This week I thought I’d write a little about resentment.  This has been coming up for me this past week and I have been working on healing it so it no longer affects my own peace and joy.  The paragraph below is a little long and is anonymous, but it nails it when it comes to how resentment affects the person experiencing the feeling.
When a marriage breaks down, there is usually a lot of resentment you may be feeling toward your ex.  These feelings have a way of knocking us down.  There may have been betrayal and lies which is a difficult thing to go through and it may be very hard to let go of your anger and resentment.  We may also have, at one time or another, been resentful of other people in our lives because they did not do for us something that we felt they should have done.  Whatever the reason for the resentment, it’s so important to remember that it is hurting you and not the other person.
When it comes to resentment and anger, it’s the old saying, “holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”  -Buddha
“The moment you start to resent a person, you become his slave. He controls your dreams, absorbs your digestion, robs you of your peace of mind and goodwill, and takes away the pleasure of your work. He ruins your religion and nullifies your prayers. You cannot take a vacation without his going along. He destroys your freedom of mind and hounds you wherever you go. There is no way to escape the person you resent. He is with you when you are awake. He invades your privacy when you sleep. He is close beside you when you drive your car and when you are on the job. You can never have efficiency or happiness. He influences even the tone of your voice. He requires you to take medicine for indigestion, headaches, and loss of energy. He even steals your last moment of consciousness before you go to sleep. So, if you want to be a slave, harbor your resentments!”
Resentment truly takes away your power to create the life you desire.  Continuing to hold onto to anger and resentment hurts YOU and YOU alone.  Your ex is going about his life doing whatever it is he/she does.  Your resentment has no effect on them.  When your  marriage ended, your life did not.
I’d like to share a way to release the anger and resentment.  It’s through a Hawaiian forgiveness ritual called Ho’oponopono.  It’s basically repeating four short sentences while going into the feeling of anger and resentment. Because you need to feel the feelings in order to fully release them.
Think about the person you feel resentful or angry with and repeat these four sentences with profound intention, “I am sorry, please forgive me, I love you, thank you.”  Do this for 15 minutes each day until the feelings dissipate.  Begin with an open and willing mind to truly release these feelings and you will notice a lightness in your energy that was covered up by anger and resentment.
With Love and Light,
Lisa
Positive Quote of the Day:  “Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.”  -Unknown