Why is it important for you to learn how to forgive? There is one good reason: its bad for your health, mentally and physically.

When you are not forgiving, you are actually harboring a certain level of anger, indifference, or hate; and it can manifest in so many ways. You will notice it will be difficult for you to socialize or meet up with new friends. You will also struggle with headaches and stomach pains, to name a few. Anger has a way of increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, making you more prone to heart attack. There are also people who fall into depression.

Nevertheless, you are also aware that forgiving is not a very easy process, especially if the hurt caused by someone seems to be too deep. Thus, you may want to try out some techniques to get rid of the negative energy thats blocking inside you, making it more convenient for you to say, I forgive you. This technique is called visualization.

What is visualization? Its a process, technique, or exercise where you create images with your mind. The general purpose of this is to address and confront the emotions, feelings, and even experiences and people that may have been hindering you from living your life to the fullest.

How to Do It

You can do visualization on your own. Sometimes you can make use of special tools such as CDs and mp3s, which will provide you with guidance on what to perceive with your mind. To make sure visualization will really work and you can reap its benefits, take note of these tips:

Find the best place and time. Visualizing requires the most amount of concentration from you. Your focus should not be disturbed by your external surroundings. This means you need to find a quiet place and time to do it. Some people will perform it in the wee hours of the morning, before they do something else, while others will visualize in the evening, before they hit the sack. Its just a matter of knowing your comfort level.

Settle in the most convenient position. You will find some who will take a lotus sitting position, similar to the one when you do yoga. There will also be others who will lie down. Again, just do what it is youre comfortable with. Inconvenience, after all, can be bothersome.

Close your eyes. Even veterans do this. Closing your eyes will greatly reduce the chances of getting distracted by your external surroundings.

Take deep breaths. Proper breathing is important for plenty of reasons. First with it, you can start clearing your mind. It also makes your entire body completely relaxed.

Use subliminal messages. While youre doing visualization, you may want to supplement it with subliminal messages or affirmations. These subliminal messages have a way of changing how you think and feel of certain things, and usually, they modify negative emotions and thoughts to positive ones. Some of these subliminal messages can be:

I am a forgiving person.
My heart is open to forgiveness.
I accept the apology of those who hurt me.
I am ready to start a new life.