Copyright 2001, Colin C. Tipping

panion CD. (See inside back cover.)
I have recorded on the CD an Introduction to the 13
Steps but it is on a separate track. That way, you
don’t have to listen to it every time you do the 13
Steps, but you will find it helpful. The process itself
only takes about seven minutes. The ideal place to
keep the CD is in the car. Any time something up-
sets you, pop it in and listen.
For no other reason than because it has the 13 Steps
on it, this CD is probably the best investment that
you will ever make in yourself.
17: The Five Stages of RF
N
o matter the form that the technology of Radical
Forgiveness takes, whether it be a workshop, the
13 Steps, the Radical Forgiveness worksheet or
the ceremony, each is designed to take you through the
five essential stages of Radical Forgiveness. These are:
1. Telling the Story:
In this step, someone willingly and compassionately lis-
tens to us tell our story and honors it as being our truth in
the moment. (If we are doing a worksheet, this person
might be ourself).
Having our story heard and witnessed is the first step to
letting it go. Just as the first step in releasing victimhood
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is to own it fully, so must we own our story in its fullness
from the point of view of being a victim and avoid any
spiritual interpretation at this stage.
Here, we must begin from where we are (or were, if we
are going back into the past to heal something), so that
we can feel some of the pain that caused the energy block
in the first place.
2. Feeling the Feelings:
This is the vital step that many so-called spiritual people
want to leave out, thinking that they shouldn’t have ‘nega-
tive’ feelings. That’s denial, pure and simple, and misses
the crucial point that authentic power resides in our ca-
pacity to feel our feelings fully and in that way show up as
fully human. It is only when we give ourselves permission
to access our pain that our healing begins. The healing
journey is essentially an emotional journey. But it doesn’t
have to be all pain either. It is surprising as we go down
through the levels of emotion and allow ourselves to feel
the authentic pain, how quickly it can turn to peace, joy,
and thankfulness.