Shame need not be an enemy to conquer. In Reimagining Shame, David Whyte shows listeners how to harness this complex emotion as a tool for self-understanding. This program is read by the author.
Shame. The word itself is searing. It can evoke an almost visceral response in us, surfacing feelings of inadequacy, either consciously or unconsciously. It ranges from simply wishing we had done or said something differently, to that awful sense that something is wrong with us. But, what if shame is not an enemy to our happiness and contentment, but rather a doorway into the next stage of our existence and, ultimately, our emancipation?
Join much loved poet David Whyte as he guides us through a special audio journey drawn from his Three Sundays series. Here, Whyte invites us to recast shame and transform this orphaned layer of ourselves into an ally and gravitational force returning us to presence and wholeness, rather than a barrier to personal growth. As he reimagines his own experiences with shame, Whyte weaves his poems and prose throughout each lesson, painting an atmospheric portrait of his ancestral Irish homeland along the way.
The First Sunday explores our natural human instinct to run away from shame and the divide this creates between body and mind, until we learn to embrace it with compassion.
The Second Sunday follows shame inward and shows us how to reframe our vulnerabilities as a vehicle for discovering the wonder life has to show us.
The Third Sunday poses shame as an invitation to hide-to retreat into dormancy-which ultimately reveals the fertile ground from which we can grow and reach the light.
"Let your vulnerabilities walking on the cracked, sliding limestone be this time not a weakness," says Whyte, "but a faculty for what's about to happen." When we allow feelings of inferiority to rest inside us, they can then be felt, named, and understood, and begin to change into something else, something transformative.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press Essentials.
David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father's Yorkshire. He now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
The author of twelve books of poetry and five books of prose, David Whyte holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon and Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.
David's life as a poet has created a readership and listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership.
David is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many European, American and international companies. He is the recipient of two honorary degrees: from Neumann College in Pennsylvania and Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia.
In organizational settings, using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and invitation; qualities needed if we are to respond to today's call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. He brings a unique and important
contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change, particularly through his unique perspectives on Conversational Leadership.
