Beyond Forgiveness Reflections on Atonement

"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.

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. The book contains fifteen thoughtful contributions from high-profile thinkers and activists including, among others, Huston Smith, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Jacob Needleman, Arun Gandhi, Diane Hennacy Powell, Azim Noordin Khamisa, Rabbi Michael Lerner, James O'Dea, Reverend Heng Sure, Kate Dahlstedt, and Edward Tick.

"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 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 author of The Book of Secrets and The Path to Love

"Nothing will help us survive the present age more than breaking the tragic cycles of violence and revenge. To do so, we must honor our soul's desire for deeper forms of reconciliation, a process that Phil Cousineau reveals here as the ritual act of atonement. His book is a profoundly important contribution to the healing of the world. I give it my blessing." ROBERT A. JOHNSON author of Transformation, Inner Work, and Owning Your Own Shadow

"Beyond Forgiveness: Reflections on Atonement is an inspiring, practical, and compelling book, relevant for our times. Cousineau provides a profound and provocative book that has us ponder where we might need to forgive ourselves and others and to look at atonement and what it ignites in the human spirit." ANGELES ARRIEN, Ph.D. author of The Second Half of Life

"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.