like a child upon her mother's breast: embodied trust

One of the best insights into embodied trust comes from Wisdom-Teacher and
Episcopal priest, the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault. About this time last year, while in Montreal (where we're headed in two days) I participated in her Introduction to the Western Wisdom Tradition online study. I also spent time scouring her book, The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart. Without reservation I can affirm that this small book holds a panoply of vital truths about ripening into a heart-centered spirituality. 

One insight warrants additional comment. In a chapter exploring "freedom and surrender" she writes: "Where there's surrender, synchronicity tends to follow, which is one of the most delightful side effects of the surrender practice." Then she gives a gift that keeps on giving.

Although there are any number of spiritual practices both ancient and universal to bring a person to this state of permanent inner "yieldedness," the most direct and effective one I know is simply this: in any situation in life, confronted by an outer threat or opportunity, you can notice yourself responding inwardly in one of two ways. Either you will brace, harden, and resist; or, you will soften, open, and yield. If you go with the former gesture, you will be catapulted immediately into your smaller (ego-driven) self, with its animal instincts and survival responses. If you stay with the latter regardless of the outer conditions, you will remain in alignment with your innermost being, and through it, divine being can reach you. Spiritual practice at its no-frills simplest is a moment-by-moment learning not to do anything in a state of internal brace. Bracing is never worth the cost. (p. 75, Wisdom Way of Knowing)

Utilizing this practice has been the best way to incarnate a training regime for my flesh so that trusting God becomes embodied rather than abstract. It takes intentionality, of course, and awareness. But incrementally, along with other embodied practices, a shift from anxiety towards trust is ripening within. Not totally and not without confusion, but authentically and gracefully. As a TV commercial from my childhood suggested: "Try it, you'll like it!"