Talking Circle: From Shame to Belonging

### Healthy Shame, Self-Worth & Returning to Connection

📍 Pyle Adult Recreation Center – Tempe, AZ
🗓️ Wednesday, July 15 | 6:00–7:30 PM

Few emotions are as misunderstood as shame. For many, shame is experienced as a painful sense of not being enough, being flawed, or feeling disconnected from others. Yet not all shame is the same. Some forms of shame isolate and diminish us, while others can serve as a healthy guide toward accountability, humility, and repair.

In this Talking Circle, we explore the difference between healthy shame and toxic shame through both psychological and Indigenous-informed perspectives. We will reflect on how shame develops, how it impacts our sense of self, and how healing often begins through belonging, connection, and compassionate self-awareness.

We will also consider how non-ordinary states of consciousness can illuminate hidden patterns of shame, self-judgment, and disconnection, while offering opportunities for forgiveness, self-compassion, and renewed connection to self and community.
✨ In this circle, we’ll explore:

• The difference between healthy shame, toxic shame, and guilt
• How shame shapes identity, relationships, and self-worth
• Accountability versus self-condemnation
• The role of belonging in healing shame
• How non-ordinary states can reveal and transform hidden wounds
• Returning to self-compassion, connection, and community

From an Indigenous perspective, healing does not happen in isolation. We heal through relationship, reciprocity, and remembering that we belong—to ourselves, to one another, and to something larger than ourselves.
This gathering offers a gentle and supportive space to explore one of the most universal human experiences with curiosity, compassion, and courage.

Donation-based. All are welcome.

Come sit with us as we explore the journey from shame to belonging—remembering that healing begins where connection is restored. 🌿