The Power of Forgiveness

Did you know that forgiveness can improve your health? In fact, this idea is so powerful that it has become the subject of wide-ranging research and exploration by academics, physicians, psychologists, wellness experts, life coaches and… well, chiropractors!

This story by Greg Easterbook at Beliefnet.com begins with a dramatic story of forgiveness in South Africa. Forgiveness is Good for Your Health.

Even the Mayo Clinic discusses the benefits in Forgiveness: Letting go of grudges and bitterness.

And AgeDefyngBody.com lists a few resources on this topic.

Share your thoughts and resources in the Comments below.

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When self-knowledge is only the beginning

Lars Leetaru, from New York Times, January 17, 2011

In this article about the effectiveness of traditional psychotherapy, Richard Friedman, M.D. notes that while insights can create “aha” moments because they provide a coherent narrative about your life, they rarely lead to real change. In fact, if that narrative is a destructive one – I am a depressed person… I am a victim… I am always trying to get my mother’s approval… – it can reinforce the same patterned behaviors that may have led to therapy in the first place.

Friedman notes that, as a psychiatrist, “I am pretty good at treating clinical misery with drugs and therapy, but that bringing about happiness is a stretch.”

To find happiness, we must create a new narrative for our lives, and that means telling a new story, not just understanding the old one.

Text of full article can be found at http://nyti.ms/fUqmN5.