The Gift of Forgiveness

By Firozia Wandis Slattery

Wake up! Know who you are. Open your heart to all the love, harmony, and beauty of your real self.

Find your purpose in life. We all have a purpose that we alone can fulfill, yet many do not know what their purpose is, or if they do know, how to make it become a reality.

When we realize who we are we get a new perspective of ourselves and what we are all about. This growing realization will make a great difference in our lives and the way we live them. When we are small children we learn from the way we are taught, and that is who we think we are, but it is only the false ego that we have begun to create from what we have received and which we believe is our true self. If we are fortunate, we come to realize that we are much more than what we have been taught.

This realization enables the beginning of a new life, one with greater fulfillment, purpose, and meaning. This book is about you, how you think, how you perceive the world, and how you communicate with others.

Let us open our hearts to a new awakening, to the beauty of the magnificent being that dwells within in these temples we call bodies. Let us realize the potential of beautiful souls fashioned by the Creator of all.

I started reading your book and found it very touching . I recommend The Gift of Forgiveness with its wise counsel from one who has walked her talk. Taj Inayat

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Oct 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504336109

Firozia Wandis Slattery

Firozia has served as a spiritual leader and teacher in the Sufi International Order for more than thirty years. She is an ordained minister (Cheraga) in the Universal Worship of the Sufi Order, which recognizes and honors all the major religions of the world. She is the Sufi Order Representative for the Northern Indiana Sufi Center where she has served as a Sufi Teacher for over twenty-five years.

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Copyright © 2015 Firozia Wandis Slattery.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-3609-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-3610-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015910589

Balboa Press rev. date: 09/18/2015

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 My Relationship With Spirit

Chapter 2 My Story

Chapter 3 Forgiveness

Chapter 4 Forgiving Our Parents

Chapter 5 My Beloved Teacher

Chapter 6 Opening The Heart

Chapter 7 Awakening

Chapter 8 Overcoming The False Self

Chapter 9 Self-Esteem

Chapter 10 Expectation and Judgment

Chapter 11 Hope

In Closing

Preface

S acred tradition and our own deepest instincts tell us that God is Love. Hence it is in love that we must look for what is highest and best in human life. Among the various species of love, surely the most formidable is forgiveness. Only forgiveness has the power to free a heavy heart of its burden of anger and despair so that it may lift its gaze up to heaven. In this wonderful little book, Firozia Wandis Slattery articulates the power and beauty of forgiveness so clearly that the reader will undoubtedly come away from these pages strengthened in the resolve to live, ever more deeply, a life of love.

Pir Zia Inayat Khan

You may contact the author via email -

[e-mail]

Acknowledgements

I t has taken several years for this book to be written, and it has been possible only with the encouragement of many wonderful people. First, my deep gratitude to Pir Vilayat, who said that I should share my experience with others, and to my wonderful husband Bill, who kept telling me to put writing my book as my first priority. When I would start letting things get in the way, he would always tell me to take time away and work on it. His driving support helped make this possible.

To my daughter Sandie, my thanks for helping me get started, and for her constant support by always asking me if I was working on my book, and how much I had done. To my daughter Renee, my thanks for setting it all up to look like a book; when I needed help on the computer she was always willing to help. And to all the other people I met along the way who gave me ideas and positive support, my loving gratitude. To my daughter Christina and my good neighbor Mike Howe, many thanks for your wonderful help in putting this book together. And to all the other people I met along the way who gave me ideas and positive support, my loving gratitude.

Last, I would like to thank Shams Kairys who is a truly gifted editor. He was able to take my many words and make them into something readable. I also appreciate his moral support, guidance, and most of all his friendship. He can be reached at: [e-mail].

You may contact the author via email - [e-mail]

Introduction

The Gift of Forgiveness

I t is my heartfelt desire that this book will be of some help to those who read it. This book has been years in the making because through the years I have learned so much more of the real meaning of forgiveness. There are many