When we forgive, we lay down our burdens of fear, hurt, and anger, and welcome cleansing love to fill us completely.

Dear Friends,

Today I'm sharing with you a topic near and dear to my heart--the process of forgiveness. If you have been reading my work for a long time, you have seen many stories I've written on this topic because the work is so powerful that when completed it sets you free. Ana Holub, one of my course authors, has written a beautiful course for us titled Letting Go with Forgiveness. I would love for you to read this interview.


Madisyn Taylor: Why is the idea of forgiveness so hard for people?

Ana Holub: When we forgive, we lay down our burdens of fear, hurt, and anger and welcome cleansing love to fill us completely. It's immensely simple, powerful, and direct. The way I teach it, the goal is not to "forgive and forget" but to clear our inner passages so we can receive more healing peace and light. I think the idea of forgiveness is much harder for people than the actual act itself. The idea of it fills our egos with dread because when we let go in this deep way our ego dies a little death. It's no longer running the show. So that voice in our heads that wants to stay separate, alone, and in control will fight forgiveness with vengeance! But we know when we're ready, and at that point nothing can stop us from healing. Another reason why forgiveness seems difficult is because most of us have never been trained to do it. We may even think we've already forgiven something only to discover years later that it's still a wound festering inside of us. In addition, it may seem like that mountain is just too big to climb. Our past history feels overwhelming and too awful to deal with. I totally understand; I felt that way about my mother's suicide when I was 23, single, penniless, and pregnant. It took me years to find the method and be ready to do the work. But when I did the amount of peace that enveloped me left me speechless. It has stayed with me to the point that I now feel a gentle river of love constantly flowing between my mom and me.

Another thought about this is our fear that if we let go of our pain we'll also have to let go of our protective inner fortresses. People can be afraid that if they forgive, they'll become weak, a doormat, or too vulnerable again at the hands of people who could hurt them. We need to keep in mind that forgiveness is not the same thing as agreeing to be everyone's best friend. We can forgive and choose to have distance if we need it. In fact, forgiveness gives us clarity and opens us up to intuitive guidance, so it helps us make good decisions about who to spend time with and the relationships that need to change. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong."

MT: How does your course help people get to the place where they can finally let go and forgive?

AH: My course is a combination of many ingredients that helps students say yes to forgiving themselves and others. It explores why we would want to forgive, including the many scientifically proven benefits like lower blood pressure, increased happiness and friendships, decreased depression, and deeper spiritual connection.

I share stories about my life and the ways forgiveness came up for me, so people can get a taste of what the before and after pictures looks like. The course also takes participants through every step of the process, from choosing which issue to begin with to setting the energy, feeling the feelings, and releasing the painful thoughts. They get a sense of how the difficult themes of their lives arise for compassion and healing in their many forgiveness scenarios. When we realize that just about everyone has lots of forgiveness and self-forgiveness to do, it's easier to relax into the actual letting-go process. In the course, I spell out exactly how to forgive in this expanded way and encourage people to slow down and give it the respect and gratitude it deserves. I describe step-by-step how to find the painful knots of constriction and let them out of your body, emotions, and mind. This releases a tremendous weight of sadness and pain. When we let go like this, we make room for a natural healing process. We are always free to decide when to do it. When we're ready, we trust in divine compassion, let go of the past, and end up feeling lighter, more peaceful, and open to receiving wisdom directly from our source.

MT: Your course piggybacks on work from A Course in Miracles. Talk to me about this.

AH: Yes, I'm a long-time student of the spiritual text called A Course in Miracles (ACIM), and it continues to guide and inspire me daily. My process, influenced by ACIM, isn't simply intellectual but goes into the depth of all of our levels. It links our physical bodies to our emotions and thoughts and brings us into union with our true nature as spiritual beings. It can be difficult to simply say to ourselves, "Oh, this intense fear or anger I'm feeling isn't real." It certainly feels real when we're fully triggered! I've found it much softer and more effective to say, "This fear I'm feeling is making me sick, and I need to release it and give it away to spirit right now." Then, once I've done that and I relax into the deep peace that opens up within me, I see clearly that the fear was never real.

MT: I write a lot about the idea of forgiveness of self. Is this work included in your course?

AH: Self-forgiveness is the most tender place we'll ever go within ourselves. From my own life experience, I've found that healing the negative morass of my critical self-talk is only possible if I let go on this profound soul level. Whether you need to release anger and resentments about other people or shame about your past actions (probably both, truth be told), this forgiveness process will support your inner healing.

