Health/Psychology: Hale Dwoskin Teaches On "Letting Go Of Grudges"

How to let go of grudges, and why it is so essential for people's health and well-being, is revealed by Hale Dwoskin, featured teacher in the bestselling book and film, "The Secret" and CEO of Sedona Training Associates.

Hale Dwoskin, featured teacher in the blockbuster book and film "The Secret" and CEO of Sedona Training Associates, has revealed how to let go of one of the most destructive forces in people's lives: grudges.

"Grudges, by their very nature, are one of the most harmful things you can hold on to," says Hale. "These feelings of resentment or ill will, especially those that last for a long time (as most grudges do), will slowly eat away at your energy, your vigor and your joy in life."

"When you are wanting to get even with someone you have to keep yourself in the victim role until you have gotten even," Hale continues. "The only one that is actually on the hook when you feel like you do not want to let someone off the hook is you. So you are hurting yourself -- not the other person -- when you hold a grudge."

Grudges are actually a major source of chronic stress, and chronic stress has been linked to illnesses including heart disease, cancer, depression, autoimmune diseases and reproductive problems, along with more minor maladies like stomach upset, back pain, headaches and fatigue.

So not surprisingly, when one lets go of a grudge, they can expect to feel like a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders, both figuratively and literally.

Take, for instance, the Stanford University Forgiveness Project. After the study's participants, who had experienced unresolved interpersonal hurt, had six weeks of forgiveness training and became willing to forgive:

• 70% had a decrease in feelings of hurt
• 13% had a reduction in long-term experience of anger
• 27% had a reduction in physical symptoms of stress (back ache, dizziness, sleeplessness, headache, stomach upset, etc.)
• 15% had a decrease in emotional experience of stress

Aside from the physical and emotional damage that grudges can lead to, Dwoskin points out that they can also cause people to become stuck in life. (See http://www.sedona.com/lp-moveforward.aspx)

"Grudges cause you to look back instead of forward or into what is actually here now, so they tend to slow down your life," he says. "After all, if you allow yourself to prosper and move on you no longer have a good excuse to hold a grudge."

Rather than festering over a past grudge, people can easily use The Sedona Method to break the negative patterns of thought and behavior that once felt so deeply rooted. Instead, people will experience the freedom that comes with letting go of grudges and forgiving those they love (and even those they don't).

"The best thing to do is to let go of your feelings and let go of wanting to get even," Dwoskin says. "You do this so you can move on with your life and so you can feel good. This does not mean you are condoning what happened, you are simply letting go for you."

And the sooner people let go of the grudges in life, the better off they'll be because they will finally be free. No more anger, no more resentment or hurt feelings - just freedom to move on with life in an open, positive way.

Right now everyone can get the free Insiders Guide to The Sedona Method email course sampler by inputting just their name and email in the sidebar on the right of the article at http://www.sedona.com/removegrudges.aspx.

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