Washboqlan khaubayn wakhtahayn, aykana daph khan shbwoqan l’kayyabayn

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us

Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strands we hold of other’s guilt.

I hope by now you can see that “the Lord’s Prayer”, is much more than a prayer. It is really a guide to the fundamental spiritual work/practice we all need to do on an ongoing basis.

As previously written, there is a natural flow to this journey Jesus leads us on.

After spending time in identifying, returning, and remembering the Divine energy flowing within everything. After practicing disidentifying with all the clutter in our mind, and clearing space for the already present Name/Presence of God to naturally rise up within us. After realigning ourselves with our True, natural love of God’s kingdom and will. After returning to a focus on what the present moment is teaching and asking of us. After remembering all this, it is only natural to want to see it all alive in our relationships with the people and the world around us.

It is only natural to want to heal any disharmony in our real lives and relationships.

loose the cords of mistakes binding us… I remember sitting in a class of Echo’s, and she said that she could see cords of energy extending out from us and connecting people. She knew nothing of the translation of the Aramaic regarding forgiveness that is shown above. When I told her, she said, “Oh my gosh. I just got goosebumps.”

There are literally cords of energy connecting us. And we can get so tangled up in them. When we are holding anger or resentment toward someone over something they said or did. When we do not forgive them, we can feel how those cords are binding us. We can feel tight and restricted by our anger, resentment, and refusal to forgive. They are suffocating!

It’s important that we are aware that it is only our fearful, needy ego that wants to hold on to those binding cords of unforgiveness. It’s not our True/natural Self. Our True Self has no need or desire for them. Our True Self only wants to evolve, breathe, and explore.

It’s also important that we are aware that WE are only binding ourselves up in those cords.

Dr. Klotz points out in his little book “Prayers of the Cosmos”, that the roots of the word washboqlan, can be translated “to return to it’s orginal state.”

Our original state with one another is unconditional love. Acceptance. Grace. Connection. Any baby will be our greatest teacher here.

When we have let go of those cords of unforgiveness binding us. When we are in alignment with the One who has already established this original state of Love, there is a relaxed and free feeling. We can literally feel a loosening. We can breathe again. The relationship works the way it’s intended to. We are in our natural state.

But as we all know, sometimes getting there is not easy. The ego’s insecurities and paranoia put up such a fight! It’s once again important here to love ourselves and give ourselves some grace. We can think of letting go as an “all or nothing” kind of thing. When in fact, most of the time it’s much more pragmatic to think of forgiveness in terms of increments. We can visualize our letting go of some of our grip on those cords of forgiveness. Then release some more. Giving ourselves time and patience, we can eventually let go of the whole thing.

So, looking at forgiveness from the standpoint of those cords of energy that connect us all, what is forgiveness then? Forgiveness then becomes a clearing of the channel through which life comes to us and through us. It is an opening up of ourselves again to the channel/flow of life. Forgiveness is a choice to return to life. 

We can also get hung up on thinking that forgiveness is saying that what someone did was OK. When it is actually declaring to ourselves, “I’m not going to cut myself off from the flow of the Divine energy of Love anymore. Where once, by my own choices, Life was bound and blocked. Now the flow is open and free.

And let’s not forget about the primary importance of forgiving ourselves. I use the word primary, because we cannot truly forgive others, if we cannot forgive ourselves. I love that the word “mistake” is used here in the Aramaic translation. The word mistake points out that what we did is not our True Self. It does not and should not define us. Although we often give it that power. No. We have simply forgotten who and what we really are.

When a preschool classmate of our grandson does something mean to him, we like to tell him, “he just forgot how Good he is. You can help him remember.”

Forgiveness is a choice to return. A return to receiving and being a conduit of the flow of the Divine energy again. The cord/channel is open once again. Love, joy, acceptance, and growth can flow to and through us again. It is a return to our original state.

Once again, we’re not trying to manipulate or create anything new. The primary work has already been done.

You are Love,

Pastor Tim Tengblad

I welcome your story, comments, or questions       timtengblad@comcast.net