Last year the What We CAN monthly blog focused on wellness and spotlighted the Global Team of LiberatingTouch Facilitators. This year our monthly blog will focus on the big questions with insights from LiberatingTouch Facilitators. The big questions we plan to explore may cover topics such as –
- Who am I? What am I? Where did I come from?
- What now?
- What is the connection between Self-Responsibility and Forgiveness?
- To sacrifice or not to sacrifice?
- Is faith blind?
- What is Surrender?
- What is the secret to Self-confidence
- What is the purpose of shame?
- Is less more?
So, let’s start with a really juicy apple – what is the purpose of shame?
On a mundane level shame’s function is to maintain certain boundaries, manners, rules and regulations that underpin the civilized world. It keeps people from defecating in their neighbour’s garden. Ensures that people use toilets whenever possible and keep their clothes on in polite company. Having said that, shame (the belief that you are bad) keeps you exiled from Love and Truth.
Have you no shame?
Truth be told, I have a lot less shame than I used to have. The need to be perfect has fallen away and been replaced with the knowing that all is perfect. When I hear this question now, I smile. I prefer to have good (God) sense, rather than shame sense. Trusting my intuition is a whole lot more important to me than paying attention to the body of cultural hand me downs of should and should not. I would never knowingly want to hurt or harm anyone and if I did, I prefer to learn from the experience rather than be shamed by it.
Healing Shame
There is a ton of evidence that toxic shame is a result of trauma, nurture and nature. That you have to heal the trauma, unpick nature and nurture, to heal shame. This is exhausting and gives temporary results. In my experience, the only way to heal shame is to seek the Truth. Seek the answer to, “Who am I?” And the Truth really will set you free.
Shame, shame
It all began in the Garden of Eden. Would you Adam and Eve it? A Tree, a serpent, an apple, a woman and a man was all it took to get the shame drama going. And it continues till date. It’s incredibly complex and yet so very simple. I suggest looking at this old story from the Tree’s point of view, from the point of view of LOVE and Truth.
God (The Creator-Source, the nameless, formless ONE, the SELF, that can take any name and form – exists in you and me) creates the garden of Eden in the name of Love for LOVE. Bang centre in Creation is the Tree of “good and evil”. This Tree has many names – the Tree of knowledge, the Tree of life, the Tree of enlightenment, the Sacred Tree, and so on. On this Tree grows the apple of wisdom. God knows that one of these days Eve is going to want to have a taste, it’s in her nature. And it’s in Adam’s nature to follow Eve. The serpent is God’s creature (messenger) drawing out the desires embedded deep within each and every human being, to experience all of life, to realise their Source, their purpose, to seek answers about Creation, to know the ONE.
The Bite
The minute Eve took a bite and shared a bite with Adam, their minds were overwhelmed with the immensity of wisdom, of light and dark, of night and day, of pain and pleasure, of birth and death. They felt naked, exposed, and they realised how little they knew. In fact, Adam was so overwhelmed, he couldn’t even swallow. Till date half of humanity struggles to swallow God’s Truth – which is LOVE. If only they ate the whole apple, they may have had the whole picture. Instead, they grappled with the one bite. They experienced the first taste of separation.
Exile from the SELF begins with shame.
And God (Infinite Love and Absolute Truth) asked them to let go of their shame, to remember their purity. God reminded them that they have nothing to hide, they are perfect in their nakedness. Not giving a fig about their nudity, God asked them to come out of the bushes, to step into the light, to see and be seen in the light of Love. But did they? Would they? Ahhhhh, the mind is a tricky thing once it gets attached to an idea. So, off they went, on their adventures, procreating, telling stories of a wrathful god, and spreading lies.
Truth is the antidote
Fortunately, God (The Totality -THAT) is infinite Love and God is limitless Truth. God is acceptance, detachment, peace, compassion and forgiveness. Whenever one of the billion off-springs, reflections of love, calls out for help from the heart, for realisation, God shows up, or sends the Son, to reveal the way back to the Tree. Back to the ONE, where the apple waits to be eaten in its entirety.
God (Goodness Omniscient Divinity) waits for you to return to the TRUTH. And here is the Truth – You are LOVE, you are Goodness, you are made in the image of the ONE (SELF – God). Your shame keeps you trapped in ignorance (delusion). The minute you let go of shame, and open to the Truth, you are redeemed, free. You become aware that you are loved, loving and loveable. And that you are here to give and receive JOY.
The lies – it’s the serpent’s fault, its Eve’s fault, it’s the apple…
The apple reveals all is good, all is God, duality is two sides of one coin. The serpent knows our desires. It is God’s power guiding us on our evolution from humanity to divinity. All desires have consequences. Eve desired the apple and there is no shame in that. Shame is based on a lie, the lie that somehow you are bad, rotten. Seek the Truth, realise the Truth, live the Truth and this is the way of LOVE.
The blame shame game
So many of our clients and students get caught in the blame shame game. Where blame is, I am guilty, I have done something bad, and shame is, I am bad. The latter is by far worse. The identification with being bad robs you of wellness, confidence, connection, forgiveness and more.
Can you heal shame, be free from shame?
Of course, you can. If you are willing to:
Accept, Let go, Forgive
Let go, Forgive, Accept
Forgive, Accept, Let go
Once you let go, accept and forgive you realise that there are no mistakes, no shame, only opportunities to love and be loved.
Real Freedom
Some of you reading this may be interested in joining the LiberatingTouch Real Freedom online program in May 2023 to find out more go to: https://fb.me/e/2qtdByupo or https://liberatingtouchcentre.com/diary/
Angela’s thoughts on Shame
When I was invited to contribute to this blog on the topic of shame it made me laugh and cringe at the same time. It’s a subject that has been a painful part of my spiritual journey and a huge personal struggle.
When I feel the embarrassment of shame it makes me want to shut down and isolate myself. I experience disconnection from Love and Truth as I believe the lie that I’m worthless and unlovable.
Interestingly, as I have opened myself to the energy of shame and its meaning, I find I can be much kinder to myself, but this is still work in progress.
I now practice daily meditation and can give these ‘cringe moments’ a ribbon. Also, I can ‘infinitise’ to give myself some freedom from that feeling. I have found The LiberatingTouch Sequence for Healing Shame has been particularly helpful in clearing all aspects associated with shame. When I feel triggered and in pain, I can check on the intensity and tap on the Energy Balancing locations to get relief.
I have also found doing a LiberatingTouch Detachment Process to shame has been the best way to release the suffering and regain my power.
As I wonder who I would be without the burden of shame, everything feels much lighter. My prayer is to let it all go so I can flourish and recognise that God’s Grace purifies me so I can experience acceptance, love and freedom.
Angela is a gifted LiberatingTouch Instructor. She will be sharing the Heart of Understanding Journey over 8 weeks in March 2023. You can email her at angela.wellhealed@gmail.com to find out more or to book a session.
That’s all for now, Love and blessings, Ranjana
ps. You can join our Facebook Group to join in the conversation – https://www.facebook.com/groups/liberatingtouchcentre/ <3 See you there <3
