with some additional time for silent meditation.

In this meditation, I scan quickly the past year, taking mental notes one what could be done better or differently. Then, I set intentions on what I need to work on and who I need to ask for forgiveness. It’s important to set over some additional time for silent meditation with no reflection – just sit still. Feel and appreciate the world around you: the rain falls on its own, the plants spring from their seeds – all of life is simply doing its thing!

Coincidence: I am just finishing this awesome novel, in which the day of atonement is a big part of.

The Practice of Forgiveness Meditation

Below is a forgiveness meditation to release any unnecessary emotions and mental clutter (citta vritti) that is holding us back from being free. This guided forgiveness meditation is like doing spring cleaning for the mind and emotions. It is time to remove that which does not serve you anymore. This will help you feel lighter, happier and create space for new adventures and love.

We practice forgiving others, not judging what happened, but really forgiving unconditionally.  We also practice forgiving ourselves. Seems obvious, but many of us hold anger towards our own doings. Then we ask forgiveness from others, through our mind, and if needed setting an intention to connect with whom ever we need to in order to ask for forgiveness.

In addition, we practice letting go of past harmful doing or thinking and set intentions on a cleaner future. Practice this in a quiet space, where you can really allow your self to surrender.

The Challenge

Take this meditation as a 28 day challenge. Sit with it every other day for 28 days, and you will find amazing results.

Leave us a comment to let us know how it goes and share this post with a friend who is struggling to forgive.