Sunday June 29: Freedom Walk

To Practice

1. Practice the Welcoming Prayer with reactions and upsets. Be sure to start with the sensations in the body – the body lives in the present moment and never lies. Even if you forget to use this practice in the moment, if the sensations of the event are still with you later, practice the Welcoming Prayer.

2. Practice self-inquiry. After working with the sensations of triggers through the Welcoming Prayer, ponder and pray about these unconscious reactions. What are the drivers behind them? What desires are not being satisfied? Bring this awareness to prayer, perhaps at the end of your day. To what deepening of freedom are you being called to in this situation? Use journaling or art (such as music, dance/movement/breath or graphic expression) if you find this helpful.

3. Based on community requests, the Word of the Week team is experimenting with providing a recording of today’s reflection for those who prefer to listen rather than read (or who like to do both). You may listen to today’s recording here (about 12 minutes long). Comments and suggestions are welcome by replying to today’s email.

4. The Word of the Week program is a free spiritual enrichment program of 52 emails per year and 104 live Zoom prayer groups. If you find this program useful for your journey and have not yet donated, please consider donating here. Any amount is greatly appreciated.

If you would like to re-read the full email reflection, you may do so here: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/2025_word-of-the-week-june29

Recently I have realized and admitted that I am powerless over a situation with family members. Worry and concern think they are useful, but I’ve exposed the lie of this interiorly. Admitting I am powerless also includes admitting my stories about the situation have no truth and no effect. This has been my freedom walk this week. – Pamela

During the time that I could not access WoW, I was praying/reflecting/journaling my way through “Conscious aging” an S&P offering with Cynthis Bourgeault. I wonder if this might a bit of humor from The Holy Spirit. One thing that was a blessing was Cynthia’s light hearted humor; her lived wisdom, her curiosity; a person like me a well with a developed practice of inquiry ( and I am wondering a perhaps a person somewhat on the neurodivergent spectrum.)

There were 1350 signed up; a scattering in their 50’s, 60’s,  the bulk of us octogenarians/nonagenarians. Because I am a long time practitioner of the Welcome Prayer , my waking life/dreaming life/liminal became a non-boundary practice morphing into praying my life all the way back to my childhood,  even further, the past of ethnic group’s anxieties, determination and such.

This Sunday’s Word of the Week became a blended follow through where “Conscious Aging” left me the threshold of ” freedom”. The image this week, all the colors and shapes speak to me of “spacious-ness”. Praying the desire to let go of  power and control spoke to me of freedom as “spacious-ness”.

In the thread of the many  spontaneous sessions of the Welcome Prayer, I saw word’s like: rigidity,  my agency as in ” bending the world to me dreams and ends; my truth” etc., all the opposites to spacious-ness, named as they float way, swallowed up like the dying stars that get swept up into the big black holes of outer space. I feel ( a felt sense) so at home in the colors and shapes. That little cross shape vertical red color on the blue base/ horizontal black color  with the three faint curves: me and the Holy Spirit, sending out spacious-ness blessings; I embrace each of these moments, so I won’t forget. And so I send spacious-ness blessings to my of Word of Week  and ” Conscious Aging” companions.

 

 

 

 

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