This is a fabulous conversation on what fundamentalism is, what trauma is, and how our nervous system and community context influence our healing process. I highly highly recommend a listen.
Fr. Stephen on Shame
Got to see Fr. Stephen Freeman in Kemp, TX last Saturday
Gabor Maté on Parenting
It’s always good to be reminded what our foundation needs to be.
The Science Delusion
Remind me to show this to my children when they are in high school science. Rupert Sheldrake applying the scientific process to the modern religion of science itself, to demonstrate how many assumptions it’s based on that are beliefs, not facts. Well worth the listen to anyone who is alive in the 19th century or later. If you’re not alive during that time period this might not interest you.
Author of the best-selling Science Delusion; proponent of morphic resonance; banned by TED. Rupert Sheldrake has been dubbed the most controversial scientist on Earth. His best-selling book, The Science Delusion, tackles what he calls the dogmas within conventional science which can blind us to deeper discoveries about the way the world works.
Speaking Words of Comfort to My Inner Screaming Child
"I also identified this deep voice as primarily a matter of shame. It is a wound, an injury to the soul and body that feels like abandonment, alienation and pain. In emotional terms, it tends to make us feel worthless. That, in turn, is frequently expressed in anxiety, anger or sadness. This noise can run for days on end, depending on circumstances. …
"Attention does not ignore or run away (this is likely only to increase the volume). Instead, attention “bears a little shame.” And sitting patiently with the brokenness we say to God, “Comfort me, comfort me.” This is the sound of the mother who draws the disquieted child back to her breast. She doesn’t judge. She doesn’t rebuke. She quiets the child by herself being its comfort, its assurance, the affirmation that all is well.
"'It’s ok. All is well. You are not alone. You are not abandoned. All is well,' and I quieted my soul. …
"Anger is useless against shame. The dark thoughts are the sound of Adam talking to himself in the bushes. God comes to comfort him. 'Where are you?'
"'Here I am. Comfort me.'"
I Turn My Face Away
"The naked truth of ourselves is generally experienced in a shameful manner. That is to say that we feel exposed, vulnerable and in danger when various aspects of that truth are seen by others. And so, we cover up."
Shame, Vulnerability, Healing
Quoted from Fr. Stephen Freeman
"Shame is the natural response to broken communion. [Kaufman, The Psychology of Shame, 1996, pp. 32-33] The relationship of communion with others is the very essence of safety and comfort. Its most primal expression is the bond between mother and nursing infant. Face-to-face, the child is held and nurtured. There the child is comforted and protected. Every later experience of union draws on this primal experience.
"The first instinct of shame is to look down, to turn the face away and hide. Blood rushes to the face (it “burns with shame”). Shame is the very sacrament of broken communion, the most proper and natural expression of sin. When Christ enters our shame (and bears it), it is as though God Himself stands before us, takes our face in His hands, and turns our eyes back to Him. […]
"In the Ladder of Divine Ascent we hear: “Shame can only be healed by shame.” As difficult as this is for us, it is the place of atonement and exchange that Christ has set. I have been learning recently, however, that to speak of “bearing a little shame” (in the words of the Elder Sophrony) is overwhelming to some. Popular shame researcher and author, Brené Brown, uses the term “vulnerability” when she speaks of confronting and healing shame. Vulnerability, at its core, is nothing other than “bearing a little shame.” It is the willingness to be real, to be authentic with the risk that it entails. This is on the psychological level. There is a deeper level, though we cannot really go there without enduring the psychological first.
"God give us grace to be vulnerable in His presence, vulnerable enough to discover our true selves."
Read the whole post here.
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