Tag: spirituality

faith

The Interesting Part About Faith

by ErinLeave a Comment on The Interesting Part About Faith

Over the past couple weeks of venturing into this new agreement with OM Old Orchard, the new boutique yoga studio in Webster Groves, I have found myself learning about a knee jerk reaction that exists in me.

This knee jerk reaction wants to share context, explain a little bit, walk you through why it makes sense – why it works for you, what is in it for others, introduce you to the inspiration behind it, share. Share. Share.

This knee jerk reaction comes up in response to fear. Fear related to whether or not the investment of time and money will work. I think THIS is why I am noticing the reaction and rising above it, actually.

Because my investment of time and money is rooted in love, I actually have zero doubt this “will work”. Will it be exactly what I envision? Probably not, but that is why I am practicing visioning for the day. Keep the baseline close, learn in real time, iterate accordingly.

Most of my friends, family and students / yoga community know that the Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self control) are my guidepost for emotional navigation, interactions, meditations, etc. Even my book, Words that Rhyme and Lullabies, has a fruit of the Spirit that controlled each page. (I should share about that sometime….)

In my study of the Fruits of the Spirit through straight up referencing them in scripture, I will come across 1 Corinthians 13:13: “Abide in faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love”. That has been a bit of a study crux for me for awhile, because hope isn’t a Fruit of the Spirit. And faithfulness is, but Faith isn’t. Love is referenced in both.

My dad taught me the Spirit is active the moment you believe the Spirit is active. You always have the love you need, the peace you need, the patience you need – the moment you assume it. Love is warmth, connection, inclusion, trust.

When you learn what the soft animal of your body loves (RIP Mary Oliver), you do so because of the way what you love feels.

You feel connected, attracted, you include, you trust.

And this has to be why the greatest of Faith, Hope and Love is Love. Stick with me here…

Because if you are spending time energetically in your body and with the way your life feels in your body, then you are learning what you love, what love is, how love feels. When you have this imprint, you are now oriented. Energetically speaking, what you love guides your every action.

Is the love that orients you God’s love? Is it also safe for others? Is it also warm to others? Can others abide in it and thrive in the same love that orients you? Does everybody have a seat at your table of love? If so, your love is God’s love pouring out.

And when you’re acting and interacting from God’s love, you can have hope. Hope that the plans you commit to are not just the plans of your mind, but plans designed through co-creation with Siva (form) and Shakti (the formation) – Spirit energy – Truth of all Truth Energy. The success of your plans *big or small* can have hope like an anchor as they are inherently committed to divine will because they come from love. (Proverbs 16:3)

And we know “hope does not disappoint” because because BECAUSE “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5) FULL CIRCLE!

The Holy Spirit is the God in you. You are divine. Ong namo guru dev namo. (I honor the divine wisdom that exists, that exists in me)

Living true to your divine design, you act and interact from the place of love NOT just what comes out of you but what you give generously to yourself because you cannot believe that you are divine and truly embrace the Holy Spirit dwelling in you *without* recognition that your body is a temple. (1 Corinthians 16:19-20) Aaaaaand, how do we recognize our body as a temple?

We care for it. We spend time in it. We pay attention to what comes in through our eyes, our ears, as much as we pay attention to what comes in through our mouth, the air we breathe in, what we touch.

We notice what we love. What our bodies tell us to take in that make them feel safe. Supported.

And *that* is what gives us faith that moves mountains. Because the awareness and the freedom you start to feel through the practice of your yes and your no, your activation of Spirit and all of the fruits that come with it will shift your perceptions and calm your mind chatter (“citta” in yoga).

And the knee jerk reactions to fear become so easily recognizable because you know there is nothing to fear. Not even death. Because the power of Christ – the Holy Spirit – the divine co-creative ability will be so alive and so active and so powerful that to feel fear will only ground you in faith.

<deep breath in>

✌🏽

Words in Sentences

On Creative Commitment

by ErinLeave a Comment on On Creative Commitment

There have been a lot of sparks in my creative life – which seems promising and good. Yet, the way the landscape of my creative life looks has me curious for opportunity, wondering what is the right thing to spend my time on and curious – always – if “this is really going to work”.

