Forgiveness; The act of forgiving or being forgiven. 
Forgiveness is for us – to forgive someone who has hurt us . To forgive is “for giving” to ourselves. We don’t have to forget what was done to us. We are not responsible for the burden. Forgiveness is getting rid of that burden so that we can move forward. Without forgiveness we remain right where we are.
A few years ago I went to see James Van Praagh at the local civic center, getting tickets as close to the stage as possible – as soon as they went on sale. I didn’t get the meet and greet passes, just the tickets to see and hear what the famed medium had to say up close and not miss any wisdom he could share. He talked about the other side, his experiences, how he got started- his whole bio – pretty much everything I had already read about him.
Toward the middle of his appearance he was going to deliver messages from loved ones on the other side for a lucky few in the audience. Before ending his monologue he wanted to preface the readings by stressing to everyone in attendance in the auditorium the importance of being non-judgmental. He talked about why we should not judge people who have hurt us or wronged us and the reason for that is because of the Life Review.
When souls cross over to the other side they go through a life review. Every soul sees their life in review: the good, the bad and the ugly. Every soul that chooses to have a human experience has a lesson or lessons to learn on planet earth. So, the purpose of the life review is to review our souls experience in that life. Did the soul accomplish the lesson or lessons? If not, the soul can choose to learn it in it’s next incarnation. I can say I have finally learned one of my soul’s lessons after several life times. (My guides and I will be high-fiving in my booth!)
Sylvia Browne, Shirley Maclaine and others have written about the Life Review. There is a scene depicted in the 1991 movie “Defending Your Life” starring Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks. Both of their characters have crossed over and they and others enter their respective Life Review booths. Shirley Maclaine has a cameo in the movie to explain to those who have just crossed over how to operate the Life Review machine.
James explained to everyone that when each of us transforms – from the physical world to the spirit world – what the soul sees from this review is much harder to watch than having someone judge them harshly or any regret they have for what they should or should not have done during this lifetime.
Being judgmental is what humans do. I believe it is a habit that is learned in childhood and through peer pressure and before you know it, it’s become an unhealthy, negative, and hurtful habit.
And the thing about being judgy is that it doesn’t only hurt the person we’re judging, but like a boomerang it comes back to us. So, in effect we are hurting ourselves when we judge others. It’s one of those universal laws that what we put out comes back to us.
I have forgiven a lot of people in my life, including myself – it is a good feeling. Sometimes I still judge (my human-ness) but I try to be mindful of the importance of not being judgmental. I really don’t want my Life Review to hurt too much. Life as it is here on earth hurts enough.
Leslie Sheridan 