In-person or Online –
Cambridge Insight Meditation Center
331 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” – William James
All humans can experience shame – including the most practiced meditators and meditation teachers. It can happen when we’re entirely innocent of wrongdoing, as well as when we make a mistake. Whenever we feel bad about ourselves, for whatever reason, there’s usually a touch of shame in it. It strikes at the core of our being and yet has nothing to do with who we really are.
The power of shame is largely an illusion. As meditation teacher Tara Brach says, shame is a “trance of unworthiness” that gets its power from our instinctive avoidance of it. However, when we look at shame through the eyes of self-compassion, we discover something quite surprising – that shame is an innocent emotion arising from the universal wish to be loved. This insight opens the door to compassion and healing. Research shows that self-compassion is the opposite of shame. As self-compassion goes up, shame goes down.
In this benefit workshop, Chris Germer and Richa Gawande present the essence of a recently developed training program, Self-Compassion for Shame, specifically tailored to loosen the grip of shame in our lives. The workshop includes short talks, exercises, practices, and discussion, and participants will learn 5-6 simple tools to bring home to use in their daily life.
All are invited to attend this benefit with the awareness that shame can be a difficult human emotion – and self-compassion itself can be emotionally activating. The workshop may be emotionally challenging, so some familiarity with practicing self-compassion before joining this workshop will be helpful. In addition, there will be several mentors in attendance from among local Mindful Self Compassion teachers who can attend to the needs of the participants.