Usually, the people we're closest to and trust the most are the ones we inevitably (and most of the time, unintentionally) hurt, or are hurt by. It's because we love them the most that they can hurt us, and it's because we trust them the most that we aren't always thinking not to offend them.

Rather than lace up my boxing gloves, I chose to find the lesson in the Internet backlash. I called on a message from A Course in Miracles, "In my defenselessness my safety lies." In this video, I share my experience and the spiritual solutions I use for handling negative comments.

I think one of the easiest ways to be happy is to understand forgiveness. We all make mistakes, everyone of us. But not everyone understands how important it is to truly forgive.

Each experience you have in life is a lesson, especially those that are most damaging to you. Once you forgive yourself and others, you give yourself the gift of emotional freedom.

While research indicates that training in forgiveness can actually bring about improvements in both well-being and health, actually forgiving can be easier said than done. If forgiveness is something you want to practice, try one of these strategies.

Although forgiving someone (or ourselves) can happen in an instant, my experience is that it is usually a much more lengthy process requiring great patience, trust, persistence and prayer -- more like peeling an onion or a lotus blossoming than a lightning bolt.

Do you find it easy to forgive people who have hurt or abused you in some way? I didn't until I started to understand that I was hurting myself more by maintaining a tight knot of resentment and anger toward the people who had wronged me.

It's easy to feed the fearful, angry wolf. Especially if we've experienced great wounding, the anger pathway can become deeply ingrained in our system. Yet, we do have a choice.

We must learn to forgive, not just for ourselves, but because we influence the rest of the world, including our loved ones and families. Forgiveness is deeply healing. It allows us to live free in the present moment.

Sitting there at the kitchen table covered with coffee cups and an ashtray full of cigarette butts, I began to slowly comprehend that working on my problems wasn't the same as healing them. "You didn't forgive him." Those four words changed my life.

It takes more energy to be angry with someone than it does to be peaceful, yet people hold on to grudges for months, years, and even decades. The reason is simple: It protects them.

Forgiveness means giving up the suffering of the past and being willing to forge ahead with far greater potential for inner freedom. Besides the reward of letting go of a painful past, there are powerful health benefits that go hand-in-hand with the practice of forgiveness.

It's easier to forgive others if we can find some meaning, some wisdom, some benefit born of the assault and the suffering we experienced.

Forgiving does not mean forgetting or condoning! Forgiveness is for the person who was perpetrated, not the perpetrator. It is saying, "I have already been offended against, I am going to let go of this so I don't continue to be burdened by it."

To open your heart and honestly express your mistakes, fears or doubts seems counterintuitive. And yet, when you do so, you touch and awaken other hearts to do the same.

Anger begets anger. Self-pity can turn into despair. When these emotions become dominant, they take over valuable real estate within you that could be used to channel your awesomeness, creativity and talents.