I’m a fan of David Hawkins. I read his book Power VS Force back in the 90’s. One thing I remember from it that struck me was his information about the Map of Consciousness and that the lowest thought we can have is one of shame.

Like most people, I had real issues with shame for a long time. In fact, when I would be feeling particularly clean and clear spiritually, that’s when I’d feel magnetically pulled to engage in some form of self-medication that would leave me feeling out of control and ashamed.

That was how I learned that self-sabotage is for the purpose of slowing our spiritual progress. It’s very effective. A good jolt of shame will shift everything in a New York minute.

Next thing we know we’re on the hamster wheel of thinking, “I’m never going to get ahead.”

I’ve watched people slow their spiritual growth down to a snail’s pace and keep it that way for year after year, and self-medication is a perfect tool for that.

Shame doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of judgment. People can’t shame us. They can try, but it doesn’t work unless we agree.

We shame ourselves to keep playing small and punish ourselves.

Then we can collapse into thoughts like, “spiritual growth works for other people, but not for me. No matter what I do, I just can’t make progress. I always stumble and fall.”

It’s our self-judgment that keeps us playing small.
As long as we’re confining ourselves with our judgments, we don’t have to take any risks.

It’s the illusion of safety.

The pain of playing small drives us to more self-medication.
Then we feel ashamed again.
And our feelings feel awful.
So we self-medicate to diminish our feelings and drown them out.
We numb ourselves.
And then we feel ashamed.
We judge ourselves as losers.
And then we we self-medicate to diminish our feelings and drown them out.
We numb ourselves.
And the hamster wheel becomes where we live.

Shame is the lowest vibrational thought or feeling we can have.

And yet, there IS a way out.
It requires a willingness to become aware and conscious of our choices.
It requires taking responsibility for our feelings.

This can seem like heavy lifting.
And yet, it is much easier than we think to get out from under the pain of our habits.

I never thought I could get out from under the repeating patterns of shame and self-medication.
I used to feel like I had hit a glass ceiling in my spiritual studies.

I was reading and studying and learning CONSTANTLY, but my spiritual growth felt slow. I decided that it had to be me. I just was especially not good enough to make REAL progress and REAL relief. I felt like a fake. And that would drive me to self-medication. It was such a demoralizing cycle.

And that’s why I talk about it.
It’s also why I’m offering classes and programs that shift our thinking and bring forth a new experience in life.

This is one of the biggest challenges that people have.
It causes illness and depression.
People feel hopeless because of it.

And all of that can dissolve.
It takes effort.
It’s not magic.
But it’s worth the effort, that’s for sure.

The key is Love.
Loving ourselves is how we heal.
It takes great self-compassion and that is best developed with company. We inspire each other.

Whatever you do, however you choose to heal and to rise-up, don’t allow yourself to wallow in self-pity, self-sabotage and self-medication. There IS a way UP and out.

I know that these tools for healing work, because I’m not ashamed anymore and I’m so grateful for that.

We put Spirit in charge, and Spirit won’t fail.

The only way we can fail is if we put our ego in charge.

When we do this healing work together, it can actually be fun. If you’d like to join me in my Challenge, jump right in! We will welcome you, we’re just getting started!

Living in shame is no way to live. We’re called to be of service. The greatest service we can offer is to show others how we are learning to heal. Our elder brother Jesus is always there one step ahead of us and so we’re never alone. We get one step ahead and we help the one right behind.

Every day I write about the healing practices that became my Masterful Living Program and helped me change my life for the better – it’s continued to this day. This is what I’d like to share with anyone who is willing to do the work with me.  Let’s work together and let go of the painful past.