Embarrassment is a mental game existing because of our interpretations of societal standards. It is totally self-contrived, self-maintained, self-perpetuated. Nobody enjoys being embarrassed. So get over it.
I spent an afternoon in a workshop in India with close friends and sudo-strangers. We stared at each other, then moved to our right and stared at the next person. We crawled around on all fours; everyone pretended to be bunnies; we danced in circles with our eyes closed and hands out for a safety net.. We started out laughing self-consciously but couldn’t keep it up for the entire afternoon. Openness invaded the situation. Acting ridiculous for an entire afternoon forces you to take ridiculousness seriously-it is not so serious. Not serious enough to be self-conscious about. You just tried to sound like a bunny at me, how do you sound like a bunny, AT someone? I just ran into a wall because my eyes were closed, turned, and ran into you. Realize that everyone, society, is doing it. There is nothing left to warrant embarrassment.
Try this.
Find someone, anyone: friend, family, foe, stranger. Sit cross-legged and face each other. Sit close enough so that your knees touch. Look each other in the eyes. For 5 minutes.
5 minutes is not a long time. It is long enough. It is long enough to break down self-imposed barriers. It is enough time to dissect your feelings. You will laugh at first; you will feel uncomfortable. But those feelings last for seconds. Who is judging you? The person doing the exact same thing opposite you? You won’t spend 5 minutes wondering what that person is thinking about you. Self-consciousness evaporates. Realize that you are not the center of their universe, just your own. You choose to feel free and unconstrained in your world.
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