Overcoming guilt and shame can be difficult, but avoiding these feelings can cost you the life that you truly desire.
Feelings of Guilt and Shame can take on so many different forms. One of the more insidious forms is when we feel these feelings for wanting something in our life. But underlying the initial feelings, are repressed feelings from our childhood.
Guilt and Shame Shadows
For some of us, we feel guilty to even allow ourselves to feel a desire that we judge to be too big or too GRAND!
So let’s say that I desire a million dollars in my bank account. But I feel guilty for wanting such a huge amount of money. It may be a rare occurrence when I even have an extra $100 left in my checking account at the end of the month after paying for all of my living expenses and past debts. And my savings account is always being drained for some emergency or another.
Let’s add on to this scenario that my parents also rarely had savings. They also worked hard to feed their children but never had much financial success in their lives. Many people that have a family history similar to this know the feelings of guilt and shame that can arise from surpassing their parent’s level of success.
Now, is it “Wrong” or “Bad” for a person to desire a million dollars in their bank account? I don’t believe that it is. But for the person that feels that this may be asking for too much with this request the feelings of guilt and shame can become overwhelming. And this can often lead to emotional blocks and self-sabotage.
In working with people I’ve found that when we remove the feelings of guilt and shame we don’t need to work on self-sabotage or even self-discipline. When we remove the underlying feelings holding them back the individual now has the freedom to take action towards the desire that they already want. There is no self-discipline required to take action.
Overcoming Guilt and Shame
So this naturally leads us to the question of, What exactly is this secret process of overcoming guilt and shame?
For some people it can be as easy as recognizing that the feelings exist. We start by acknowledging to yourself, I am feeling guilt, or, I am feeling shame.
The key to this process is to give yourself the permission to FEEL the feelings without harboring any Judgement of yourself for having these feelings.
It is absolutely necessary to let go of any feelings similar to, I am wrong for feeling guilt. Or, It is wrong for me to feel shame. If you find yourself engaging in these feelings and you find it difficult to let go of the judgement, then we acknowledge the feelings of judgement, without judgement.
Down the Rabbit Hole
If the process seems complicated, I promise you that it is not. It is a simple process but it can lead down a “rabbit hole” of twists and turns into your own personal past history. This history can often include what is known as our, “Cultural Conditioning”.
Our cultural conditioning is where we uncover the various beliefs and rules that our parents handed down to us. We also received conditioning from our extended family, our teachers, and even care takers.
Sometimes the Rabbit Hole of guilt and shame can run deep. But with gentle perseverance it is possible to release these feelings in order to freely pursue your desires without obstacles of our own creation.
If you would like help overcoming guilt and shame I invite you to consider working together. Reach out with a simple email, text or phone call. Find out how Soul Healing Therapy can be used to bring peace, joy and fulfillment into your life.