Shame and Gratitude Meet on the New Moon of Share Truth

Sara’s honesty in sharing her experience of shame around her personal gifts and accomplishments reflects how a willingness to be visible creates an environment for others to experience their lives more fully.  This kind of sharing with others has the effect of dissolving shame and making space for new growth--for ourselves and for those with whom we share.  In Sharing Our Truth we invite others to do the same.  A new community of trust and camaraderie with others begins to form.  This is the deeper calling of this moon cycle, Share Truth. As this cycle moves toward completion, the emerging  moon cycle brings the gifts of gratitude, strengthening our commitment to Share Truth. 

Shame lives in our shadows

              and feeds our fears.

Shame encourages hiding.

Shame keeps us from living fully,

              from sharing the truth of our gifts, talents, accomplishments.

Gratitude is the antidote for shame.

Gratitude nourishes our gifts,

              grows our talents.

Gratitude is a catalyst of encouragement,

for showing up as our real self.

Self Reflection: My time of daily reflection and contemplation makes a space where my gratitude and shame can meet.  This time creates a sacred space where my gratitude can shine light on my shame. Shame crumbles and loses its' power. In this time of sacred, quiet self-reflection, I experience gratitude for my abilities and accomplishments. I find courage to share my life fully in the world. For that, too, I am grateful.

Noticing Choice

It is important to acknowledge both the light and the shadow in how we live our daily lives.  Our truth is played out in the 10,000 choices we make each day.  When we notice and give ourselves credit for the times we choose alignment with our higher self, we have less need to hide from the shadow self.

Sara's personal share: While I easily acknowledge my gifts and abilities, I find they are often a source of shame:  I feel shame for not living up to my potential, not being as "good" as I "should" be, given how I have been blessed.  My "review/release" circle is filled with choices I made that "could have" been more in alignment with my Truth.  Today, I am reminded that I also need to balance my review with acknowledging the choices I make every day that ARE in alignment.

Self Reflection: Do I carry shame about my gifts, abilities, accomplishments?  If so, how has this affected my ability to align myself in truth? to Share my Truth?

Cultivating Compassion

True service to others (not serving with a hidden agenda) is one meaning of Share Truth. Service to others can dissolve shame. Through service, the mask our self reliance will give way to experiencing the other, for whom we do service.  In a way, the playing field of life is leveled. When we can experience the other in their need, we are more able to experience our own need, and begin to see our self as we truly are.  In this way, shame diminishes.  Compassion is born.  We see others, we see our True self.  

Service strengthens the roots of compassion and dissolves the the roots of shame. 

Self Reflection:  Where in my life do I offer to be of service to others?  Am I willing to cultivate this service, bringing well-being to others and to myself as I do?

Humility to the Rescue

Our feelings are real, but they may not be reality.
Our thoughts are real, but they may not be reality either.

We don't have control over the feelings and thoughts which rise up from within us.  At least we don't have control over them when they FIRST come to our consciousness.  We do have control over what we do with our thoughts and feelings when we become conscious of them.

There are specific action steps which bring our thoughts and feelings into alignment with what is Truth: In this third moon cycle, we come to know Truth by seeing all sides of every situation, inquiring always for more clarity. Our willingness to set aside our personal opinion, will clear our mind of all superiority, pride and power related to class, race, sex, wealth, popularity and personality. When we endeavor to level the playing field between ourselves and others, we keep our ego 'right-sized'.  An ego which is 'right-sized' is an ego can live with humility. Humility is the counterbalance to arrogance.  Humility is protector against false feelings and false thinking.  Humility is the forerunner of right action. Humility precedes discernment.


Self Reflection: How do I understand the difference between 'humility' and 'humiliation' (shame)?