Ana Holub - Forgive and Be Free: A Step-by-Step Guide to Release, Healing & Higher Consciousness

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Forgive and Be Free: A Step-by-Step Guide to Release, Healing, and Higher Consciousness 2014 by Ana Holub.

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First e-book edition 2013

E-book ISBN: 9780738737164

Book design by Donna Burch

Cover art: iStockphoto.com/14138702/STILLFX/10722337/pagadesign

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

Editing by Andrea Neff

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Dedication

For my parents, Suzanne and Donald Holub.

May you continue to fly with the angels
and experience the peace of God forever.

Acknowledgments

I thank Master Jesus, who gave us A Course in Miracles, and the ancient and modern teachers who expand the wisdom of divine love. Special appreciation goes to the Radical Forgiveness community, and to Colin Tipping for introducing me to forgiveness as a healing path and to the idea of making forgiveness lists.

The teaching and ideas of Michael Joslin, Pitaka Christie Close, Iris Lambert, Peter Van Dyk, and Peter Levine have immeasurably deepened my understanding of healing modalities in breathwork, accessing intuition, counseling, and peace education. Thanks to Peter Van Dyk for his help in formulating H.O.W. with me. I am grateful for the groundbreaking scientific and social ideas of Bruce Lipton, Candace Pert, Byron Katie, and Michael Gurian. To my writing team: Michael Carr, Linda Sivertsen, Natalie Kottke, Jen Mathews, and my agent, Jeff Hermanthank you! Where would I be without you?

To the team at Llewellyn Worldwide, especially Angela Wixthanks for taking a chance on me. And finally, I thank the circle of people who love and support me, whether they understand me or not: my incredible children, Amalia Holub and Aron Lucas; my sisters, Melissa and Kathy Holub; my friends Marguerite Ogle, Donna Bringenberg, Thea Kristina Kenegos, Jen Mathews, Prajna Ami Marcus, Gentle Thunder, Sarah Alexander, Jack Moore, Mona Therese Winston, Amy Cooper, Andrew Oser, and Richard Lucas; and my extended community in Mount Shasta and beyond. I love you all.

Contents

: Exploring Forgiveness

PART ONE

: Your Emotional Life and the Benefits of Forgiveness

: Gender, Family, Culture, and Our Deep Need to Heal

PART TWO
THE STEPS TO FORGIVENESS
AND FREEDOM

: Step OneCreating Sacred Space

: Step TwoTelling the Story

: Step ThreeNavigating the Emotional Body

: Step FourEmbracing Fear with Love

: Step FiveListening for Hidden Messages

: Step SixReleasing

: Step SevenWitnessing the Changes

: Step EightExamining the Lessons

: Step NineSoul Expansion

: Step TenEmanating a New Life

: Reviewing the Process

Preface

It was summer. I was on a river trip with a group of women, all of us adventuring together on the Klamath River in far northern California, up near the Oregon border. I was paddling my kayak, drinking in the day, the beauty, the dappled sunshine glinting on the waters surface. Underneath, though, I was worried. What if I got tossed?

Every serious river runner has to deal with this fear at some point. Id been paddling the Klamath for years, a dozen times or more, managing to stay in the boat through countless rapids and getting pretty handy in the process. Id gone swimming only once before, years back. But I knew that at some point the river would swoosh my little body out of the boat again and leave me floundering in the rush-and-tumble current, because thats just how it is. You cant do a lot of river running without that experience, and the more I kayaked, the closer I came to the inevitable.

I was luckyit was a warm day. Coming up to a midsized rapid, I paddled hard to align my boat with the perfect slot to slide from smooth water into the churning torrent. As so often happens in whitewater, the slightest drop in my concentration would be my undoing. I darted a glance to river right, making sure to avoid some overhanging branches, then put my focus back on the slot ahead of me.

But that one glance cost me a microsecond I didnt have, and the river wasnt waiting around. I went sideways over the rapid, rolled upside down, and got shucked out of that little kayak so fast I couldnt even think about it. I was swimming, and that was that. The water was zipping me along, my bright yellow boat bobbing merrily off to my left.

After the first shock of surprise, magic happened. I realized that the mighty Klamath River was holding me, carrying me, buoying me up. I felt utterly safe in its embrace, and out of the blue, I began to cry. My warm, salty tears met the sparkling river water, and we celebrated the truth that in this moment, there was nothing wrong, nothing scary, nothing to shrink from or avoidjust warm water carrying me downstream. The river felt strong and steadfast, covering all of me but my upturned face and knobby knees. As it took me, I relaxed into the safety of it, still crying with relief and new understanding. It was a moment I will never forget.