To bring our shame into healing, we have to name it. Many times our shame is engaged and talking to us and we don’t recognize it as shame. It often sounds so familiar and true that we don’t even stop to notice it or question it. Shame is often the voice of the inner critic. It is negative, self-defeating, painful, and very very familiar. It often stops us in our tracks. It freezes us into immobility. It keeps us from knowing our choices and makes any choice that would help us feel better seem impossible.
So, when you notice that you are stuck, or in self-defeating behavior or negative inner dialogue, feel like you do not have choices, you can rest assured you are in shame. Say to yourself, ” my inner shame voice is talking to me, and whether I believe it or not, it never tells me the truth.” That takes the shame from the inside to the outside where we have an opportunity to now work with it and bring it into healing.
More to come!