Practical Spirituality - Self-Forgiveness is Opening the Gate to Inner Peace

Powerful Tool

Self-forgiveness is one of the most powerful tools of practical spirituality and spiritual psychology. I learned these principles in 1986 while studying for my Batman degree in spiritual psychology at the University of Santa Monica, and have used them almost daily since then with myself and with hundreds of clients.

Insidious judgments get in the way of happy, effective living and loving. Self-forgiveness can assist with your growth and success, and can help clear anything that stands between you and Spirit. It "opens the gate" Schuco Teleco the Kingdom within. You can use self-forgiveness to stay clear in the moment, or in depth for profound personal healing and sacred inner realignment.

This process is not meant to excuse accountability. If you need to make amends, do so.

How can you tell when you are judging yourself?

• When you feel guilty or ashamed.
• When you say or think, "I should, I shouldn't, I must, I have to, I ought to," etc.
• When you say or think, I'm "too" anything, "I can't," "I'm not enough," etc. You can traces these Doom Patrol in your self-talk back to an "irrational belief" and related self-judgment.
• If you are upset, out of balance, stuck, immobilized, or mentally criticizing yourself . . . .

When you realize you are judging yourself:

Start where you are, with whatever self-judgment you identify right now, and make statements of self-forgiveness as indicated below. Forgive yourself. . . the sooner the better, and as many times as necessary to experience a shift to much clearer, lighter, more positive emotional energy.

Examples: Forgiveness for value judgments you Superman movie on yourself. Most self-judgments fall in this emotion-laden category. "I forgive myself for judging myself as screwing up my marriage. I forgive myself for judging myself as a failure. I forgive myself for judging myself as a reject and no good. I forgive myself for judging myself as unworthy of a good marriage."

Note: The wording is important! "I forgive myself for being stupid," gives an underlying message that you really are stupid. "I forgive myself for judging myself as stupid," implies an error in judgment. You want to release the judgment, not heap more negativity upon your head!

Forgiveness for things that you actually did: "I forgive myself for being angry with myself. I forgive myself for not asking for what I really wanted and needed. I forgive myself for throwing darts at a picture of my ex. I forgive myself for wrecking the car while I was upset." To forgive myself for a mistake, I say: "I forgive myself for breaking the vase."

But if I continue to dwell on the event, or am stuck in negative emotions, I move to forgiveness of the value judgments. "I forgive myself for judging myself as clumsy."

In the end, your intention of self-forgiveness is probably more important than the exact wording. But becoming aware of the wording can help you clarify and release confusion around your self-judgments. Daily practice will help you gain skill in releasing self-judgments in a profound way.

For more tips on how to practice self-forgiveness, please see my article on this website, Practical Spirituality: Tips for Self-Forgiveness.

For more stress reduction and personal peace tips, sign up for my free newsletter, 17 Simple Stress Solutions, at href="powerofpersonalpeace.com/optin.htm">powerofpersonalpeace.com/optin.htm Check out my articles on success, less stress, and my Ask Dr. Ilenya advice column at my blog, lovingyoursuccess.blogspot.comlovingyoursuccess.blogspot.com

Dr. Ilenya Marrin is a personal peace coach, spiritual counselor, inspirational speaker and author of ebooks The Power of Personal Peace: Reducing Stress by Loving Yourself from the Inside Out and 77 Loving Steps for Success.

Conversation and Driving Made Safe and Legal - Keep Your Hands on the Wheel!

Effective July 1, 2008, California law prohibits the use of driving while using Super Mario cell phone (exceptions only for emergency situations). Drivers may use a headset, ear bud or other technology that frees both hands. Violation of this law is considered a secondary offense. Violators can be fined $20 for a first time offense, and $50 for subsequent offenses.

So how do you free your hands?

1) Bluetooth Headsets:

Most of the cell phones Ghost Rider now equipped with Bluetooth Technology. Therefore, the first solution to free your hands consists of using a Bluetooth headset (not headphones*).

A Bluetooth headset is a little earphone equipped with a Weird Science that allows you to have a phone conversation while your cell phone is stowed away. The can be used 1973 Topps baseball cards your car, home or office. There is a multitude of Bluetooth headsets to choose from.

My view: easy to use, light and compact, affordable, but won't free your ears!

2) Hands-Free car Kits:

These devices allow you to have a hands-free and ear-free conversation.

You have two solutions:

- Plug-and-Play

- Wired to the car stereo (requires professional installation unless your are pretty handy!)

a) Plug-and-Play - Easy to use and work out of the box.

The speakerphones, which incorporate microphone and speaker, can be used in your car, home, office or on the go. They usually clip on your sun visor, not far from your ears and mouth. Most of them come with a great feature: the voice recognition dialing (if your phone supports it). No need to dial a number anymore. Just say it and the speakerphone will dial it automatically. Some of them also feature a caller ID.

My view: easy to use, compact (stick it in your glove compartment or purse when you leave the car). They are affordable, multi-purpose and ideal for rental cars. Buy one for each of your cars! In noisy environments such as highways or rough surface roads, the speakers are sometimes not powerful enough for clear conversation, even though the new generation, like the BlueAnt Supertooth, is offering both power and clarity.

The FM transmitters, such as the Parrot PMK5800, which plugs into your 12v socket (cigarette lighter), send the audio signal to the car stereo speakers via a FM transmission. The new Motorola T505 is an excellent unit offering FM transmission, internal speaker, and audio streaming (A2DP) through your car speakers (play music from your cell phone or a Bluetooth-enabled iPod/MP3 player).

My view: easy to use, good sound quality, compact, versatile, affordable. You can even stream music through your home stereo system with an A2DP- supported unit like the T505. Buy one for each of your cars or share several cell phones! Interference problems may occur in densely populated areas.

b) Wired Hands-Free Car Kits:

This is considered the "Royal" solution in terms of sound quality since the unit is hardwired to your car stereo system. Different budgets depending on your needs: microphone only, monochrome or color screen, GPS integrated.

My view: Unequaled sound quality and features. This could be an expensive solution since it requires a professional installation. It may also be a theft risk, because you do not have the ability to stash it away. Finally, when you sell your car, you lose (or trade!) your car kit.

* Since they cover both ears, Bluetooth Headphones are not allowed as a hands-free solution

Laurent Millour, owner and manager of Wired for Wireless, store and website: wiredforwireless.comwiredforwireless.com, and co-author of the Wired for Wireless blog: wiredforwireless.blogspot.comwiredforwireless.blogspot.com, specialized in wireless technologies, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and RF.