Guilt, Shame, And Remorse: The Positive Possibility

Guilt, Shame, And Remorse --
Positive Possibilities for the Future

This is the critical difference between guilt and shame -- which belong to the old tradition of morals and rules -- and remorse and compassion -- which are expressions of the new paradigm of ethics. This is the rising of Christ Consciousness within all of us, that is, self-realisation, or higher awareness, or deeper spirituality.

Many believe it is the key to responsible behaviour, but guilt is a destructive energy. Along with its cousin, shame, it has worked for centuries to repress the Divine in the world and hold people under others' control.

At this time of 2012 Transition, it is most vital to leave behind the death-dealing patterns and find new ways of being - new possibilities that are aligned with life-giving divinity.

If you believe guilt and shame have any good purpose, or if you want to find a beneficial alternative, please read this!

The life you save may not just be your own!

The Lowest Energy Calibrations

Dr. David Hawkins, psychiatrist and spiritual teacher, found a way to determine the energy level, or vibration, of different emotional states. In his ground-breaking book, Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, he put them all together in what he called a Map of Consciousness.

What the Map of Consciousness shows is exactly how different emotions impact us on an energy level ... and of course how they impact the world as well.

The higher the emotion calibrates, the more positive and life-giving it is.

The lowest level energies — just barely above death — are shame and guilt.

NOTE: A laminated version of the full Map of Consciousness can be purchased at Veritas.

WITCH TIP: To understand the Map of Consciousness in its full context, it’s important to read Dr. Hawkins’ book, Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior

(See the book review.)

The level of 500, where one experiences real LOVE, is the beginning of what is really life-affirming energy. Before that level, even the more positive emotions depress the Earth's energy field somewhat.

Another way of saying that is... all the emotions below 500 actually make you weaker, even though in the moment some of them may seem like strength.

As you can see on the chart,* there are no lower energy states than guilt and shame! According to Dr. Hawkins, shame is merely one step above death.

And it's worse than it looks, because the scale is logarithmic. That means that each point is 10 times more (or less) than the point before.

Guilt calibrates at 10³, and shame at 10². That is a vibration 10,000,000,000 times lower.

Now compare that to Love, which calibrates at 500, or 10⁵.

That's a lot of zeros, an unimaginable amount of vibrational change, between the two states!

These massively low energy levels burden and bind you, and wreak havoc in Earth's energy field. Then you teach them to your children, your friends, and everyone you come in contact with! 😳

* Sorry i can't show you the chart anymore:
they called it a copyright infringement even though
it was linking to their sales page. 😕

The Positive Alternative

Our culture believes that guilt is a good thing, and that even shame can be beneficial. This is only because our awareness of higher states is so limited that, as a culture, we can't imagine a positive alternative.

Of course, there is one!

In order to get clear about these choices, let's make sure we understand exactly what we mean by these terms

The Definition Of Guilt

Guilt starts with an action, a mistake or wrong you do. But it then implies that you are a bad person for making that mistake (shaming). It doesn't leave room to grow or to be loved.

We usually think of it as an emotion, but it's not. There IS an emotion that happens when you've done something you think was wrong. You feel it, because you've betrayed your ethics. So far, it's just a warning signal, like all emotions.

But guilt is what you tell yourself about that emotion and your actions.

"I shouldn't have...", "That was a terrible thing to do...", etc.

Guilt is unproductive and deadly because you stay stuck there, in that negative emotion and self-berating story. You continue to feel bad, and feel bad, and feel bad... hypnotising yourself into believing that you are bad, and pumping out those negative energies into the world at large at the same time.

This is extremely negative, even more so than anger.

It's a form of self-abuse. You may think that you deserve to feel terrible, because of what you've done. Guilt, then, is nothing but a means of self-punishment.

But just as prisons don't rehabilitate people who've broken laws, guilt doesn't do anything to make you a better person. It doesn't help you. In fact, it harms you.

. . . And it harms your family and loved ones.

. . . And it harms the Earth.

And it degrades in time to an even lower energy state: Shame.

The Definition Of Shame

By contrast, shame doesn't need to involve an action or mistake.

Shame is the feeling and subconscious belief that deep down inside you are worthless, bad, unloveable, and/or flawed.

Shame can't distinguish between making a mistake (being human) and being bad (being faulty).

By "bad," imagine the feeling of disparagement, terror, and wild grief of an infant being screamed at because it unknowingly made a mess. This is the root of shame -- as vulnerable, trusting children we have been deprecated as unworthy and unloveable when we've made mistakes... or even done what children can't help but do.

Instead of teaching us how to avoid future mistakes, we've been convinced that we are awful. This was a method of parenting that believed that shame was necessary, in order to keep children under control and behaving "properly."

We then spend the rest of our lives trying to hide from the feeling that, deep down, we really are awful people.

This is the foundation of most of the depression, anger, hatred, and violence in the world today.

Shame Loves Guilt -- But It Doesn't Love You

Guilt and shame go together like peas and pod.

People with lots of shame hang onto guilt, because it keeps them helplessly unworthy, defining them by their mistakes and failings.

Are you one of them? How often do you indulge in this self-abuse, beating yourself up with your words or inner voice?

I invite you -- I plead with you! -- do not keep repeating the mistakes and abuses of your early caregivers and peers! You can treat yourself with more kindness and respect.

You deserve to be treated with kindness and respect!

And I can say that with complete confidence, even not knowing you personally, because there is not one being alive who does not deserve kindness and respect. You know that's true. Isn't it time to start giving it to yourself, then?

The Positive Alternative: Remorse

Although the words are often used interchangeably, remorse is nothing like guilt or shame.

Remorse is the feeling you get when you've let yourself down, by hurting someone else or any other action you aren't happy about.

But whereas guilt leaves you stuck in those very unpleasant emotions, and shame insists that you don't deserve to feel any better, remorse recognises the emotions and then takes them somewhere productive.

Find out how in this article on the process of remorse.

With Brightest Blessings,

erin Dragonsong

Remorse: A Process for Healing

Guilt, Shame, And Remorse -- Positive Possibilities for the Future