Course:
SHIFT Meditation Series
Start: 00:00
Shame is a heavy silence. It tells us we are wrong for being who we are. It hides in shadows, in secrecy, in silence.
But today, we meet it with something stronger than shame: Stillness. Presence. Compassion.
This is not a space to fix yourself. This is a space to sit with yourself.
Find a position that feels grounded. Let your body be supported. Let your breath move gently. If it feels okay, close your eyes. Let this be your safe place to land. Take a slow breath in… and exhale softly out. You’re allowed to be here.
Let your breath come in waves. Inhale… exhale… Let each breath be a message to your body: “You’re not in trouble.” “You don’t have to hide.”
Now begin a calming rhythm:
Inhale for 3…
Exhale for 5…
Inhale… 2… 3…
Exhale… 2… 3… 4… 5…
Feel the nervous system begin to settle. Feel the heart begin to soften.
Inhale… I am allowed to feel.
Exhale… I am allowed to stay.
Now, bring to mind a recent moment when shame showed up. Maybe it was quiet – a glance, a memory, a thought. Maybe it was loud – something spoken or left unsaid. Whatever it was… don’t relive it. Just name it.
“This is shame.”
“I feel it here.”
Place your hand wherever it lives in your body.
You do not need to reject or resist it.
Ask inwardly:
What was I afraid this said about me?
Whose voice am I still carrying?
And then breathe with that. Let shame be held – gently, patiently, without judgment.
Now imagine yourself by a still lake. The surface is smooth – untouched by wind or ripple. The air is quiet.
This lake does not judge. It reflects. It holds.
Sit beside it. Feel its silence. Let the shame you carry be spoken into the stillness.
Not to be erased… but to be witnessed.
Imagine the lake receiving it. Without flinching. Without turning away. It remains still. You remain worthy.
Inhale… I am seen.
Exhale… I am still.
Inhale… Even with shame…
Exhale… I am enough.
Let that truth echo through the stillness.
Now, speak softly to yourself:
I am not my worst moment.
I am not the voice of shame.
I am not broken, I am becoming.
I am learning to love the parts I used to silence.
I am whole, even here.
Let each word fall into the stillness like a pebble in water. Let the ripples move through you.
This is what healing can look like. Not a roar. But a soft breath. A still lake. A self not turned away.
Begin to return gently to the room around you. Wiggle your fingers. Move your shoulders. Let your breath expand.
And before you open your eyes, say inwardly:
Shame does not define me.
Stillness is my home.
I am safe to be with myself.
When you’re ready, open your eyes. Let the quiet come with you. Let it remind you: you never needed to earn your worth.
