Hello! We hope you're having a restful and joy-filled summer. July is a great time for adventures with family and friends. Soak it up! It’s also ideal for experimenting with new, life-giving rhythms. With this in mind, we’re thrilled to offer three new embodied practices--for morning, midday, and evening--from our very own Rev Lisha Epperson.
Each 8-10 minute practice will help us engage that part of the day prayerfully, with our entire bodies, offering three overlapping gifts...
First, the gift of prayer. Prayer opens and reconnects us to our Source. Prayer brings our beloved but small story into the big Story of God’s work to heal us, our neighbors, and the entire world. Prayer anchors us in the deeper flow of the Spirit, reminding us that we are not alone--for it is "in God we live, move, and have our Being." Friends, we need to be people of prayer, especially in these tumultuous days.
Second, the gift of embodiment. Fr Michael Sparough often teaches that "human beings are not brains on a stick, but fully embodied images of our Creator." Unfortunately, Western Christianity often focuses on the thoughts in our head while ignoring the rest of us. Beliefs matter, of course, but they fully come to life when fleshed into hands and hearts and feet. Our bodies matter. And Lisha masterfully empowers us to offer our whole selves to God.
Finally, the gift of holy repetition. We don’t visit the gym one time and expect to be fully in shape, right? Instead, we submit to a wise pattern that--over time--forms a more healthy body. We are largely the sum of whatever we do over and over. Our souls are similar. As we practice placing ourselves in the flow of God's Grace, over and over, God forms more healthy and Christlike souls. It's all God's work, of course. But we have a crucial role to play when we show up, day after day.
Let’s begin with the first (of three) meditations below…
A couple practical words about engaging a new practice:
(1) The location is key. Find a space where you feel safe enough to close your eyes, exhale, and be led by the Spirit. It doesn't have to be a cathedral or anything particular, but pay attention to how you feel in that location before you begin the exercise. Space matters.
(2) Commit to do the practice multiple days in a row. Remember, very little in life is one-and-done! It might take a couple tries to move beyond "learning mode" and into restful, restorative space. Keep showing up! Let the fruit emerge over time.
(3) If you find it helpful, invite a family member or roommate to join you. There can be great solidarity in creating new rhythms with others.
Finally, if you haven't had a chance to meet Rev Lisha Epperson on retreat yet, let us offer a quick introduction. Lisha spent much of her life as a trained dancer, and was recently ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. The heart of her ministry--at St Peter's Chelsea and all around NYC--happens at the holy intersection of body and spirit. Lisha brilliantly teaches embodied practices (movement and faith-based mediation) to empower a life long practice of self-care and spiritual formation.
And of course, she is one of the guides this month in Philly! Please join us on retreat July 22-24, 2024.
May July be a month of deep prayer, joyful embodiment, and the healing power of guided spiritual practice. Many thanks to Lisha for leading us so well! Later this week we’ll share the Midday Practice.
Grace and peace,
Aaron and the PP&G Team