How to Forgive Someone: Lessons from the Heart Chakra

Have you cut ties with someone that was once close to you? Would you like to give up the negative feelings you harbor for a person who has wronged you? Do you wish you could get over being hurt?

When we experience pain, whether it’s rejection from a romantic partner, an explosive fight with a beloved child, or the bitterness of an upbringing in a broken family, as emotionally sensitive beings we can easily shut down. The wounds that we’re forced to bear by others’ actions can be traumatic, causing us to close ourselves off to new experiences. The task of avoiding feelings of fragility or vulnerability is accomplished by putting up walls to barricade us against the possibility of pain. All the while, we learn to live with emotional baggage, without every really letting things go.

The challenge of offering forgiveness to someone who has wronged you is something that can feel far beyond what is humanly capable. Indeed, as it was once stated by the English poet Alexander Pope, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” Many people spend their lives mulling over the wrongdoing that befalls them, while far fewer are able to actually absolve their perpetrators. Although it takes a lot of inner fortitude to move forward with forgiveness, the sense of freedom you’ll feel – and the improved relationship you can have with the person who brought you harm – make learning to forgive a worthwhile feat. But learning to reframe your past pain takes commitment – and energy.

Releasing Hurt from the Heart Chakra

Within your body lie seven ascending spheres of effervescent energy, known as the chakras . These energy centers drive everything you do; from your ability to indulge in pleasurable activities, to your love of the outdoors, to your spirituality, one of the seven chakras reigns over each and every domain of your life. Your social relationships, including romantic partnerships, friendships, and family bonds all stem from your fourth chakra, appropriately called the Heart Chakra. The emerald green energy that flows from this source in the middle of your chest rules over your emotional relationships. When painful emotional events have marred your relationship with a loved one, the fragile Heart Chakra can become closed. Without this source of energy feelings of distrust, anger, resentment, jealousy, and bitterness can develop towards the person who has wronged you. The only way to move forward if you’ve been hurt is to identify a Heart Chakra imbalance and start working to open this source of restorative energy.

Is a closed Heart Chakra preventing you from overcoming pain?

Re-opening a closed Heart Chakra can be difficult, due to the sensitive nature of this energy. It can be extremely painful to revisit a time when you experienced being hurt by someone you love – you may have even closed yourself off to the very memory of it. But by focusing your energy on a painful relationship and going over it in your mind, you can actually learn to release the person who wronged you. Through a technique called reframing, chakra healing allows you to redirect the negative energy that you’ve accumulated towards someone you once loved. When you address this person as the source of your pain in your mind, energy from the fourth chakra gives you the power to absolve them, even if they hurt you very deeply. This restorative energy can lessen the weight of the emotional burden you are carrying and with time, you’ll be able to forgive and forget.

Moving Forward Without Pain

An open Heart Chakra is the secret to leading a life full of abundant and nourishing social relationships. When your fourth chakra is fully functional, you won’t feel the need to focus on the hurt that others have caused you in the past. Enabling yourself to forgive someone who has wronged you allows you to not only free yourself of unmanageable emotional baggage, but also to shine turn a new leaf on a failed relationship. If the person is no longer in your life, forgiving them can allow you to move on without regret. If they are still in your life, you can enjoy a healthier relationship that isn’t shackled by past actions. With a little help from the Heart Chakra you can finally learn how to forgive, by healing old wounds instead of closing yourself off.