An Embodied Practice

Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” - Mark 1:10-11

This week we’ve been processing how God meets us in our bodies. Take a moment to think about Jesus’s baptism. Spend a moment in the scene with your sacred imagination… the water pouring off him, the dove descending, the voice booming like thunder… a truly embodied experience of blessing.

I (Bill) want to invite you into a sacred moment I practice each morning. I take those words from the God and turn them into a blessing to start my day, along with a gesture to help me feel it. I do three things.

1. I close my eyes so I can be present to the moment.

2. I say, “Beloved son, God’s delight” - since those words are what God says to me in Christ.

3. I make the sign of the cross - touching my forehead, my abdomen and both sides of my upper chest (the ‘beloved’ is the head, ‘son’ is the abdomen, ‘God’s’ is my left chest, and ‘delight’ is my right chest).

This is the very first thing I do when I wake up - my first breath of every day - so that I start off the day grounded in who God says I am.

Why don’t you try it now? You may need to go to a place where you’re not self-conscious. But give it a try and see how it feels.

You may not settle on this particular embodied practice, but I bet there are many that would be a good fit for you. So try some out!