You may feel some chronic, underlying tension during the day or perhaps you're struggling with an addiction, insomnia, depression, or a baffling medical condition. By gently looking underneath the top layers, you'll find some emotional places of suffering that have become constricted. Almost everyone goes through this. We get frozen in time or else we fight the memories or deflect our attention away from them.

The way I see it, these are simply places within you that you haven't yet forgiven, i.e., released your pain and learned the spiritual lessons that are buried within you, waiting patiently for your attention, inside even the worst things that have ever happened.

If you've done something that you're ashamed of, you probably feel some shame and guilt about that. You may have developed a way to cover it over so it won't be so painful. I know I've done that many times, and it was hard at first to lift the covers and feel the tender places I was protecting beneath.

MT: What happens to somebody when they start opening up to forgiveness, and what happens next after somebody completes the process?

AH: Many of my students are people who have tried just about everything. Some of them feel like they've hit bottom or a wall and just about given up. And even though it can feel really painful, this is their place of readiness. Although it's not hard to do, this kind of forgiveness requires focus and trust. Some people feel intense anguish when they begin, and others feel more of a chronic, low-grade anxiety. For me, releasing my suffering removes darkness from my heart and gut and feels like I've taken tons of burlap bags filled with rocks off the top of my head. Yes, it feels like that! The inner freedom we feel afterward is amazing.
With the action of forgiving, everything changes. Our misery goes down and stays down, and our peace goes up and stays up. Healing light enters all aspects of our being. Our intuition opens wide and we begin to listen and act on behalf of the whole instead of on behalf of only ourselves and our families. We expand beyond being scared little jumbles of survival instincts. We devote our lives, even more, to love and service.

Forgiveness is both a path and a learnable skill. I envision it as a journey through a golden doorway. When we walk though the door, we move beyond the heavy sorrow of our past and receive a direct, mystical connection with our source. This practice is a form of active meditation. It is a true inner yoga, and it brings us directly into an experience of the highest light.

MT: Tell me about some feedback you have received from DailyOM readers after taking your course.

AH: Students in this course report feeling "a deep inner stillness and peace" and "a new way to look at myself and the world." After completing the first lesson, one student wrote, "Already, I am beginning to feel an openness in my heart." People love the audio meditations. Students tell me that they love the quality of my voice and that they get very relaxed and open to doing the work when they listen to the meditations. It's never too late to open up to spirit and receive the peace that is our birthright. We need to become humble in order to ask for help, and many of us know that this is an expanding part of our edge in awakening. I just want you to know that when you're ready, forgiveness is here and completely welcoming you home to your authentic, glorious self.

Course Overview

How can you find peace unless you learn to let go? And what is letting go but forgiveness of all your past hurts, grievances and regrets? Once you learn to forgive, your energy will change. You'll feel lighter, more peaceful, and ready to live your life to its fullest. Your vibration will rise higher and higher as you leave behind all the heaviness of the past. Relationships, career and money issues will turn around - because you have turned around! Through this course you will be taken step-by-step through the process of forgiveness. You'll learn in an easy, understandable way what you need to keep (your honesty, trust and spirit connection) and how to let go of the rest. Along the way, you'll receive valuable lessons about the ego, your Self, and your purpose. The lessons are based on information from A Course in Miracles, Radical Forgiveness, scientific research, and life lessons from Ana and her years of counseling. This course is specifically geared to bring you gently into your most troubled, tender spots with lots of compassion and trust. You will gain a profound understanding of what forgiveness is, and how to use it in every emotionally difficult situation in your life...for a lasting change you can feel right away.


How Does It Work?

Starting today, you will receive a new lesson every week for 8 weeks (total of 8 lessons). Each lesson is yours to keep and you'll be able to refer back to it whenever you want. And if you miss a lesson or are too busy to get to it that day, each lesson will conveniently remain in your account so you won't have to search for it when you're ready to get back to it.


Get Started Now

We are offering this course with the option of selecting how much you want to pay. No matter how much you pay, you'll be getting the same course as everybody else. We simply trust that people are honest and will support the author of the course with whatever they can afford. And if you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund your money.


How much do you want to pay?

$15$35$50

This is the total amount for all 8 lessons


Thank you, Ana. You completely embody this work, and I'm grateful you are sharing it with us. Over 8,000 people have taken this course already, and it warms my heart to know that so many people have lightened their hearts. If you are interested in this life-changing work, click the button. Until next time.

Be well,

Madisyn Taylor
Cofounder, Editor-in-Chief
DailyOM