Today, an anonymous reader asks a question.
Dear Jeanne,
Can you speak to us of shame, how to lift the veil? I refer to that core experience of exposure, which leads the innocent self into such deep retreat, perhaps for a lifetime, where defenses are so deeply ingrained and automatic. How can we truly retire shame, and retrieve our innocence, in a ruthless world upheld by judgments?
Thank you.
Shame does come from outside influences, as you pose in your question, My Dear Reader. For the innocent one does not know shame as a vital aspect of the self, but has it imposed upon it, from the time of birth into that world, by the teachings of others far more experienced in the ways of the fervent and righteous ones.
Does the innocent child elect to feel shame or to bury its trauma under that veil? I do not believe that the truly innocent child has any idea that such an aspect of life exists until that veil is pulled over the eyes, and then the hidden quality is safe from all eyes, including the eyes of the self. The darkness that is attached to shame is rooted so deeply in the constructs of that world that many spend a lifetime unearthing the true self from beneath those strict codes of conduct that really have nothing to do with evolution.
I suggest a new perspective on life, and reasons for life upon that Earth, as the true means of lifting the veil of shame, and all other veils as well. The veils, if I may diverge for a moment, did not exist in your knowing, your innocence, until you entered life upon that Earth and came upon them because someone told you they were there. Veils of shame, of abandonment, of defeat on the road to growth do not exist except in your mind. Your everyday construct of reality was laid out for you step by step as you grew from a child to an adult.
But what young child knows of such things? The parents, the teachers, the religions, the governments, the commercial profiteers, and the fellow travelers you meet along the way, all present, and have presented to the child, the innocent pure you, all the veils you have encountered. If you had grown up with no veils though, what would you have learned? What would you have been presented with to aid you in your growth? Some other challenge would have been imposed upon you in order to allow for the opportunity to evolve.
So My Dearest Reader, your question of shame, and how to evolve from it, and retrieve your innocent self requires a total dismantling of the veils. As always, I suggest recapitulation of your own life, but I also suggest a total deconstructing of the things you have been taught by others that you know, within your center, are not truths that lead to evolutionary growth.
Go back to your firstborn innocence, your naked, pure, and truly whole self. In one sense, is a tiny baby unable to care for itself against the vagaries of life, unable to feed, or clothe, or act in any manner without help, yet is this baby also a being full of knowledge, of evolution, ready again to tackle the lessons of life, fully aware of its new place, its new beginning and its promise of growth. It throws itself, once again, into life, ready to take on the veils that will inevitably be imposed, yet mindful that, this time is there awareness to maintain as the journey is taken. It attempts to hold on to memories of what it knows, through those first years.
But, as all of you have experienced, is that a most difficult process, and few maintain their hold on such knowing. It sleeps, that knowing; gradually falling into a slumber, a knowing that lies in drowsy reverie for many years. Occasionally does it wake up, startled, and screams its knowingness in order to correct the direction or the path being taken. But, mostly it remains in the deeply buried state of darkness that most of you experience, until the time is right and ripe for it to re-emerge.
As the child self grows and is tended to, so does it absorb and clothe itself with the trappings of that world, that new reality it has entered. And it engages in all aspects of life, eager for the challenges of the veils described and taught by others. Its energetic truth, and the qualities of inner knowing, become but distant memory as life and ego grow together.
So to return to the veil of shame, it is but one imposed by others; yet does it serve a great purpose in life, as do all the veils of challenge, untruths though they may be. Find in your inner self your own veils of shame, and discover who put them there. Who imposed them? Who sewed them so tightly woven, and so tightly shut that no light of innocence could seep in and offer doubts about the darkness, depression, and despair that they presented? Did your innocent child self do such things?
On the other hand, did your own child self, in all innocence, give you the task that led to such shame? To that can I answer a mighty, YES! For that was your learning ground! Do you choose to learn only about the shame that was imposed upon you? Or do you choose to go deeper, behind the dark veil, and learn the truth of the innocent self, the reason for your process, and why you were given such a shame-bearing task in your innocence? Your innocent child was ready to take on the task, but your teachers were only your guides and your mentors, as they pulled down the veils, labeled darkly with the words of: SHAME! Shame on you! You should know better! You deserve punishment for your despicable acts, your bad behavior, and your lies and falsehoods!
Those dark veils do hide your innocence and your truths. They do keep you from your inner knowing and the releasing qualities that you do hold within. During your recapitulation must you go behind the veils, behind the judgments of others, behind the long held beliefs, and retire those blockages before you retire shame, or any other idea, whether self-imposed, or laid upon your by others and accepted as truth. What is the truth? That is the underlying question to ask in order to truly find your innocence, retrieve it, and bring it out into your new world that is free of veils, and blurry vision, and unclear ideas of the self. Your understanding of energy now may aid you in this process. For as an energetic being are you fully capable of attaining your truth, your innocence, and pushing aside all the veils, for you will see them as such now, and you will be eager to see what has been hidden from you all these years. Most likely, you will discover only what your innocent child self knew immediately, yet was not allowed to hold on to: that your experiences in life were just that, experiences! And how do you learn and grow? By having experiences, of course! And what are experiences? They are your lessons, taught by your greatest teachers and those who push you toward your evolutionary potential.
So, do you elect to take the path that leads you to those veils that have held you in blindness, and shame, and all the other ideas of the self? Do you elect to swipe them aside, and see what is hidden behind them? Your wholeness awaits! Retrieval of your innocence is waiting for you to return and discover that it has been growing and learning with you, at every step of your journey. Yet does it still remember the reason for this journey, holding onto the memories that you are an evolutionary being, and why you are taking this journey through life on this Earth yet again. It knows how to help you remove all the veils, and find your true potential, and your true place upon that Earth as an energy being, swiftly pushing aside the veils and going forward now, accepting life as it comes; flowing and growing, finding your truths at every twist and turn of that life you have chosen to take. Your innocence remembers! Go there in order to understand why you are here, and why you have been surrounded with such veils of lessons and disguise.
Do your recapitulation now with the knowing of your energy, of your self as an energy being, comprised of magnificent pure energy, and see what happens as you take on the dismantling of your life. You are energy! And every aspect of your life is comprised of energy. Find your true reality, and then proceed from there into your new life. It awaits!