A Lesson in Forgiveness

September 2^nd 2011 I received the following e-mail:

Hi there,

I thought the website we have been developing might be of interest to you and your visitors: www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk

The purpose of the site is ultimately to provide the UK with a huge hypnotherapy support network, enabling those in distress to find a hypnotherapist close to them and appropriate for their needs. This is a free, confidential service that will provide those seeking support with all the information they need. Every hypnotherapist on the site who has submitted their profile has either sent a copy of their qualifications and insurance cover to us, or is registered with a professional body with recognised codes of ethics and practice, this way we can be assured of their professionalism.

I was wondering if you would be able to provide a link to our website, possibly from your Useful Links section here: http://www.manxhypnosis.com/useful-links.php. I think our site will be a useful resource for those looking for support or general advice about hypnotherapy.

Thank you very much for your time, I hope to hear from you soon.

Kindest regards

I receive lots of requests like this and didn't give it a second thought. But when I received the following e-mail I thought perhaps that I should look into it because I don't normally receive follow-up e-mails like this and these people sounded genuine.

Hi there,

I just wondered if you've had a chance to read the email I sent recently regarding this page on your website: http://www.manxhypnosis.com/useful-links.php

Kind regards

I re-read the original e-mail and I checked out the directory which seemed really good and I thought I had nothing to lose by adding their link to my website and so I did expecting that I would be added to their directory for doing this.

Not only did I add the directory's link but I tweeted it on Twitter and mentioned it in my Hypnotherapy Daily which is a daily newspaper I created. I checked the directory to see if they had included my details but found no mention of my private practice. I just thought that these things take time so I waited.

When after two weeks I still could not see that we were added I sent an e-mail asking why our details were not added to the directory. I sent a few such e-mails and heard nothing back until this morning when I received the following e-mail:

Hi Xavier,

Apologies, it appears we have crossed wires somewhat!

I'm afraid I am unable to provide a listing to Setanta Hypnotherapy Clinic on Hypnotherapy Directory. Hypnotherapy Directory is a subscription service, and it would be unfair to our paying members to give you a listing for free.

Sorry for the confusion.

Best Wishes,

Hi

Nowhere in any of your communication to me did you say what you are now saying. It is not a matter of crossed wires I have simply been misled.

I am glad that you have finally cleared that up after my numerous e-mails asking you why our details had not been added to your directory.

Best wishes

Xavier

I have since removed the hypnotherapy directory link from my website and I have also removed all connections between me and the hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk .

I have waved goodbye to these people and am grateful to them for teaching me such a valuable lesson.

This is simply a lesson in forgiveness. We all experience things in our lives that have the potential to upset our peace and give us a reason to judge others and make ourselves angry. I chose not to use this experience to anger myself but to see it as an opportunity to forgive, myself for not being more diligent and Catriona for not being more upfront with me. At the end of the day this happened because I have not been so forgiving in the past and I kept getting such experiences until I learned to forgive and move on.

Forgiveness is a way of life and it is like the tree that gives shade to the King and the pauper alike. Love does not distinguish between people. Love and forgiveness are unconditional but as long as we place conditions on either then we remain trapped in the cycle of death and rebirth.

Please watch the following video and consider the part forgiveness plays in your life. Every journey starts with the first step and by taking the opportunities presented to us in our daily lives we learn to crawl before someday learning to fly.

My wife and I are both members of the National Council for Hypnotherapy in the UK and we both received an e-mail shortly after I published this hub. The e-mail pertains directly to the subject matter of this hub. Following is a link to that communication.

hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk are sucking your website dry