Beyond Forgiveness (PDF)

"If we harbor thoughts of violence or hatred, or seek revenge or
retribution, we are contributing to the wounding of the world; if
we transform those thoughts into forgiveness and compassion, and
then move beyond them to actually make amends or restitution, we
are contributing to the healing of the world. This timely, powerful
and compassionate book helps show us the way."

--Deepak Chopra

"Nothing will help us survive the present age more than breaking
the tragic cycles of violence and revenge that threaten our very
existence. To do so, we must honor our soul's desire for deeper
forms of reconciliation, a process that Phil Cousineau reveals here
as being on the other side of forgiveness, in the ancient ritual of
atonement. His book is a profoundly important contribution to the
healing of the world, and I give it my blessing."

--Robert A. Johnson, author of Transformation,
Inner Work and Owning Your Own Shadow

As indispensable as forgiveness has been to the healing process
throughout history, there is another equally profound action that
is needed for ultimate reconciliation, which Arun Gandhi, grandson
of Mohandas Gandhi, calls "the other side of the coin."
Turning over the coin of forgiveness, we discover atonement,
the half-hidden, much-overlooked other half of the reconciliation
process.

Beyond Forgiveness shows how acts of
atonement--making amends, providing restitution, restoring
balance--can relieve us of the pain of the past and give us a
hopeful future. This rich and powerful book includes 15 thoughtful
contributions by high-profile thinkers and activists including
Huston Smith, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Azim Khamisa, Rabbi Michael
Lerner, Jacob Needleman, Michael Nagler, Diane Hennacy Powell,
James O'Dea, Arun Gandhi, Kate Dahlstedt, Ed Tick, Richard J.
Meyer, Rev. Heng Sure, Douglas George-Kanentiio and Katharine
Dever. Atonement is put forward as a process that we must all learn
to practice--from individuals to nations--if we are to
heal our wounds and move forward.