UNHIDE ASSIGNMENT! [Psy 020] A Plan for the Future ~ THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS – WEEK #5 Dear colleagues in forgiveness, It seems like this course just began - and here we are in its final week. This online experience has been quite brief compared to the 12-week quarters or 16-week semesters of on-campus classes. Our focus this week is on looking forward from where we have come during this course as we have further developed our understanding and practice of forgiveness. I am again scheduling two chat sessions, and I encourage each of you to attend one or the other - or both - if at all possible. PLEASE NOTE that the chat times listed are Pacific Daylight Time. To assist you in checking their corresponding times in your time zone, see http://www.timeanddate.com . Friday, October 22, 7 a.m. PDT Monday, October 25, 5:00 p.m. PDT And now for our overview of week #5: WEEK #5: A Plan for the Future OVERVIEW: We may not be able to heal the world of viciousness and brutality. Groups of people may continue to treat each other with barbarism. We may not be able to forgive all of those who have hurt us. We may not be able to stop unkindness in all of its manifestation. We are left with the question, What can we do? Can we use forgiveness to help ourselves, the people we love, and the world we inhabit? What is the role forgiveness should and will play in our lives? If we want to become more forgiving, we can begin by forgiving those we already love and are close to. We can forgive them their failures and transgressions. Another thing we can do is forgive the trivial things—such as traffic, bad weather, and rude sales clerks—that cause us to create grudges. We can practice forgiveness until it becomes a habit, and then it will be available to us if we choose to use it. And we can learn to forgive ourselves. We are the person we spend the most time with, so it is imperative to learn to deal gracefully with our weaknesses and failures. Forgiveness of self is a way to learn to love oneself, flaws and all. To Read This Week: . Forgive for Good, pp. 154–218 . The Sunflower – read further “Symposium” responses (pp. 99-271) as you have time. Discussion Points: 1. What have you learned about forgiveness? 2. In what ways might you act differently in the future? 3. How does forgiveness fit into your life? 4. Have you forgiven anyone as a response to this class? 5. What can you forgive yourself for? As always, the discussion points will be addressed in your responses to a set of topics posted for Week #5. The topics, each with its own thread, are as follows: * HARMLESS PASSAGE IN MY MIND: Someone has said: "Forgiveness is the granting of harmless passage in my mind to all that passes through it. Yet I can grant such passage to others only insofar as I am granting it to myself. A mind that is harmless to all concerned is a mind in which the one who is minding is his/her own best friend." Is this assessment a valid one in the light of your own experience? · FORGIVING, MYSELF, BY FORGIVING MYSELF:If you have not already thus disclosed yourself in response to earlier questions: How has this class influenced your attitude toward and practice of forgiveness, both of others and of yourself? Does the concept and/or practice of forgiveness have a different meaning for you than it did before you took this course? How may what you have learned in this course impact your future? · YOUR PERSPECTIVES ON THIS COURSE: What have you liked about this course, and how might it have been even more to your liking? I look forward to receiving your assessments. Stay in the grace! Noel McInnis noelmcinnis@forgivenessfirst.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TO LOG ON TO YOUR COURSE SITE: Go to: http://www.alllearn.org/ NEED HELP? Phone 1-866-524-1502 toll-free in the U.S. and Canada or send an email to help@AllLearn.org. If you're outside the US and Canada and wish to speak to someone, please email your phone number to help@AllLearn.org so that an AllLearn staff member may contact you. UNHIDE ASSIGNMENT! A Plan for the Future ~ THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS – WEEK #5 Dear colleagues in forgiveness, It seems like this course just began - and here we are in its last week. This online experience is quite brief compared to the 12-week quarters or 16-week semesters of on-campus classes. It is, however, only the last official week. Although I will post no further weekly discussion questions, I will keep attending the discussion boards unofficially for two extra weeks, and any or all of you may do the same. I am doing this equally for my reasons and for yours. Your reason: many of you have indicated that the reading assignments are more than you have been able to keep up with, and have therefore felt unprepared to participate. The extra two weeks will allow catch up and participation time. My reasons: 1) I was absent from the discussion boards for several days when my wife and I travelled to WIlsonville, OR, in preparation for our move there. And I will be absent once again for a few days this week as the actual move takes place. My absence will be on Wednesday and Thursday. 