I mentioned in a recent post about the comfort of talking about Spirit. Both @laughwithspirit and Fawn bring this comfortable reference to Spirit that serves my heart well – it feels like home right now more than any other word for God. But it is not complete. And I have been wrestling with that….

My friend Milta shared a post with me about the name of God, “Yahweh” and how the vowels were added for us to be able to pronounce however the name itself is “YH” and “WH”, which (get excited, yogis) are the sounds of breath… this idea of every inhale and exhale being the name of God is very powerful. And feeds what I teach in my Monday Night – prayer based yoga – where the sounds we make, as we exist as we move as we breathe – are the sounds from which the Spirit intercedes on our behalf. (Romans 8:26-27)

No more thinking about what to pray for, sigh – breathe – out from your shoulders and hips, etc.

This morning I started day three of a practice using graph paper to plot, note how I am doing in my healing journey and sit with the energy of the things before me: meetings with bookstores and arts organizations, serving my community, feeding my family, organizing big piles of shit somewhere, etc…

In this practice, I flip open scripture… First day was a fan favorite “Keep the heart with diligence” (Proverb 4:23), day two was a reminder that depression and anxiety settle in with an absence of the Spirit of God (thank you, 1 Samuel). Day two’s had me thinking – how do I nourish, invite, how do I charge and restore that spiritual alignment I long for – that feeling that makes me write? That makes me move?

How do I get back to times that have me soaking in hot water for 15 minutes to recharge my bones in between hosting family and leading workshops. I miss being used by God in that way, I guess.

Today’s practice flipped open to Haggai – never have read Haggai, tbh – and right away, I see this prophet as a prophet speaking to creatives, to the starving artists out there. The premise of the book is pretty simple: the temple was in ruins and the “Lord of hosts” (which translates as the Lord of angels, of stars – love it) is like “Hey, people, I see your houses look good and I hear you complaining that there is not more fruit in your life and let me just point out real quick that it’s because I don’t have a house and you aren’t giving me a place to dwell and so why don’t you go ahead and help a God out for a minute – build that temple – so that I can dwell and restore you.”

I sat in my bed with my graph paper, remembering my dad’s teaching to me of the Holy Spirit: the Holy Spirit is the God in you.

The Holy Spirit is the God in you.

Spirit – the Lord of Hosts – the breath of heaven – the patterns of nature – the stars and the sky, the oceans and the whales – exists with or without us. But believers in God, the believers in Spirit, we are the temples of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit exists because we do and bears the fruit of goodness, joy, love… of peace, patience and kindness… gentleness…. self control… faithfulness.

This practice in Haggai has me thinking about my own obedience in my creative life.

Today, I consider what needs to be built (written, drawn, etc) in commitment as a person within whom glory can dwell.

I intend on looking at my projects and really listening for the art that has been stirred… (“ur” in Hebrew… Haggai 1:14… as in how a eagle stirs up its nest or an instrument is stirred awake when it is tuned.)

I share all this for my artists out there – for my creatives out there – who may be feeling the starving artist part of life.

Or for the healers, lovers, mothers and friends out there – who may be feeling empty regardless of all the cups they fill in front of them.

I ask us – are we caring for our bodies / our personhood as a temple the Lord of the stars is eager to call home?

Are the molds we make in our art, in our relationships – are they made in a commitment for the Spirit to move within and throughout?

It is obvious, at least to me, the world needs us to be committed to seeing our making in this way.

For me, this surely has been a helpful reflection – nourishing and encouraging.

Happy Friday. (Happy Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio if that is your thing. )

<inahle> YH

<exhale> WH

erin

PS: None of this Biblical study could be done this fast and effectively without my Spirit Life Bible and I cannot stress enough, if you need a good Bible, this is one will be your jam – all of the content was written by leaders from all denominations.

