‘Gift of Forgiveness’ at Six and Twenty

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The Six and Twenty book club meeting on Sept. 9 was hosted by Mrs. Mary Ann Raizk in the Thorne Room of the Friends Church.

The program was presented by Mrs. Judy Johnston, whose book in circulation for 2022 is “The Gift of Forgiveness” by Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt.

The book is a compilation of 20 stories from people who have overcome the unforgivable such as Elizabeth Smart, who learned to forgive her captors; Sue Klebold, whose son Dylan was one of the Columbine shooters, and who has learned empathy and how to let go of her anger; and Chris Williams, who forgave the drunken teenager who killed his wife and children.

Mrs. Johnston’s program focused on two practical methods for learning show to forgive and two alternative methods as well.

The first method uses the acronym REACH from the book “Moving Forward: Six Steps to Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from the Past”. R: Recall the Hurt; E: Empathize with the person; A: Give forgiveness as an Altruistic gift; C: Commit to forgiveness; H: Hold on to forgiveness.

The second method focuses on forgiving yourself using 4 steps. 1: Disconnect your mistake from your identity; 2: Write down your thoughts and demand evidence for your feelings; 3: Ask for forgiveness without hinging your thoughts on whether you get that forgiveness or not; 4: Accept the consequences but think of them as a path to a fresh start.

The alternative methods of forgiveness and/or addressing other problems that beset you can be approached through the technique of tapping, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) which is based on the combination of Ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology.

The second alternative technique for finding forgiveness or solving problems is called Ho’oponopono, an ancient Hawaiian ritual that enables one to influence problems in the external world by healing the corresponding inner resonance.

Mrs. Raizk had a beautiful table set with fall decorations and served Pineapple upside down cake along with cookies , chocolates, mixed nuts and cold drinks.

Submitted article

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