Shame is such a deep subject, an emotion that seems illusive to trace. Perhaps this is due to a layering effect and the challenge that comes with how to express shame. Shame is defined as a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. The interesting aspect of this definition connects shame to consciousness.
Part of what I observe is with regard to each person’s story that surrounds the shame. The emotion of shame most often appears in the energy of the heart, where ego resides. I wonder how the ego affects the story, as the ego attempts to be right and make others wrong. Does the story act to suspend the emotional energy, especially if the story somehow stretches or alters the truth? I’m not saying people intentionally lie or deny the truth, but it seems that shame can alter the story in some way. Maybe the story eases or deepens the pain with a change in perspective?
When choosing what to believe, maybe the shame is intensified when flash beliefs support justification of actions. How do we amend the story to become completely aligned with the truth, then let go of the shame? Questions are the sign that a whisper is close at hand on the subject of truth and shame.
Unlike some emotions that can easily find balance over time, the energy of shame becomes part of the overall structure of human consciousness. To change the structure can become a daunting task because the human mind will embellish the energy with a story. Like a healing balm placed on a blemish or salt in the wound, the story may not hold the complete truth, changing the way each person forms their beliefs.
To change the story or the release the shame could create a large shift in consciousness. The strength that comes with reaching a certain level of peace with regard to the past can be countered by a natural resistance to change. The emotional energy around shame can reside in the Solar Plexus. Free will, personal power, perfectionism, mental states, and most aspects of self-esteem are expressed through this energy center. The shift in energy around shame is influenced by these powerful virtues that support personal perspective on life events.
For any major shift in consciousness to occur, the panorama of personality, identity, behavior, and persona experience some type of shift as well. Great resistance to such change is common, due to subconscious sabotage related to fear. People can experience a form of addiction to the fears, pain, and suffering created by the shame. The victim mentality can be easier to identify with than maneuvering the landscape of personal power. This is especially true if the shame has been held for extended periods of time.
Balancing the energy of shame requires the willingness to change the core essence of one’s being. Engaging in self-forgiveness, with a total acceptance of the life events and anyone who played a role in the creation of shame, lightens the burden of dense emotional energy. The truth will bring grounding energy and stability with all revisions to the script of life. Freedom from shame comes with the true story of the light within.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
“It's not all bad. Heightened self-consciousness, apartness, an inability to join in, physical shame and self-loathing—they are not all bad. Those devils have been my angels. Without them I would never have disappeared into language, literature, the mind, laughter and all the mad intensities that made and unmade me.” Stephen Fry