From my fire last week, I burned the dozens of colorful flowers given to my daughter as I prayed for her on the day after her 18th birthday.
Words in Sentences

And then Spirit sent Fawn

by ErinLeave a Comment on And then Spirit sent Fawn

Back in March, when I was soaking in a hot tub in Palm Springs – I met LaRissa, a woman one month my senior (to the exact date, if I remember correctly) and we connected on all things spiritual. The desert mountains were snow capped, I was at ease – we ended up having a conversation not in the hot tub & over oat milk lattes before she left to go back to CO and it was for sure we were friends. Even now, knowing I want to give her a call today – I feel this complete recognition that she is meant to be a friend in this season of my life.

This season of my life…

I overwhelm myself sometimes with how much I have going at once. Constantly having to assess and say “is this aligned”, “is this life giving”, “does this feel energized and expansive”… Yet this season of my life is showing buds and starting to reveal what this next harvest of fruit might look like. That sentence reminds me of a project that came up for attention last night, a little draft I started, and the feeling of excitement I get when I want to share it with somebody – even if prematurely.

When I say “reminds me of a project that came up for attention”, I mean exactly that: I am laying in bed, I am attempting to sleep and then an idea comes up and I will just lay there and explore it in my mind. I will see it and watch it and (most importantly) feel it and some to dos, some action items, will trickle out of the time. Sometimes getting me out of bed completely…

Yesterday I had coffee with Fawn, a woman about 20 years my senior which is always a nice welcome reprieve for my psyche. I love to hear myself talk but when I am with women my senior, the fact they have a decade or more on me prompts me to listen – intently – for clues, or “crumbs” as Fawn calls them.

Fawn and I have an interesting history that starts with me picking up a black London Fog trench coat at a swap night about 6 years ago. OH MAN was I excited for the find. It was one of her contributions to the swap. That’s when I first learned her name. Since then, we cross paths at the studio and – in Feb – we got to talking about hospice. You may remember I wrote a life speech / eulogy for my friend Nancy last year and – ever since then – I have been longing to do more of those. The proximity to a person’s worldview in the later stages of their life is – again as Fawn would call it – a blessing. A humbling, fascinating blessing…

She would know because she was in fact a hospice nurse for 28 years and has written a collection of her stories. We agreed to exchange books and I took hers with me to Palm Springs. I was reading it when I met LaRissa…

Total transparency: the role of self publishing in regards to creating and marketing – the bones and the business – at the same time is challenging for me. I want help but I don’t know how to ask for it that well. I get things to states of completion and then it’s like “ok what can I communicate consistently” and before I know it, the book has been on Amazon for three months and I still don’t have a single review. Because, again, I haven’t asked. My friend Dana reminded me at lunch a month ago “your friends want to help you – we want to support you” and even now hearing that in her voice brings tears up because – well – it’s time for me to figure out how to ask for that if I want to continue pursuing life as a full time artist.

Back to Fawn. So – that whole which project wakes me up thing evolved over coffee with Fawn who, in her fluid centered sense asked me, “So when Spirit tells you what to work on…”

So when Spirit…

Spirit. :)

(Side note, @laughwithspirit is my Colorado hot tub friend’s IG handle…. and here is her website)

In my therapy these past couple of weeks, I have had major breakthroughs in regards to an understanding of capital S Self and how operating from courage, confidence and creativity isn’t a request you have to make and wait for that place to arrive – it’s you. All the time. Who you are. I told Fawn the fact I am relearning a lot of this sometimes makes me feel like what am I doing teaching yoga and she reminded me something along the lines of “yes – but to be a teacher don’t you have to be a student”. Oh gosh. The way Spirit works…

Fawn’s question reminded me that I get to partner with Spirit, not just sit around and wait. That Spirit – the Spirit that wrote A Christmas Tree Story from beginning to end – the Spirit that created the hippo and the vines of Words that Rhyme and Lullabies – the Spirit that stirs the magic of the Apple Tree… I get to connect each morning rather than wait around each night.

I get to inquire: what do we do today, Spirit? And feel the energy of that blessing.

So, today we are designing the Facebook cover event for a reading next Saturday.

We are going to start on animation for three digital shorts that have audio… ya know – audio I recorded professionally in Palm Springs.

Because I am an artist.

I am an artist.

I am an artist.

And God help me Lord, I am getting things done.

PS Here is Fawn’s book! (Through my affiliate link, of course)