You are holding a book that will change your life. You’ve heard about such books, I’m sure. Perhaps you’ve even read one before. They’re rare, it’s true. In fact, given the number of books in print, they’re very rare. But every so often one will present itself to you. I mean that literally. I mean, it will literally present itself to you.
Maybe it will be given to you as a gift. Or perhaps you’ll hear about it from a friend. You might find it on someone’s coffee table. Or it will be the only title that really catches your eye as you browse the bookstore.
Only you know how the book that’s in your hands right now came to you, but I can tell you this: It did not come to you by accident. You are not reading it by chance. God brought this book to you. I am convinced of that. God does these things all the time. It’s one of the ways God communicates with you when He’s got something She wants you to hear or when you call out to the universe for an answer, for some insight, for some help with something that’s troubling you.
I don’t know if there’s anything troubling you right now, or if you’ve been wishing for a little insight, or if it’s just one of those times when God feels it would be good for you to hear something, but I do know that your having this book in your hands right now is perfect.
You’ll see this, too, when you finish reading it. You’ll know exactly why you picked it up.
Now let me tell you a little about the man who wrote this book. He’s one of the most extraordinary men I have ever met. He’s a man who carries peace and love and joy in his heart in such abundance that it spills over onto his face. You can see it in his eyes. You can feel it in his smile. And when he shakes your hand or gives you a big hug—he gives a lot of big hugs—you can feel that peace and joy and love going right through you.
That’s the kind of man we’re talking about. I know Jerry personally, and I’ve had those experiences. I’m telling you about him now because I think it’s important for you to know something about the person who has placed this information before you. I want you to know that it comes from a highly credible source.
Not that Jerry Jampolsky needs an introduction or, certainly, any validation from me. His work over the years in creating the Center for Attitudinal Healing in the San Francisco Bay area and in fostering the establishment of over a hundred similar centers dotting the globe has won him the grateful admiration of people the world over. And his extraordinary book Love Is Letting Go of Fear stands today as one of the most significant texts on applied spirituality of the past half century. What I want you to know is not who Jerry is but rather that he is who you would think he is from reading his previous writings and observing his lifework—in other words, he is a man who walks his talk.
Why do I consider it important for you to know that? Not because I think Jerry needs or wants the praise. Far from it. Rather, it’s important for you to know what this man is like because his life lived is evidence that what he teaches works.
That’s a tribute, because Jerry has had a lot of stuff to overcome in his life. You don’t have to be told all about that here. It’s enough to say that his life has not been what you would call tidy. Yet for over twenty years Jerry has been ministering to the world and inspiring millions.
What caused this change in him? The same thing that will cause a change in you—the subject of this book: forgiveness.
Now let’s get something clear about Jerry Jampolsky. He’s not perfect. No one who knows him would tell you that. What they would tell you is that he is perfectly clear that he’s not perfect, that no one is—and that this is his great healing insight. He understands that we are all human, that we all make mistakes, that we all can be hurtful or selfish, unkind or thoughtless. He knows what it’s like to wrestle with ego, to battle with fear, and to struggle with love. He knows the deep inner disappointment of wanting to be big, and still acting small; of wanting to be gentle, and still acting harshly; of wanting to be wise, and still acting foolish.
He’s had plenty of moments when he’s been less than his grandest self. His special grace is that he would be the first person to tell you that. His special gift is that he’d be the first person to let you be less than perfect too—and get away with it.
You see, Jerry Jampolsky has come to understand some things about forgiveness. He’s learned to forgive himself for all the times in his life when he’s shown up as less than Who He Really Is, and he’s learned to forgive others when they’ve done the same. Where this has brought Jerry is to a place of deep inner peace. It has given him a capacity to deal with those whom others would call “difficult people” with uncommon patience and unmatched equanimity. It has caused him to seek to practice unconditional love. It has allowed him to heal himself and others.
Now, you may not know, or be aware, that you have anything to heal. Or, in fact, you may have nothing to heal. (I would, frankly, be surprised if that were the case, because I have not met many people with no inner wounds to heal, but I will allow for the possibility.) Still, that will not stop you from healing others. And that is the real work you have been called to do here on this planet. We have all been brought here to heal each other—to heal each other of every false thought, of every small idea, of every limiting or fearful concept of ourselves that stops us from experiencing Who We Really Are. We’ve been given some marvelous tools with which to do that, and one of the most marvelous of all is forgiveness.
Forgiveness is capable of producing some of the most profound transformations you could ever hope for or imagine in your life and the lives of others.
Forgiveness can change everything—overnight. That’s what’s so exciting about it. It can change everything. It can bring joy where there is sorrow, peace where there is turmoil, gladness where there is anger. And it can give you back to yourself.
What I’ve noticed in my life is that it has been easier to talk about forgiveness than to practice it. That’s why Jerry’s book is so important to me. I am glad to learn more about this miracle tool and the miracles it can produce. I am so happy to learn how to use it and not just talk about it.
Let me end my commentary here by telling you one final thing about this book. This book is Jerry’s truth, but it is God’s message. God is just using Jerry as a communicator. So as you read this book, be very clear that you are having a conversation with God.
And be very sure that you are not having it by accident.