This inspiring guide for healing and wholeness supplies you with a map to help you along your forgiveness journey. Deeply personal stories, comforting prayers and intimate meditations gently lead you through the steps that allow the heart to forgive.
Karyn D. Kedar
Paperback
6 x 9, 176 pp | 978-1-58023-451-1
Embrace forgiveness as a spiritual principle and discover a new closeness with the Divine.
Forgiveness is a spiritual path that you embark on with intention and vision, purposefully seeking to bridge the gap between your hurt and suffering and your sense of wholeness and resilient inner light—the light of God.
This inspiring guide for healing and wholeness supplies you with a map to help you along your forgiveness journey. Deeply personal stories, comforting prayers and intimate meditations gently lead you through the steps that allow for the evolution of forgiving—loss, anger, acceptance, learning, forgiveness and restoration. Tapping both ancient and contemporary sources for the nourishment and strength needed as you seek to rekindle inner peace, this book tenderly whispers encouragement as you are brought to—and realize you are able to cross—your own bridge to forgiveness.
“Lovely ... a perfect companion on the path to forgiveness, from those very difficult first steps to the ever-lighter steps that ultimately lead to peace, joy and wholeness.”
—Marcia Ford, author, The Sacred Art of Forgiveness: Forgiving Ourselves and Others through God's Grace
“Heartfelt, soulful ... her insights are gentle and piercing. [This] is not simply a book to read, it is a journey to take.”
—Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author, The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice
“Insightful, honest, frank ... will comfort anyone, from any spiritual background, who is struggling with the issue of forgiveness and will guide them toward healing. This is a beautiful book!”
—Marci Shimoff, #1 New York Times coauthor, Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul
“A beautiful book that will make a lasting impression on your life. Highly recommended.”
—Robert L. Veninga, author, A Gift of Hope: How We Survive Our Tragedies
“Rabbi Kedar is that longed-for neighbor or girlfriend or aunt who—through gentle poetry and the honesty of stories—tells us what we need to hear in a way we are able to truly listen.”
—Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, author, Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope: A Jewish Spiritual Companion for Infertility and Pregnancy Loss
“A profound understanding of the practice of forgiveness as a healing discipline. If you carry anger in your heart, you must read this book. Whether you seek forgiveness, preach it, teach it or are gathering the courage to offer it, you cannot afford to be without it.”
—David Gottlieb, coauthor, Letters to a Buddhist Jew
Acknowledgments xi
Like a Strand of Hair xiii
THE BRIDGE 1
The Stepping-Stones 3
It's a Matter of Principle 6
My Rock 8
CHOOSING 9
An Invitation to an Awakening 11
Love and Fear 13
The Call 15
LOSS 17
Forgiveness Is Not an Emotion 19
Path in the Ice 21
The Ghost of Love 23
Moments Are Finite,Yet Forever 24
Diminished Light 26
The Darkness of the Soul 29
ANGER 31
Forgiveness and Evil: A Paradigm Shift 33
The Commandment to Act 35
Memory 36
The Paradox of Fire 37
Light and Warmth 41
The Case for Anger 42
Life Def ined 44
Searching for Focus 45
Amen: Saying "Yes" 48
Whispers 50
ACCEPTANCE 53
Pragmatic Spiritual Peace 55
The Truth 56
The Moon 57
Tip Toward Compassion: Concede the Moral High Ground 59
Why Is Not the Question 62
Struggling with God 65
Moving On:The New Home 66
Dance Through the Pain 69
Tenderness 72
Tug-of-War 74
FORGIVENESS 77
Holding On, Letting Go 79
I Know Nothing 80
The Choice to Be Sustained 82
The Gates of Repentance 84
Ҽem>Esa Enai—I Lift My EyesӠ86
Looking for Light in the Shadows: Rakefet 88
In the Shadow of Your Wings 91
The Cemetery 92
From a Mother to Her Girls 94
LEARNING 97
Letting Go 99
With All My Being 101
God, Divine Source of Love 104
Learning from It All 105
Ambiguity and Control 107
Where Is God? 109
Learning to Yield 111
RESTORATION 113
Redemption:The Day Lilies 115
Rebirth 118
Wonder 119
Protection 121
Energy 123
Forgiving God 125
Dancer 127
Beaver Creek 128
Zero Visibility 132
Fear and Hope 134
The Silence Behind the Quiet 135
Quiet My Soul, O Holy One 137
EPILOGUE 139
The Bridge 141
Perpetual Crossings 143
Suggestions for Further Reading 145
