Guilt & Shame









































































































Guilt And Shame By Jennifer Hoffman

The more the energy shifts open our hearts to the divinity of who we are, the more we become aware of the darker, denser energies we carry. And we see the connections those energies have to our limitations, unhappiness and frustration. Some of these are easy to let go of because we can detach from the experiences that come with them. Learning to not take others’ behavior personally makes it easier to release betrayal and disappointment.

We can even let go of abandonment issues when we understand that others love and give to us from their own limited resources. But these emotions have a residue of guilt and shame that is much harder to process and remains with us, like a stain on our heart, until we are able to work through their personal aspects. Guilt and shame are two of the most challenging emotions because they are difficult to understand and are intertwined in our physical, emotional and spiritual history.

We carry guilt over things that we have or have not done or said, actions we have not taken or opportunities we let slip by. When our life spirals out of control our fear is strong but it is overshadowed by the guilt we feel at having let things get to this point. We punish ourselves through our guilt because we believe we could have done better and prevented this from happening. Add to that the feelings of having let ourselves and perhaps others down, no wonder we get depressed and are unable to make any changes.

Those of us who suffered through the teachings of the catholic church were fed a steady diet of guilt that included our path of eternal damnation because we are unworthy of direct communication with God. Our parents may have used guilt to get us to clean our dinner plate (there are starving children in Africa), to behave (it would hurt our mother if we embarrassed the family), and to follow the career path they thought was best for us (how proud they would be if we became a doctor or lawyer). So guilt became the reason we acted, not because we were going towards what we wanted, but because we did not want to be the reason for others’ unhappiness or disappointment.

How many times do we say ‘yes’ when we really mean ‘no’, only because we want to avoid feeling guilty about hurting someone’s feelings? How often do we take on an obligation because we want to avoid feeling guilty about being selfish and doing something that serves us? So often we say yes and then have double guilt. There is guilt from the person who asked and self guilt from our resentment at not meeting our needs. Guilt is a bothersome and annoying emotion that we can overcome when we remember that we hold the power of choice and action in our life.

Shame is an even more destructive emotion because it emanates from within us, from a core of unworthiness that defines how we perceive ourselves. This core feeling spreads to every area of our life, setting our energetic vibrations at such a low level that we feel undeserving at every turn. The person who shames us does so from their own core of shame and where guilt is often about manipulation, shame is about destruction. Our experience of being shamed leads to feelings of not being enough, good enough, right, or worthy. And we shame ourselves when we believe we have failed at something, not realizing that the shame is responsible for the failure.

As we are processing larger and larger volumes of energy now, what has been lurking at the bottom of the barrel is now coming up for our review. We have already processed the easier energies, now we are prepared for these, which are the foundation of all our self defeating, self sabotaging behavior. It does not matter how much guilt or shame we have, all of it is destructive and challenging.

Any time we feel taken advantage of, misused, abused or manipulated, guilt and shame are present in some form. If fear of success or failure plagues you, what guilt or shame do you have that is preventing you from realizing your true potential? How do we heal and release them? That is our key to freedom. Everywhere we are stuck is an area where we need to look for guilt or shame. And this is where we lose access to life’s blessings because they prevent us from being fully connected to ourselves, pursuing our dreams and believing that we deserve to live, love, have joy and success and create fulfillment.

When guilt and shame arise in your life, take a good look at where they came from, who is involved, what messages they have for you and then remind yourself that you are worthy, as a divine spark of Creator, of everything your heart desires and let guilt and shame flow out of your life, to be replaced with love for yourself, for your dreams, miracles and the joy and abundance that are your divine birthright.

Copyright ©2010 by Jennifer Hoffman and Enlightening Life OmniMedia, Inc. This material is protected by US and international copyright now and may be distributed freely in its entirety as long as the author’s name and website, www.urielheals.com are included.