If you prefer to listen to this article, you can do so by clicking the player below. Guilt is one of the most elusive, yet strongest and most impactful subconscious emotions we hold. It has the power to keep you down, hold you back, remind you constantly of worthlessness and shame, and literally drive you to a bottom where you are always trying to get up. So, I'm not going to go into the roots of guilt or shame here; what I am going to attempt to do is to shed some light on the way it is affecting you now, so you can identify it and know that it is not the true Source of who you really are. I will offer you support on the steps to transforming, and eventually releasing, all of your guilt. Tall order, I know. But it is inevitable that you will do so. It's not a matter of if; it is a matter of when. Some people can take lifetimes to release their guilt. Others are completely unaware of it! Others still continue to feed into it, adding more and more to the pile. I would say that you can count yourself lucky for even reading this, because awareness of anything is always the first key to being able to change it. I know guilt is not the brightest and lightest subject you may be interested in reading about. Let's face it: don't all of those posts about making your dreams come true, fulfilling your life purpose, making $10K a week, etc. sound much more exciting and powerful? Yes, they do. But here's the thing: you're not going to be able to achieve all of those results you desire, in anything, unless you tackle this annoying underlying problem--the guilt of unworthiness.
So let me tell you a little bit about this, as there may be some confusion around what guilt is.
As you can see above, the dictionary tells us that guilt is "the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime," or "a feeling of having done wrong or failed in an obligation." These are the dictionary's definitions, but I'm going to take this one step further and introduce you to the concept of guilt as it is discussed in A Course in Miracles. The Course makes the release of your guilt one of its primary objectives, so it is really clear about how pervasive it is throughout humanity, and how much control it has over our lives individually. It is one of the ego's most effective tools at keeping you down, and out of your greatness and unlimited potential. The dictionary definition about "feeling" hints at what the Course means, as it is beginning to refer to a sense, a state of being, a feeling or embodiment, which is all too often completely subconscious. The Course further identifies this as "the guilt of un-worthiness," one that we all carry around. You see, we don't realize how magnificent, powerful, and all-encompassing our true identity and Source of being truly is. It is just beyond a very thin veil. The Course continues further in informing us that our guilt is not even real. It is not the truth about ourselves. In fact, we are completely innocent, always have been, and always will be. There is no wrong-doing. There are only beliefs in weakness and in frailty, and by believing in those, we act in fear, and get off track from being in Love. We often realize we have gotten off track, and then come back again, into the Light. We can take ourselves off track as many times as we want, until finally we come back to the Light and are assured we can stay there if we'd like. This subject of guilt may be eluding you because it is underneath. It is not something up on the surface of who you are. You may be going around with lots of joy and happiness in your life, but when it comes time to stepping into your true power, you somehow freak out for reasons you don't understand, and then remain hidden, where you feel a lot safer. I mean, who would want to go and put themselves out there, at risk of getting attacked? In your life, if you're holding guilt from something in your past, or you were brought up in such a way as to not have much confidence in your true Self, remember that guilt has a way of being magnetic. Because of that magnetism, you will continue to attract people, events, and circumstances that are going to trigger that guilt, and make you feel even more guilty! Believe it or not, here is where the power is. This is when you get to see that guilt right up front and center in your life, and transmute it. This is a process, and patience is needed with yourself while you embark on this journey. Now that you know it is there, you can start having more awareness around when and how it is showing up, and then set to work in healing and releasing it. For more guidance on how to do just that, you can read or listen to my previous blog post, dated August 6, 2016. There are guidelines for the step-by-step there.
You may also be encouraged by another passage from the Course:
"You are here to create the good, the beautiful, and the Holy.
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