“The psychology of forgiveness has various definitions. The broadest definition is an adaptive human instinct activated in certain social situations (McCullough, 2008). By this definition, forgiveness does not require a future relationship with someone who has wronged you. It frees you instead of the instinct for vengeance.
The psychology of self-compassion has been empirically backed through the work of Kristin Neff. Self-compassion is conceptualized in three components” (Neff, 2003):
- Expressing kindness toward oneself and viewing one’s shortcomings with a nonjudgmental attitude.
- Connecting one’s experience of suffering with that of the collective human experience.
- Become mindful of suffering without becoming attached or making it a part of one’s identity.”
For many of us, it is usually self compassion and self forgiveness that challenges us. We get stuck where self love and self respect that is necessary to let ourselves off the hook has not been our experience, and we come from an emotional mind/response, rather than our logical/wise mind.
“These two virtues of forgiveness, and self-compassion are found in all areas of religion in various ways. Spirituality and science overlap in foundational ways to allow for the human experience to bond us in a collective experience. Interventions that value the unique worldview of each individual will be more impactful, as they allow for individual belief systems to be enhanced by science.”
Love and blessings,
Wendy
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