N4L 181: "Forgive for Good" by Dr. Fred Luskin
SUMMARY Dr. Fred Luskin, author of the bestselling book Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness, founded and currently serves as Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects. His forgiveness work has been applied the world over in veteran’s hospitals, churches, in resolving legal disputes, with cancer patients as psychoeducation, and in psychotherapy. Luskin has had extraordinary success helping people recover from the murder of their family members as a result of political violence in Northern Ireland, as an aftermath of the attacks on 911, in Sierra Leone after their civil war, and in artic Canada where native populations deal with the loss of their ancestral lands. LESSONS FROM LUSKIN How do grudges start? “Renting too much space in our mind to a problem comes from taking something too personally. Blaming someone else for our feelings then takes away our power, and we progress to forming our grievance story. Behind the process lies our tendency to make unenforceable rules that the world or other people are supposed to follow.” What stops us from forgiving? “The major obstacle to forgiving is a lack of understanding just what forgiveness is. Some of us confuse forgiveness with condoning unkind actions.” What is forgiveness? “Forgiveness is the feeling of peace that emerges as you take your hurt less personally, take responsibility for how you feel, and become a hero instead of a victim in the story you tell.” Why should we forgive? “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it changes the present. Forgiveness means that even though you are wounded you choose to hurt and suffer less. Forgiveness means you become a part of the solution. Forgiveness is the understanding that hurt is a normal part of life. Forgiveness is for you and no one else.” BUY Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness RECOMMENDATION Read the book, "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption." Connect with us on social media! Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Special thanks… Music Credit Sound Editing Credit