SERMON: Shame - The Heart and Soul of Control

An experience of shame makes us lower our heads, hearts pounding, eyes directed to the floor, while we imagine we might be anywhere else.  We sometimes use shame  to master our behavior.  Culture and religion use shame to master us.  Politics is an ongoing battle over who gets to say what is or is not shameful.  In numerous circumstances death has been preferable to shame.  How does this powerful and often unnoticed force affect us?   
 
The Rev. Dr. Leona Stucky-Abbott has been a psychotherapist for more than thirty years.  She is a UU community minister in Santa Fe, a post-graduate teacher, clinical supervisor, and AAPC Diplomate.  She recently became an author when her unflinching memoir The Fog of Faith: Surviving My Impotent God was published.  Leona’s book received acclaim from MS Magazine, and is available on Amazon.  Click to listen.