I heard a spiritual teacher once say, imagine you had a megaphone blasting out every thought that entered your head while you walked down the street, and everyone was able to hear it.
Imagine our most shameful thoughts and behaviours where all out in the open, and there was no where to hide.
If we imagine ourselves in this position, by just imagining it we can conjure up all the unconscious shame that we carry. We may find a lot more than we expected! Total self honesty without a choice, we find ourselves staring directly at our demons.
This is extremely difficult for almost all of us. But, if we can imagine what it would be like, we can bring the unconscious shame to the surface. We can then bring attention into the sensation. And feel what it would be like to be completely open, with the risk of being judged, disliked, humiliated, abandoned, and feel our resistance to being a true expression of ourselves.
The more we can bring about this raw, open, naked feeling of not being able to hide anywhere, the more we can be open to feeling it, to letting it break us open, the more we open ourselves up to authenticity.
Start by imagining, imagine all the walls are gone and your out in the open, everyone can see your behaviour, what your thinking, imagine your deepest darkest stuff is here in the room for everyone to see.
Notice the way your body reacts to this and wants to shut down, wants to fight against it, feel that, bring attention into the contraction. Breath.
The more we do this, the more we open, little by little we process the shame thats kept us trapped for generations, less and less we feel the need to hide from others, less and less we feel the need to hide from ourselves, and the more we come back together.
Shame has kept us trapped, denying parts of ourselves that we don't like. But these parts of us need liberation. They need to be brought to the surface. Generation after generation we have hidden these parts from each other and ourselves, keeping them unconscious. But its time Now, to stop hiding.
Peace,
Matt Nettleton
Www.mattnettleton.com