My friend,Reunion with spirit is like a rollercoaster of emotional and physical sensations. One minute you feel great with a strong spiritual connection, and the next you might get hit with a feeling of pain and suffocation (if I can use that word...).
The thing with spiritual awakening is that once your consciousness awakens, you see things that you did not see before. I mean, you understand more. You might get sudden insights about why a certain person behaves the way s/he does, and this might leave you with a sense of anger or shame. Nothing has changed except your own consciousness.
This is often why people who are spiritual conscious end up being angry or sad a lot of the time. They are healing themselves and the world from a higher viewpoint.
Let me give you an example: Let's say you have a person who is somewhat of a loner. He does not like people very much, and most people try to avoid him. They don't like to be around him, because he makes them feel grumpy (Really, they are dealing with their own consciousness, it's all a reflection).
Now, a spiritual person, with a high amount of consciousness, might view this man from a different perspective. The conscious person might see a sadness in the man's eyes. More is perceived than the apparent grumpiness. The conscious person sees the underlaying reasons for the grumpiness. He sees that maybe this man has experienced great pain in his life, and this has led him to become a loner. The man can not bear to be around other people, because he feels he is misunderstood. Grumpiness might be his only defense against becoming hurt again. This might cause the conscious person to become sad.
An even more enlightened being might see this person from an even higher perspective again. He views this man as a part of himself, and energetically he becomes this man simply by looking at him. He sees all the subtle processes inside this man, because he becomes the man. He allows himself to dive into the mans consciousness to allow for a spiritual resonance to happen.
Seeing people from this perspective leaves no room for judgement, because everything is known. There are no reasons for judgement when it is obvious "why it is, how it is".
I believe this is what is meant when people talk about Oneness. We can become One with everything, even plants and rocks. It is on this subtle level that true communication takes place, and misunderstandings will not happen.
So, what is the purpose behind feeling pain in the ascension process? The pain is information, and when you fully embrace the pain, and not push it away, you allow your own consciousness to see what is there. When it is fully seen, there will be no more pain, because pain can only exist when there is some form of judgement of the unknown.
This is why it is so important to stay open at all times, even though you might end up being hurt. The discomfort you are feeling is simply your own consciousness battling with reality. Allow yourself to expand your consciousness by embracing the world as it is. This is how you grow, and this is how you help the world to grow.
In reality, there is only love. Buddha knew this, because he saw the whole picture. He let go of his earthly consciousness and embraced the consciousness of his higher being. It is simply a matter of allowing spirit to come into your field and allow it to show you the big picture.
From spirits perspective forgiveness is not even necessary, because it is nothing to forgive. Forgiveness is only needed when you judge something as bad. It is just experience, all of it.
Namaste