A Few Secrets on Forgiveness

[Vanessa Bonnette]

It is a well-known fact that all religions teach on the releasing power of forgiveness. However, few people take the time to learn exactly why forgiveness is not only very powerful, but essential in our daily lives. Yes, I did say daily lives and that is because we should live each day as a single entity in itself and not carry un-forgiveness forward.

As many of you are now aware, I have had to become an expert in daily forgiveness having lost (an estimated) 500 million dollars due to my book being plagiarised. In fact, the problem became so prevalent that I have taken it off the market.

So here are a few secrets that I have learned and implemented about forgiveness -

True forgiveness is when we forgive from our soul, not from our mind. Your rational mind may know that you did the best you could to move forward in life, yet a situation is only forgiven when you do not feel deeply emotional about it. Suppressed guilt and shame show up in numerous ways i.e. negative emotional reactions such as irrational anger, depression, anxiety, drug/alcohol abuse and so on.

You do not have to accept poor behaviour or the bad choices people made - the fact that they violated your boundaries means your values and morals are very different from theirs. Viewing the situation from a forgiven perspective means you see the bigger picture and Truth now encompasses any past negative points of view. Once you can feel compassion for your experience is the point where forgiveness for others begins. Compassion stems from unconditional love and is truly freeing.
From this perspective, life is seen with clarity and it’s easy to allow God to be the judge of others and only take responsibility for ourselves. Whenever we judge something as wrong we cannot feel grateful for the experience of learning. I am now very aware and grateful for my resilience and power! Yet I have learned that no matter how enlightened we are, challenges will continue to happen until the new earth reigns.

Welcoming life's challenges opens your heart to receive the wisdom to overcome them. Once you can see this truth you are able to make the decision to release the negativity that has been a part of your life for so long. If you enjoy re-living your past negative experiences this will be challenging for you. As strange as it sounds, some people do find comfort what’s familiar, even if means suffering. I can honestly tell you that letting go of the past is a totally liberating!

There are two major phases to the forgiveness process:

a) To forgive others
b) To forgive ourselves.

In fact, the phase of forgiving ourselves is frequently neglected and we continue to carry the guilt and shame of past negative experiences.

Below is a list of ‘triggers’ which may prompt your memory about areas of your life that require forgiveness – also applicable to yourself:

 Forgive people in your life who have emotionally manipulated you.
 Forgive others for not taking responsibility for their words and actions.
 Forgive people for the negativity directed toward you.
 Forgive situations that violated your boundaries, morals and values.
 Forgive people for not respecting you.
 Forgive yourself for not trusting God and having faith in yourself.
 Forgive situations of being controlled by people – especially loved ones.


Divine forgiveness will be truly set you free and bring boundless joy into your heart. Life will repay you with goodness and positivity attracted to you in every way. The truth is that only what exists within us can manifest outwardly in our lives! I believe that you love and respect yourself enough to give yourself the gift of forgiveness. And once you have given and received this gift for yourself, you can freely share it with others.

Vanessa J. Bonnette

Vanessa J. Bonnette is an international author, and the founder of Empowered for Life, Shekinah Therapy and New Era Women. You can contact Vanessa via email at [e-mail]