EMBODIED: Resources Galore!

Sharing a whole list of articles written about embodied spirituality for you to explore! Check out these amazing resources…

Physical Movement in Jewis h Prayer article by Joshua Rabin
Embodied Prayer: Reclaiming the Age-Old Wisdom of the Body Through Movement and Dance by Kathryn Sparks
EmbodiedSpirituality, Now and Then by Jorge N. Ferrer
3-part series on the body in Quakerism by Madeline Schaefer: Silent Body: My Struggle with an Eating Disorder; Bringing Our Bodies to the Light; A Truly Embodied Spirituality
What Does it Mean to Live a Fully Embodied Spiritual Life? by Jorge N. Ferrer
Embodied Spirituality by Dr. Joseph A. Kim
Yoga as a Creative Christian Practice by Jody Thomae

EMBODIED: Flowing Grace

I love this short and sweet video called Flowing Grace from Paul Denniston of Grief Yoga. Whether your holiday season is busy and chaotic or filled with the pain of loss and grief, take a moment to flow in grace…

Click here for a longer chair practice that combines movement, breath and sound to connect to love, peace and grace. It is a quiet, simple practice that focuses on letting go of the negative in order to be filled with peace and contentment. If you are struggling this holiday season, I recommend exploring more of Paul’s resources on his website or on Facebook. Continue reading

EMBODIED: Abide Christian Meditation

I’ve recently discovered the Abide app. You can listen to daily scripture meditations, as well as meditations geared towards anxiety, anger, addiction, depression, fear and grief. There are meditations on blessing and forgiveness and even ones to help you drift off to sleep. Moreover, many of these Bible-based meditations are very embodied in nature, encouraging body-oriented relaxation and simple breath prayers like….

Exhale chaos
Inhale peace

Exhale anger
Inhale love Continue reading

EMBODIED: Walking a Labyrinth

Sending you to two different articles on the embodied practice of walking a prayer labyrinth. The first is at Guideposts and includes four different ideas of ways to pray through the labyrinth. You can find that article here. The second is at Patheos and includes a short history on labyrinths, as well. Find the Patheos article by clicking here. Finally here’s a world-wide labyrinth locator to help find one near you. Continue reading

EMBODIED: Resting in the Midst

We all need times of rest and replenishment in order to live whole-hearted and fully-embodied lives. However, in our crazy, hectic, fast-paced society, it is really difficult to make time or space for rest. Even when we are utterly exhausted we keep pushing: one more task… one more errand… one more project… one more phone call… one more appointment… one more fill in the blank . Our bodies cry out to stop, to slow down, to breathe, and yet, we keep right on pushing through. And, worse, if something goes wrong (which *news flash* it’s bound to), it’s even more difficult to rest, because we are driven to fix things, to solve problems and to make them go away. Continue reading

EMBODIED: Beautiful Prayer for Healing

Join Morgan Day Cecil for a short embodied prayer inspired by Fr. Thomas Ryan, recorded at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia. The choir singing in the background is so BEaUtiful!

You can check out MORE EMBODIED SERIES posts here!

EMBODIED: Christ-Centered Breath Work

This edition of EMBODIED is a Christ-centered, breath-oriented, mindfulness practice. Although it was created specifically for those who have experienced trauma, you do NOT have to have experienced trauma to benefit from this quiet, Bible-based meditation. Truth is, we all have wounding, hurtful moments in our life, and we can all benefit from allowing God’s breath to breathe healing into every part of our being.

EMBODIED: Christian Meditative Prayer Beads

Mala prayer beads are very popular these days, not only among those who do yoga, but as a fashion trend. After I purchased my first mala, I began to research prayer beads and ropes from other religious traditions and eventually tore my mala apart to reconstruct it with Christian symbolism instead. Prayer beads or ropes are used across many spiritual traditions to help one pray. Traditional malas are used by Hindus and contain 108 beads. Rosaries are used within the Catholic tradition and contain 50 beads. Chotki are used within the Orthodox Christian tradition and contain 33, 50, 100, 150 or more prayer beads (or often knots instead of beads).

Selah prayer beads are my own original, Christ-centered design for contemplative prayer beads. The word Selah is taken from the Book of Psalms. Hebrew scholars believe it is a musical term indicating a place of pause, reflection or a place to take a breath. Selah prayer necklaces are constructed with 100 beads, 10 of which are called Selah beads. These beads are meant to serve as stopping points, places for you to pause and reflect as you pray your way around the circular design of the necklace.

EMBODIED: “Embodied Prayer”

If you are a Christian on a journey of embodiment or discovering what embodiment might mean for you, there’s a book I would consider a must-read. The book is Embodied Prayer: Towards Wholeness of Body, Mind, Soul by Celeste Snowber, PhD, and like a text book, I’d call this one required reading! I found this book many years ago and have read it several times. While Dr. Snowber is an academic and educator, she is also a dancer, and it is the dancer who leads the way in this beautiful work on embodiment and prayer. Continue reading

EMBODIED: Praying with Play-Dough

Hello Fellow Worshipers! Found this recipe for play-dough with essential oils at One Essential Community and thought I would share it with you. You can find full instructions with photos and essential oil blend ideas.

