Most of us would do almost anything to avoid feeling shame, an emotion that creates a feeling that we are fundamentally flawed. Shame is a self conscious emotion – one connected to how we view ourselves through the eyes of others. Shame has an evolutionary purpose for sustaining social norms and can be seen in its most contemporary manifestations through “cancel culture.” Our other “self conscious” emotions contempt, disgust, and guilt — perpetuate the judgement and “othering” polarizing us from others and degrades our ability to engage with our full hearts of empathy.
In order to transform our shame we must see it closely and hold it with great care. Ven. Chogkyi and Dr. Eve Ekman will unpack the scientific understanding of shame and consider its cognitive, emotional and somatic impact on our lived daily experiences. They will consider: is shame to be avoided at all costs? Is there any purpose to these emotions, do these emotions have any kind of a message for us? How can we learn to manage these emotions mindfully and with compassion?
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Join Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi as she explores shame with Dr. Eve Ekman, a foremost emotions researcher. Dr. Ekman is the director of Cultivating Emotional Balance and has been exploring burnout, shame and other emotions in her teaching and research.
This episode was recorded during ‘Healing the Body, Healing the Mind’, a weekend of workshops and talks organised by Science & Wisdom LIVE in collaboration with Jamyang London Buddhist Centre and Land of Medicine Buddha.
