Thoughts, memories, and emotions override the power of the body's perfect intelligence by forcing the program to respond to a situation, which is not really life-threatening, even though the survival instinct believes it to be so. I call it "subconscious emotional memory override," and it often runs our physical bodies. These stored memory patterns elicit negative responses, leading us to ill health and, often, disease.

In order to neutralize a negative subconscious memory or emotion, we teach the following steps of forgiveness.

True forgiveness of negative experiences you have lived through and with, can actually change your state of health. These forgiveness steps are quite simple in concept, but keep in mind they must be carried out with feeling and emotion. If you are not sincere, then you are wasting your time and energy.

Before performing the steps of forgiveness, some self-actualization work must be done. Do this memory update to become more aware of what is affecting your life:

*** Identify a situation, action, or person you feel needs to be forgiven. Think of something from your past you did not like or you wish had turned out differently. What you identify may have occurred at any time in your life — yesterday, last week, last year, or when you were six years old. A person held in esteem or great affection is often identified. This is an experience from the past, which comes into your conscious mind often.

*** Acknowledge this incident did, in fact, occur. Think about the situation, recalling your feelings, thoughts, and emotions on the subject.

*** Realize trying to forget such events, actually just places them in the subconscious where they fester, finally causing ill health.

Having identified and thought about a person, action, or situation, you are now ready to begin the steps of forgiveness. It is important to note here you do not have to agree with the actions of the other person or the event in order to forgive. You are forgiving for your own sake, not someone else's. Until you forgive the past, this other person or event is controlling your life. This is true even if the other person is now dead!

In addition, when you truly forgive, you give up the urge to "get even." You will no longer feel the need for revenge. You will actually be thankful this event occurred in your life. You will see the good in it for you. If you follow the steps, with sincerity of heart, you are on the way to enlightenment as well as to improved health.

1. Self forgiveness. You must first forgive yourself for allowing the event to affect your health. Forgive yourself for any harm you may have caused yourself because of this situation, action, or person. Literally say, "I forgive myself for any harm I may have caused myself because of (whomever or whatever situation/action)."

2. Forgive the other person. Next, you must forgive the other person for any harm he or she may have caused you. Again, literally say these words, "I forgive (whomever) for any harm he/she may have caused me."

3. Give the other person permission to forgive you. It is not necessary, or even recommended, that the other person knows you are taking this step. It is, in fact, immaterial because you are doing this for you, not for him or her. The other person may even be deceased and that's okay, too. It's not important where the other person is, or whether he or she is living. The forgiveness takes place within you. You now say, "I give (whomever) absolute permission to forgive me for any harm I may have caused him or her."

Not only must these situations and people be forgiven, you must actually learn to see the good in it. You must learn the lesson it brought into your life if you are to be truly disconnected from that person.

Why is it good that this happened to you? What did you or can you learn from it? Perhaps the best thing you can think of is that you would never do this to someone else. Maybe you learned you are able to help others who experience similar treatment. The point is, learn from the situation. See the good in it for you. Understand how you are better because of it. It is in the past.

Nothing ever happens to you, it happens for you to learn a lesson. Be thankful for the lesson, not the experience.