Freeing Yourself From Shame
This guided meditation invites you to lay down shame that you may be carrying around. It can feel like a heavy burden and everyone deserves to feel free from any level of shame that may be holding you back. Allow this meditation to wash over you. Music by Modality Waves at 432 Hz.
Transcript
Okay,
So before we begin,
I'm just going to invite you to get in a comfortable position,
Whatever that may look like for you.
You can get into a comfortable chair,
You can lay down on a couch or on a bed,
You can lay down on the floor,
You can get a cozy blanket.
I just invite you to get comfortable and to check in with your body for just a moment.
And I just invite you to notice how your body feels in whatever position you are in.
And I want you to notice how your body is being held.
Is it being held by that comfortable chair?
Is it being held by the bed?
Is it being held by the floor?
Is it being wrapped in a blanket?
Just notice that you are actually held,
That you're not floating off into space,
You're not untethered,
That gravity is actually pulling you down to the earth,
And that you are grounded for these few moments.
Just notice.
Notice what it feels like to be held.
Notice the way your legs feel in the seat,
How your back is supported by the back of the chair or by the ground or by the couch.
Just notice that you are held,
And that maybe for this five to ten minutes you can just kind of collapse into being held.
You don't have to hold it all together right now.
There's nowhere else you need to go.
There's no floating off,
There's just,
You're held.
And as you notice that,
I invite you to get intentional with your breath,
In whatever way feels comfortable for you.
I invite you that if it feels right to inhale,
Filling up your lungs.
Maybe you can hold it,
And then exhale.
Or maybe it's just a constant flow of inhaling and exhaling.
We don't want to force anything,
This is all an invitation and it's all what feels the most comfortable for you.
We're not doing breath work right now,
And so we just want you to breathe in whatever way feels the most comfortable.
Just notice that if normally you breathe very shallow,
Very tight breaths,
I just invite you to take deeper ones.
Maybe fill your diaphragm up a little bit more than you normally do.
Maybe exhale a little bit longer than you normally do.
Just for a few moments.
Just notice that you are being held by whatever seat you're in,
And intentionally checking in with that breath.
If it feels right,
Maybe do a couple of inhales,
And then exhaling through the mouth and letting out a sigh.
Because you've arrived,
You've set aside the time to do this.
Just be with that for a moment.
For today's meditation,
I want to take us on a journey of looking at shame.
If that feels too activating or too triggering for you right now,
I invite you to turn this one off.
But if you feel like you can lean in just a little bit,
And stick with me and go on this journey,
Then I invite you along.
I invite you to imagine yourself in the center of a deep forest.
I want you to notice the trees around you,
The birds chirping,
The leaves crunching under your feet,
Maybe the sun breaking through the leaves.
Maybe there's a soft breeze,
And you can feel that on your skin.
Maybe you can feel your hair blowing in the wind.
While you're in this forest,
I want you to notice,
I want you to look inward.
Is there any amount of shame that you're carrying today?
You don't have to think of shame that's at a level 10,
If that's too much.
You can just think about a shame that's maybe at like a 5 or 6.
Whatever feels right for you,
Whatever you have the capacity for right now.
Just kind of breathe into that for a minute,
And notice how your body feels when you think of that piece of shame.
Does your chest get tight?
Does your throat constrict?
Do your palms get sweaty?
Does your stomach kind of turn upside down?
Shame doesn't usually feel good.
Does it feel like a heavy cloak?
Does it feel dark?
Just notice,
Without judgment.
There's no judgment in this time and in this space,
Just noticing.
Just kind of breathe into what that feels like for a moment.
And then I want you to notice,
Imagine with me,
That you can hear what sounds like water running in the distance.
And so you turn your gaze toward the sound,
And you begin to walk toward that sound.
We're getting closer and closer to the water,
And the sound of this river is growing.
And you can hear this water kind of rushing.
And it sounds inviting,
And it sounds refreshing.
So you're going to continue to make your way through the forest.
The leaves are crunching under your feet.
More and more of the light of the sun is being exposed.
The density and the darkness of the forest is kind of fading away behind you.
And you step into this area where this river is running.
You have reached it.
You have reached this running water,
And you notice that as you're watching the water,
You never see the same water twice,
Right?
It's a rushing river,
And so it's constantly moving,
And it's running across these rocks.
The rocks are never experiencing this same water.
It's not still water.
It's not murky water.
It's clear,
Crisp,
And it's moving,
And it's almost like it's cleansing these rocks.
And I invite you that if you would like to,
You can take off your shoes,
And you can just feel the earth beneath your feet.
Maybe wiggle your toes and imagine what that would feel like,
Just the dirt and the rocks between your toes.
And maybe you put one foot in the river,
And you feel what it feels like to have that cold,
Crisp,
Fresh water running over your feet.
And maybe you take a couple steps in,
And now the water is rising up to like the middle of your calf.
It's a little cold.
It's a little uncomfortable,
But it's also really refreshing.
And maybe you take a couple more steps further,
And maybe the water now is up to your knees.
And maybe you take another step further,
And the water is up to your waist,
And you're starting to feel the pull of this water.
You're starting to feel the pull of this cleansing.
And maybe you take another step further into the center of this river,
And maybe the water is coming up to your chest,
Maybe up to your shoulders.
And it's cold,
And it's pulling at you,
But you're also noticing how it's a fresh batch of water every second that is flowing by.
And I want you to take that feeling of shame that was inside of you when you were in the center of the forest that we brought to this river.
And maybe if you're ready,
And you're wanting to let that shame go,
Whatever that story that you're telling yourself is,
Whatever that narrative is,
Whatever that thing that somebody said about you,
Maybe whatever the idea that your parents came up with for you,
And you're not living up to their expectations.
Maybe it's a disappointment that you've had in yourself.
Maybe it's a disappointment that somebody's had in you.
Maybe it's a poor choice that had devastating consequences.
Whatever the story of shame is telling you,
I wonder if we could dip our heads all the way into the river,
If that river will actually wash you clean.
And so if you're ready to let go of whatever that shame story is that you've been telling yourself,
I invite you to take a deep,
Deep inhale,
As much air as you can take in.
And when you're ready,
Dip your full body,
Head submerged into the river,
And let it wash you clean.
And as you come up for air,
You can let out that exhale.
And as the river is flowing by you,
Just know that you are invited every single day to step into the river,
To be washed clean.
Every day that you feel that overwhelm of shame that doesn't belong to you,
You are invited to be washed clean.
And so take this meditation anytime you need it.
It's available for you whenever you need it,
Once a day,
Five times a day,
Once a week,
Once a month,
Once a year,
Or maybe never again.
But the river is always there.
And freedom and cleansing is available to you every single day.
And I invite you to stay in this space as long as you need to,
Before you move back into your day.
