It Doesn't Come When You Say So

This is a mini podcast describing how things come through you, not from you.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's website: https://grasshoppernotes.com​​ 

"The Grasshopper" the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

It Doesn’t Come When You Say So - Grasshopper

There are so many applications for this observation from The Grasshopper, but probably none bigger than when addressing the topic of forgiveness.

Just because we move our lips and say we forgive doesn’t make it happen. It happens on its own and then we can say so.

When someone sincerely says, “I forgive you” or “I forgive them,” they are announcing their willingness to forgive or a feeling of forgiveness, not the bestowal of forgiveness. We act as though that all we have to do is state our intention and that gives us the power to make it so. That’s hogwash of the highest order.

We don’t have the power to forgive. Forgiveness comes through us, not from us.

We would laugh aloud if someone whom we’ve done a transgression towards turned to us and said, “I grant you passage into heaven.” Who gave them that power?

I believe forgiveness is talked about too much and sought too little.

“Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?” is a plea from someone who knows it takes more than lip service to forgive. We have to have a willingness to allow it to come to and through us from some place other than our mind.

The transgressor isn’t the only one who needs to seek forgiveness; we, the aggrieved, need to seek it too.

My business partner just told me a story about a man whose daughter was crippled by an insanely high person who hit her with his car. The court trial of this man was big news in the city they’re from and the father was adamant when he said, “I will never forgive him.” His daughter, on the other hand, went to the trial in her wheelchair and told the driver that she forgave him.

We’ll never know if either of them will ever find forgiveness for the perpetrator, we only have their words. The father’s words suggest an unwillingness to allow forgiveness to arrive. The daughter’s words not only suggest she is willing, but they may also indicate that it has arrived for her.

If it did arrive, what she is truly saying is, “I feel forgiveness in my heart for you” not “You are forgiven.” Saying the latter is treating forgiveness as something we can bestow upon another. We don’t have that power. We can only feel it flow through us and let others know about that feeling.

Christian readers need to look no further than the words of Jesus who knew that forgiveness came from some other place than from him when he said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Finally, let me say, “I forgive you if you don’t agree with me.” That’s about as highhanded of a superior statement as I can make to illustrate that what we too often label as forgiveness is fake. 

All the best,

John