Welcome to this guided meditation on recognizing shame.
My name is Esmee and I will guide you through this journey.
Begin by bringing yourself in a comfortable position,
Possibly on the ground or on a chair with a back that is upright.
Maybe you prefer to lay down or sit on a pillow.
You may put your hands beside you or put your hands on your lower belly or heart.
In case you sit down,
You can place your hand in your lap.
Choose a position that feels most lovely for you and in which you feel focused within.
If it feels right for you,
Close your eyes.
Connect to your breath.
Connect to yourself.
Bringing all aspects of yourself into this present moment.
Coming back to your center.
Coming back to your soul.
Maybe this is a place you know well and visit every now and then.
Maybe it is the first time or has been a long time coming to your center.
You might feel welcome and safe in here or feel a bit uncomfortable and lost.
Whatever you feel,
Just feel it.
There is no right or wrong.
There is only this moment and the individual journey of your soul.
Stay as close towards your center,
Your inner self,
As is possible for you right now.
No matter what is coming up,
Let it be.
Rest in the awareness of yourself being whole and full of love.
Letting love in while breathing through your nose and with this wave of love into your belly,
Let the control leave when you breathe out.
Every individual,
Like me,
Like you,
Has not only a bright side,
But also a dark side.
And many of us put a lot of energy in getting far away from this dark side of themselves.
The dark side that maybe includes some difficult topics like self doubt,
Jealousy,
Old pain or unhealed trauma.
A part of yourself you feel shameful of.
A part of yourself you want to lose and therefore never shine light on.
Not knowing that the only way to set yourself free from this dark side is to fully face her.
Because only when we have the courage to delve into our dark side,
We will discover the infinite power of our bright side too.
If you don't come to terms with the shame that covers your personal mess,
Difficulties and challenges,
You are going to stay stuck in them and they will have control over you.
The only way to come to terms with your shame and the dark side she covers is to shed light on her,
To see her,
To not judge on her,
To try to understand her roots and to recognize her existence.
Shame keeps you small,
Angry and fearful,
Whereas breaking through shame will make you big,
Keen and confident.
Take a deep breath in and follow the breath from your nose through your throat into your lower belly.
And then slowly breathe out from your mouth,
Feel your belly going down again and at the same time let the control you might still hold go.
Do this a few times.
To help you shine light on your own shame,
I will ask you three questions related to shame.
Listen to the words I say and take them in.
Feel inside what is there.
You may feel a physical reaction,
You may feel certain emotions.
Just let it be there,
Without judgement and observe.
The first question that I want to ask you is,
Where do you feel shame for in this moment?
While repeating this question to yourself,
Softly breathe in,
Slowly towards your lower belly and softly let your breath go.
If you have difficulties to focus and to be in this moment in yourself,
Try to focus again on your breathing.
Listen to your breath.
Feel the sensations in your body,
Without any judgement.
Observe the shame that is there.
Maybe you feel her in your heart or in your shoulders or in your hands.
One last time,
Bring love in,
From your nose,
Breathe in,
Slowly towards your lower belly and breathe out through your mouth.
For the second question,
I ask you to focus on the feelings that come up when you shine light on the shame.
What emotions and sensations do you experience?
Breathe slowly in and slowly out.
Through the nose in and through the mouth out.
Remember yourself that all feelings are welcome,
Not only the bright ones,
But also the dark ones.
Maybe you feel some tensions in specific parts of your body.
Let it be.
If there is pain or grief,
Try to not fight against it.
Remember you are in a safe place and feel the ground under you that holds you.
One last time.
Breathe in to the nose,
Allowing all feelings to flow.
And breathe out.
Relax.
For the last question,
Feel when you felt this shame for the first time.
Where does this shame stem from?
Go within,
In yourself,
In your soul,
And try to feel.
Take a deep breath through your nose,
Slowly,
And let it go,
Softly,
Through your mouth.
Which misconceptions,
Pain projections,
Or trauma created shame for this part of yourself?
Maybe memories come up already,
And it might be confrontational or difficult to feel.
That is okay.
Take your time.
Maybe you have no picture yet.
Do not search for it with the mind.
Just be in the moment.
Focus on your breathing.
When the time is there,
When you are ready,
Your answers will come up.
They are within you,
So there is no rush.
Breathe in and out.
Slowly,
Soften yourself from within.
Let a breath full of love go over your heart.
And breathe out,
Let the control go.
Remember yourself,
The love you stem from,
Like we all stem from.
Do not judge yourself,
Do not judge others.
Just realize,
Let it be,
And see where this shame rooted from.
Because only by seeing and recognizing the roots of your shame,
It is possible to break through her.
Remember the love that you consist of,
The wholeness of your heart,
And the way the space beneath you holds you safely in this moment.
Take one last deep breath in,
And breathe out.
See the shame you just saw,
Felt,
And observed,
Stuck in your body,
Not as something to be scared of or shocked about,
But as a chance of understanding yourself better.
See the recognizing of this shame as a possibility of coming more and more close to yourself.
A beautiful chance for growth,
A way of coming closer to your soul.
Now imagine giving yourself a big hug,
And hold yourself in this position for a moment,
While you repeat after me,
Possibly out loud.
I am who I am.
I am whole.
And I am love.
I want to thank you for your courage to go within,
And to give yourself time and self-love.
I advise you to write down what you felt during the meditation,
And if certain thoughts or emotions towards the topic of shame came up,
To write them down.
Because all the answers for a joyful and peaceful life are already inside you,
And the first step towards this is to recognize your shame.
