“If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm.”

“Feelings and stories of unworthiness and shame are perhaps the most binding element in the trance of fear. When we believe something is wrong with us, we are convinced we are in danger. Our shame fuels ongoing fear, and our fear fuels more shame. The very fact that we feel fear seems to prove that we are broken or incapable. When we are trapped in trance, being fearful and bad seem to define who we are. The anxiety in our body, the stories, the ways we make excuses, withdraw or lash out—these become to us the self that is most real.”

“If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive.”

“Our work is not to become a better person, but to become present to the perfection we already are.”

“The more perfect our means of direct experience, the more easily we are caught by the dangerous illusion that perceiving is tantamount to knowing and understanding.”

“We only get to be one person; we don't even get to choose that person. By the time we get ahold of ourselves, we are pieces already in play.”