Compassionate Integrity Training CIT-Faciltator-Guide-2.1-Final | Page 98

C OMPASSIONATE I NTEGRITY T RAINING
A S ECULAR E THICS A PPROACH TO C ULTIVATING P ERSONAL , S OCIAL AND E NVIRONMENTAL F LOURISHING
S KILL 6: F ORGIVENESS AND G RATITUDE
T HE B ENEFITS OF F ORGIVENESS
Goal: To prompt a discussion on the various benefits of forgiveness and the drawbacks of resentment. This
exercise works well as a breakout group.
Materials: Slide or handouts depicting the text below.
Time: 10 to 15 Minutes
Instructions:
1.
Project the following text on the screen or distribute it on paper. Explain, “This activity can be
intense and portrays an extreme example of forgiveness. This journal entry was written by an
incarcerated woman who had experienced serious abuse at the hands of her mother. She wrote this
piece while voluntarily doing 200 hours of Naikan practice, which is double the usual practice of
Naikan, while in prison. Can I have a volunteer who will read this passage?”
“I am learning and putting into practice how to genuinely forgive, not with just my mouth, but
with my whole heart as well. I am learning that in order to forgive, one has to have compassion for
others and self-compassion for oneself. Forgiveness frees me from the bondage of not being able to
live a fully engaged, happy life. Forgiving others, I am learning, is one of the greatest acts of self-
compassion that I have yet to experience. Forgiveness frees you, in spite of your physical location,
from a world that is dictated and controlled by hurtful, unhealthy emotions that stunts your
growth mentally, spiritually and emotionally, and can very well affect you physically. I refuse to
continue polluting my system with the cup of poison: unforgiveness. It’s like slowly committing
suicide. I’m not ready to die. I love my life in spite of where I currently am….
C ENTER FOR C OMPASSION , I NTEGRITY AND S ECULAR E THICS | L IFE U NIVERSITY | M ARIETTA , G EORGIA
-91-