Shame and guilt are closely associated for most of us. For me, shame is about who we are, guilt is about what we do.
If shame is about being less than or other than we ought to be, I’m not sure who gets to decide the ought. Usually what happens is that communities decide how everyone ought to be. Then as individuals we take that in. We end up feeling shame when we accept the judgments of others upon our being.
When shame masters us we cannot accept ourselves. Then we cannot feel truly accepted by others. Our relationships will always be lacking a wholeness on our part.
From the Ground of our Being ( I AM) we need to hear that we are accepted -now- completely. We are fully loved.
We can still change, but we do so because we want to change, and we want to change the world. Whenever we see others enslaved by shame we want to pass on the blessing acceptance -full and immediate.