The Path To Forgiveness Book
MINNEAPOLIS – In the season made for giving, "forgiving" may be this year's most valuable present, says author and life-coach Michele DeVille. Given the 673,000 internet searches on the topic in one month of 2009 alone (source: Google Adwords), DeVille appears to be on to something.
Forgiveness, she suggests, can move people beyond the stressful family dynamics or painful annual memories that so often cloud the holiday season. “Carrying resentment and a grudge anchors people in the pain of the past,” says DeVille. “It takes courage, but facing the hurt and graciously letting it go can bring healing and peace.”
DeVille’s own journey toward healing began when tragedy struck her family and culminated in the writing of her just-released book The Path to Forgiveness (www.thePathToForgiveness.com)
FORGIVENESS HEALTH FACTS:
Expert doctors, psychologists and faith leaders back up DeVille’s contention that forgiveness actually can improve well-being. The Mayo Clinic reported in an issue of Women’s HealthSource (January 2008) that holding a grudge affects the cardiovascular and nervous systems, actually elevating blood pressure and heart rates as well as increasing both muscle tension and feelings of being less in control.
Similarly, clinical psychologist Everett Worthington, Jr., professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and pioneer in forgiveness research, has found that people who won’t forgive tend to have more stress-related disorders, lower immune-system function and worse rates of cardiovascular disease than the general population.
HOW TO FORGIVE:
“Forgiving does not mean “forgetting,”
The Mayo Clinic article offered four common steps to forgiveness:
1. Acknowledge the pain and anger.
2. Recognize that healing requires change.
3. Think about the person who caused the pain in a new way, maybe even saying “I forgive you.”
4. Experience the emotional relief that accompanies forgiveness.
Because remaining devoted to forgiveness can be difficult in a real-life situation, DeVille hopes to gently remind readers that “Forgiveness is a gift for others, but it is also a gift for you” and that during the holidays, this is especially true.
About Michele DeVille
Minneapolis-
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
