Self-Compassion & Self-Forgiveness
Since stepping away from Christianity, I have found it challenging to reframe certain words and concepts that once shaped my understanding of life—redemption, forgiveness, sin, morality, healing, prayer, love, death, and God. These are profound words, laden with meaning and history, yet I’ve embarked on the process of rediscovering and redefining them in ways that resonate deeply with my current beliefs and experiences.
Consider the word healing. It often implies brokenness, a need for rescue, or the idea that something is fundamentally wrong. Tiago Forte offers a perspective that beautifully shifts this narrative:
“Healing needs some rebranding. It implies that one is sick, broken, in need of rescue. But there is a different way of thinking about it: as a continuous process of re-opening. We could think of healing as an expansive phenomenon, expanding your repertoire of how you are allowed to feel. And thus the sources of power you know how to access.”
This idea has profoundly influenced my view of healing. I now see it not as a process of fixing, but as opening—expanding my capacity to feel, to experience, and to connect with the power I carry within. This reframing has been particularly meaningful for me, perhaps due to my Virgo Moon placement, which often leads me to approach emotions analytically and critically rather than intuitively and fluidly.
Healing as an Embodied Practice
In my own experience, healing has become synonymous with allowing myself to feel. For much of my life, like many others, I sought to control or suppress emotions I didn’t want to confront. I analyzed and critiqued my feelings in an effort to understand and ultimately override them. But this approach only deepened the disconnection, both from myself and from life’s natural flow.
Healing, for me, is now a practice of presence. When I slow down, breathe deeply, move my body with intention, or simply sit in stillness, I can feel emotional energy moving through me. In those moments, I am reminded of my innate connection to life itself. I experience what I now understand as Divinity, or my Higher Self, as a profound awareness that is simultaneously within me and greater than me.
The most transformative aspect of this process has been the growth of my capacity for compassion and love—beginning with compassion for myself.
Reclaiming Sin and Forgiveness
For years, I distanced myself from the word sin. It felt heavy and oppressive, tied to the weight of my religious upbringing. Still, the word remained, and I found myself eventually drawn back to its etymological roots. Sin, at its core, means “to miss the mark,” and this definition gave it new life for me.
To miss the mark is deeply human. I miss it often. For me, this means forgetting my own divinity—losing touch with the essence of who I am. And yet, I’ve learned that such forgetfulness is not a failure; it is simply part of the human experience.
When I remember my divinity—through conscious awareness—I can extend forgiveness to myself. I can forgive myself for forgetting, just as I can forgive others for forgetting their own divinity and mine. This practice of forgiveness becomes a softening, an act of grace that acknowledges our shared humanity while honoring the divine within us all.
Reframing the Sacred
Reframing and reclaiming words like healing, sin, and forgiveness has been a deeply enriching process, one that has allowed me to rediscover the beauty and truth they hold. Stripped of fear, judgment, or shame, these words feel expansive—inviting curiosity, connection, and growth.
At the heart of this journey is a simple, yet profound truth: I am divine. You are divine. This shared divinity is a powerful reminder of the love, compassion, and grace that exist not only within us but all around us. When we remember this, the act of healing becomes one of embracing ourselves and each other in wholeness and truth.