We are celebrating The Thought Vault Podcast's FIRST YEAR BIRTHDAY! In this series we are sharing "The Best Of" in preparation for new episodes coming soon!  This is a great time to catch up on crowd favorites! We all hear that forgiveness is healing. That we heal ourselves from forgiving others and that it’s a gift when forgiveness is offered to us. From a biblical sense, this is precisely what we are taught as Christians; we should forgive the same way Christ forgave us. I do believe that healing comes from forgiveness, but there is a real struggle in the midst of this action. Sometimes we can't forget. Sometimes, forgiveness doesn’t seem fair or warranted. The process of forgiveness can be arduous and painful or easy and light. There’s a lot that is involved in forgiveness, and your faith in Christ will play a HUGE role in it. This is what we’re going to talk about today, the mess of forgiveness.Forgiveness broke my family and in this episode, I dive into that hurt, & how we’ve learned to cope with this circumstance that has forever shaped each of us. Forgiving oneself can sometimes feel impossible, and can be the hardest to give. Shame, and guilt can destroy anyone. Forgiving ourselves, is taking care of ourselves in a way that helps us for our present and for our future. But The Enemy will make our minds turn against who we are, and who we know we are in Christ. It’s easy to go dark, and can be very hard to stay in the light. But that’s where forgiveness takes us, back to the light. Back to Christ.Dr Caroline Leaf cited in her book, Think Learn Succeed that Scientific research shows that forgiveness and love are good for your mind, brain, and body health! Ongoing results of the “Forgiveness Study” carried out by researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that people who develop an ability to forgive have greater control over their emotions; are significantly less angry, upset, and hurt; and are much healthier. It’s easier to move forward into a purposeful future when you have truly forgiven.Forgiveness = freedom. Think about that for a moment. What does that mean for you? With this episode, it seemed fitting to end with an exercise that I learned from Professor Ronald Siegal, of Harvard Medical School, to help handle the emotions and feelings of forgiveness and hurts.Let’s give this exercise aptly called the  Soften Soothe, Allow Method, listen to this episode to practice this highly effective exercise that will give you the mindset to walk through deep hurts, and quite possibly get you to the point of forgiveness. Forgiveness is something we all must face in life, and the choice to forgive can radically change the rest of our lives, and if we aren’t intentional, it can dictate the health of our bodies and heart. How do you want to live? Sometimes, forgiveness is the one thing holding us back. And isn’t it wonderful that Jesus didn’t hold it back from us? Thank you for listening to this episode. Don’t forget to subscribe, and leave a review, and share this episode > it means so much! Anytime you want to listen to the meditative prayers or exercises from our episodes, go to boldpearls.com/meditations to get a link to all of them! They’re free of course! Until Next time, “Do Not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… Romans 12:2, Go live with bold intention, bye for nowFollow us on instagram and checkout Facebook too!