Playdough is a wonderful way to use the embodied sense of touch during prayer and meditation time. Add essential oils and we include the sense of smell. You can add the following scriptures to embody your prayer, meditation and Bible study time: Continue reading

EMBODIED: Worship Dance TV

Introducing Vibeke Kiiskila, founder of Unity Dance Center and host of Worship Dance TV. I had the wonderful pleasure of spending some time talking with her about my journey in worship dance, embodied prayer and creative ministry. You can listen into our conversation here:

EMBODIED: Go into nature…

Go into nature…

…and let it teach you.

Come forth into the light of things, let Nature be your teacher.
William Wordsworth

Believe one who knows: you will find something greater in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.
Saint Bernard de Clairvaux

Whenever I have found myself stuck in the ways I relate to things, I return to nature. It is my principal teacher, and I try to open my whole being to what it has to say.
Wynn Bullock

Kintsugi of the Soul, edition 11

“Your life’s not over…
it’s just that you have to live it a new way.”
~ TBI patient Joseph Maxim

Today’s edition of Kintsugi of the Soul is a story that is so inspiring… the power of creation… recreation… sport… finding your purpose beyond brokeness… and HOPE!!

“The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable.
A perpetual series of occasions for hope.”

Practicing the Presence of God through Creative Prayer Stations

“Practicing the Presence” was created for a Healing Care Ministries seminar called The Essentials. The essence of this seminar to help those in caregiving ministries understand how to position people for lasting, healing change, particularly through engaging the right hemisphere of the brain through creative spiritual practices. “Practicing the Presence” was done each morning in lieu of traditional worship. Each day is spent focusing on one member of the Trinity with the following themes: Creator God, Christ our Royal Redeemer, and Holy Spirit, Flame of Love.

Included here are resources, coloring pages, accompanying scriptures and photographs so you can recreate this for your own church or ministry. Hand-outs are provided and can be used with permission by leaving the website and copyright information intact at the bottom of each page. Coloring pages were created by Pauline Mae Blankenship (©2018) for “Practicing the Presence,” and if you have The Creator’s Healing Power—Restoring the Broken to Beautiful, you will recognize these coloring pages from the book. She has graciously offered them for our use, and you will find links within each section below.

Each day we started in silence, which was broken with Lectio Divina. Then participants were released to explore creative prayer stations. Every day, one station included a cross with artwork to create a space where folks could kneel and pray, and another included the coloring pages at two large tables with coloring supplies:

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #140 — Created to Create

Did you know you were created to create?

I’ve posted from The Anima Series before. Here’s another great video to encourage you on your creative path today!

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #126 — Creation Moment Minute

Can caterpillars remember? Find out in this Creation Moments Minute! I think you might be inspired by the answer!

“God provides all creatures with the abilities they need to live successful lives. To God, no creature is unimportant.”

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #76 — Planet Earth Film

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world. ~ Psalm 19:1-4

Grab your coffee and sit back. This Planet Earth film from director Robert Revol is 13 minutes long but as you watch, first, take a moment to consider how marvelously creative God is and second, remember you are made in his creative image! Take in God’s glorious splendor and be amazed!

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #7 — Moving Art Gratitude film

Love the work of cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg, using film to help people consider the world around them. According to the Moving Art website he is “the only filmmaker in the world who has been shooting time-lapse 24/7 continuously for well over three decade. Schwartzberg is a visual artist breaking barriers, connecting with audiences, and telling stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people and places.”

Fearfully & Wonderfully Weaved: A Meditation on Psalm 139

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me! (Psalm 139:13-18)

Psalm 139 is one of my favorite passages of scripture. It tells of his protective love and covering over us. It reminds us that no matter where we are in life, no matter how far we’ve gone astray, no matter what problems assail us, he is there, and he knows what we’re going through. In the midst of this, we find these verses that again hearken back to the creation narratives found in the very beginning of our Bible. However, instead of the potter and clay image found in Genesis 2, we find another artistic image, that of a textile weaver. This image is also used in Job 10:8–12 as we see God knitting together skin, flesh, bones, and sinew—God as the Master Weaver.

The “Nature” of God: A Meditation on Psalm 19 (Excerpt from “God’s Creative Gift”)

An excerpt from “God’s Creative Gift–Unleashing the Artist in You: Bible Studies to Nurture the Creative Spirit Within.”

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4a)

Photo by Gayle Martin

Nurturing the Creative Spirit Within

Inspiration, Resources & Bible studies from Jody Thomae

creation

EMBODIED: Resources Galore!

EMBODIED: Flowing Grace

EMBODIED: Abide Christian Meditation

EMBODIED: Walking a Labyrinth

EMBODIED: Resting in the Midst

EMBODIED: Beautiful Prayer for Healing

EMBODIED: Christ-Centered Breath Work

EMBODIED: Christian Meditative Prayer Beads

EMBODIED: “Embodied Prayer”

EMBODIED: Praying with Play-Dough

EMBODIED: Worship Dance TV

EMBODIED: Go into nature…

Go into nature…

…and let it teach you.

Kintsugi of the Soul, edition 11

Practicing the Presence of God through Creative Prayer Stations

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #140 — Created to Create

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #126 — Creation Moment Minute

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #76 — Planet Earth Film

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #7 — Moving Art Gratitude film

Fearfully & Wonderfully Weaved: A Meditation on Psalm 139

The “Nature” of God: A Meditation on Psalm 19 (Excerpt from “God’s Creative Gift”)

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Go into nature…

…and let it teach you.

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