Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.
Philippians 4:8-23
Day 1: Connecting to the Divine
When I feel God’s love, I feel safe
Today, we ask God to be with us over the next five days – not just in some abstract way, but to be next to us, to speak to us – and clearly, in a way that we can understand. Let us feel God’s presence with us.
So often, we put our whole selves in boxes, and those boxes are too small. We feel small, and afraid of being bigger. What does it even mean, “to be bigger”? We don’t know, even that. But when we ask God for strength and courage, we can hear that the strength and courage God can offer us is Love. He invites us to accept that love, and it’s a choice, every time.
No matter how many loving friends or family members you have, you can still feel that you crave some connection. That’s an insatiable feeling until you turn to God. No person or group of people can satisfy that need, because it comes from within you. And the part of us that can receive God’s love – buried deep within us – can get frozen. We have to allow God’s love, over and over – invite it in – before we feel wrapped in that love. Something in us has to melt. Sit quietly, thinking of God’s love as true, noble, just, pure, lovely, praiseworthy – and relaxing your body so that that love could permeate it. Focus – put aside worries about the day and what you “should” be getting done. There’s no need to press. Just soften your body as much as you can, and invite love in. When I do this, the message I hear is “when you truly feel my love, you will feel safe.” What message will you hear today?
Invocation
Thank you, God, for being with me today. Thank you for making your presence known to me.
Meditation
Today, focus on your body. Let your attention wander over your feet, your calves, your knees, your thighs, your lower torso, your upper torso, your arms, your hands, your head. Just wander. Do you feel any areas that feel “frozen” or dead? Where you can’t feel anything? Pay special attention to areas where you may have had health problems. Offer yourself compassion for that frozen area, and then move the frozen area to your heart – your heart has so much compassion that it can take on all that stored up pain and grief and transmute it into love. If you lose focus, just bring your attention back to your body, and moving all the frozen areas up to your heart to be warmed by compassion. Even if you become aware of something that feels ugly or painful, or like ancient grief or anger or shame, just allow it to go to your heart to be warmed and offered love and compassion. Take your time, and remember this as you allow old pain to be warmed: you are a beloved child of a powerful and loving God. You are a beloved child of a powerful and loving God.
Dive deeper within yourself, deeper than any pain or stored grief. Dive deeper than shame. What do you find within the deepest reaches of yourself, the self that existed before the pain or shame or fear or anger? What do you find within the deepest reaches of yourself, the self that has continued to exist?
God is always with you. Always.
Optional Journal Practice
Here’s the thing about Divine love that’s different from human love. God knows and loves all of you. When we come honestly to the Divine, we do it for our own sake, not for God’s. Choose something about yourself you wish about yourself – that you were thinner or smarter or less envious or less materialistic. That you wish you didn’t procrastinate, ever. Bring it in a real way, in all it’s humanness. God already sees it, so you don’t have to hide any of it from him or from yourself. When you feel you have fully expressed the thing you wish you could change, ask God to bring his grace to this issue. Stop writing for a moment, and listen. When you feel inspired, begin writing again. What do you hear in what messages you have written? God’s voice is a loving voice, so if the message is not kind, compassionate, loving, it’s not God’s voice. Listen again. Do you hear a message of compassion? Do you feel a sense of peace? Is there any action you are inspired to take? Write it down. Finish with a moment of gratitude for yourself, for God, and for the presence of the divine in all aspects of your life.
Practice:
Personalize the mantra, “God is with me. God loves me and God is with me.” Your mantra may read “Infinite Intelligence is with me at all times” or “I allow the Higher Power to be with me in this moment.” Make it simple, and reach for it constantly during the day: when the phone rings, when you sit down to eat, when you wash your hands. A loving God is with you every moment of this day. Allow yourself to receive that gift.
Spirit Shred 