2) More selfishly, I would unofficially extend the class in any event because I enjoy having my thoughts about forgiveness evoked and challenged by your questions and comments. I will eventually (when my book is published) have my own discussion boards on my own website for this purpose. In the meantime, you folks are grooming me for that experience. Because of the demands of moving, there will again be no scheduled chats this week, and I will therefore offer additional chat sessions during the unofficial two weeks that follow this one. Our focus this week is on looking forward from a review of how far we have come with our understanding and practice of forgiveness since this course began. Here is a perspective from which you may wish to frame your assessment: "Forgiveness is the granting of harmless passage in my mind to all that passes through it. Yet I can grant such passage to others only insofar as I am granting it to myself. A mind that is harmless to all concerned is a mind in which the one minding is his/her own best friend." I am once again scheduling three chat sessions, at as many different times and days, in order to accommodate the wide diversity of time zones. You are expected (not required) to attend only one of the sessions . . . and may attend more if that is your inclination. PLEASE NOTE that the chat times listed are Pacific Daylight Savings Time. To assist you in checking their corresponding times in your time zone, see http://www.timeanddate.com . Wednesday June 11, 10 p.m. PDST Thursday, June 12, 6:30 a.m. PDST Friday, June 13, 12 noon PDST Instructions for accessing and participating in the “chat room” are in your Student Orientation materials. And now for our overview of week #5: WEEK #5: A Plan for the Future OVERVIEW: We may not be able to heal the world of viciousness and brutality. Groups of people may continue to treat each other with barbarism. We may not be able to forgive all of those who have hurt us. We may not be able to stop unkindness in all of its manifestation. We are left with the question, What can we do? Can we use forgiveness to help ourselves, the people we love, and the world we inhabit? What is the role forgiveness should and will play in our lives? If we want to become more forgiving, we can begin by forgiving those we already love and are close to. We can forgive them their failures and transgressions. Another thing we can do is forgive the trivial things—such as traffic, bad weather, and rude sales clerks—that cause us to create grudges. We can practice forgiveness until it becomes a habit, and then it will be available to us if we choose to use it. And we can learn to forgive ourselves. We are the person we spend the most time with, so it is imperative to learn to deal gracefully with our weaknesses and failures. Forgiveness of self is a way to learn to love oneself, flaws and all. To Read This Week: . Forgive for Good, pp. 154–218 . The Sunflower – read further “Symposium” responses (pp. 99-271) as you have time. Discussion Points: 1. What have you learned about forgiveness? 2. In what ways might you act differently in the future? 3. How does forgiveness fit into your life? 4. Have you forgiven anyone as a response to this class? 5. What can you forgive yourself for? As usual, the discussion points will be addressed in your responses to a set of topics in DISCUSSIONS, under the new category, “Discussion Questions for Week #5.” The topics, each with its own thread, are entitled as follows: · FORGIVING, MYSELF & FORGIVING MYSELF: If you have not already thus disclosed yourself in response to earlier questions: How has this class influenced your attitude toward and practice of forgiveness, both of others and yourself? Does forgiveness have different meaning for you than it did before you took this class? How (if at all) may it impact your future? · PERSPECTIVES ON THIS COURSE: What did you like about this course, and how might it have been even more to your liking? I look forward to receiving your assessments. Stay in the grace! Noel McInnis noelmcinnis@forgivenessfirst.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TO LOG ON TO YOUR COURSE SITE: Go to: http://www.alllearn.org/ NEED HELP? Phone 1-866-524-1502 toll-free in the U.S. and Canada or send an email to help@AllLearn.org. If you're outside the US and Canada and wish to speak to someone, please email your phone number to help@AllLearn.org so that an AllLearn staff member may contact you.