Breaking Free from Shame and Judgment
Shame and judgment keep us disconnected from our true selves and each other. It can feel hard not to use power this way when we’re afraid or feel less than, turning it against ourselves and each other. But understanding the wounds that drive it and how to heal them is what shamanic healing helps us do.
In Daring Greatly, Brené Brown defines shame as “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging."
From a shamanic perspective, shame is indeed a feeling, fed by an experience or imprint. But it’s not just an emotion—it’s an energetic that distorts our relationship with ourselves and keeps us trapped in cycles of self-sabotage. Judgment, both from ourselves and others, acts as a binding force that reinforces this shame and makes it difficult to fully step into our own power. Judging and shaming others may give us the illusion of superiority and safety, but in reality, it’s just inviting us to see our own wounds.
The truth is that shame is a product of wound, not an identity. And wounds can be healed.
Healing Shame at the Energetic and Mythic
Shame and judgment create energetic imprints in our luminous energy field, shaping our perception of reality and keeping us bound to past wounds. As shaman, we learn that these imprints are formed through trauma, societal and cultural conditioning, and personal experiences. Imprints can hold the energetic residue of shame, driving us to recreate experiences that ensure we relive cycles of self-judgment and unworthiness. Wanting to feel loved and worthy are universal to humanity, but we need to uncover how we can love and belong to ourselves first. That journey requires the courage to bring things out of shadow so we can understand our story and write a new one.
The Mythic Map is that story, a guide that helps us navigate our purpose, healing, and transformation. When we step into the mythic level of awareness, the level of the soul, we stop seeing ourselves as victims of circumstance and start recognizing ourselves as the architect who is capable of rewriting old narratives and fulfilling our soul’s destiny. Rather than being trapped by shame, we can choose a different story and see our experiences not as failures but as opportunities for growth and transformation. Energy medicine helps us heal our imprints and Mythic Map through practices like soul retrieval, restoring our connection to our true selves.
Shame and Chakras
In shamanic energy healing, chakras are an important diagnostic tool. Shame often settles in the third chakra, the solar plexus, where our sense of personal power, self-esteem and free will resides. When shame takes hold, this energy center becomes blocked, making us feel powerless, less confident and in conflict with ourselves. But shame isn’t exclusive to our third chakra. The sacral or second chakra governs our sexuality, emotions, creativity, and pleasure. Emotional abuse, neglect, and sexual trauma are all wounds that can hold shame and block the sacral chakra, hindering our ability to express our feelings, our sexuality, and our creativity. And of course all of this is deeply connected to our own power and our ability to access it and use it properly. When shame comes forward, notice where you feel it and what that chakra is all about. You will learn a lot about your imprint and how to heal it
Shame and Soul Retrieval
Shame tells us a story that we are unlovable and unworthy, that we are bad. Holding this story can cause soul loss and a host of imbalances, including illness, depression and insecurity. Judgment—whether from society, family, or even ourselves—feeds this wound. It reinforces the idea that we must hide, suppress, or abandon parts of who we are to be worthy of love and acceptance. This is why shame thrives in silence and secrecy—it isolates us, keeping us from seeking the healing and connection we need.
Soul retrieval takes place in non-linear time and enables us to recover a lost soul part, heal the events of the past, and change the story that we hold. When I bring a soul part back for a client, it’s such a powerful thing to watch the person immediately feel that part of them return. They gain access to that fully healed part of themselves and can begin to shed shame and see themselves as a beautiful soul who is worthy and loved. The client also must meet the conditions of the soul part to stay, which sometimes includes saying no to the old story of shame. So, put another way, healing shame is not about fixing something broken or wrong, but about remembering and returning to the wholeness that has always been within us.
7 Shamanic Practices to Shed Shame and Reclaim your Power
When we share our shame in safe, sacred spaces, we take away its power. This is why session work is so important - it’s a safe, sacred, judgement-free space. When we have a Victim imprint and we’re actively working on it, it’s important to choose the people we share this part of ourselves with carefully because the last thing we want is to re-victimize ourselves. With that awareness, here are some practices to help you work with and release shame and free yourself from judgment:
Find a trusted practitioner to work with so that shame can be spoken out loud and worked on in a sacred way.
Use a sandpainting to release the shame and shift it at the Mhythic. (Ask me how to do this!)
Journal about the first time you felt judged or ashamed and rewrite the story from the Mythic and from a place of compassion. Write a new story for yourself.
Use fire ceremony to release and transform shame —open sacred space, write your wounding and shame on a small piece of paper or blow it into a small stick or toothpick, then burn it with intention. (Ask me more about this if you need guidance!)
Close your eyes, take deep breaths, and ask yourself the questions below. Journal or blow the energy afterwards into stones and place them on the earth outside.
Where did this shame come from?
Whose voice am I hearing when I feel this shame?
What part of me did I abandon because of shame?
What would it feel like to welcome that part of me back
What would my life look like if I no longer carried this shame?
Fire is the element of the third chakra. Imagine a golden fiery yellow light filling your third chakra, the solar plexus, reclaiming your assertiveness and self-worth. Ignite your power and self-esteem by taking action. This chakra is “I can…”
Water is the element of the second chakra - take a salt bath and clear the second chakra, pulling any shame and old energy into the water; say, “I release myself from shame. I am free, whole, and worthy.” You can also use movement to flow like water, perhaps with music that feels pleasurable and supportive of your emotions, creativity, sensuality and joy. This chakra is “I feel…”