What Does it Mean to Engage an Embodied Spirituality?

Engaging an embodied spirituality isn’t about following rules or doctrines.

It’s about learning to fully experience and root ourselves in the inherent dignity of the world.

• To see the deep interconnectedness of life and to experience ourselves within it, not separate from it;

• to engage this interconnectedness (and the ways we attempt to ignore and separate ourselves from it) with our bodies and emotions, not just our intellects;

• to learn to trust our instincts and our body’s experiences of the world;

• to honor the inherent dignity within all people and things (including ourselves) with our presence, our capacity to hold space, and our commitment to healing.

In a society dedicated to never-ending production and practices of dualism, scarcity, and domination, working to have an embodied spirituality is countercultural.

It’s a way of saying:

• “I won’t perpetuate the dehumanization this system asks of me."

• "I will engage the world in a different way."

• "I will honor you in a different way."

• "I will see myself in a different way.”

And it doesn't matter if you use the word “spirituality” or not.

For many of us, that word has been tainted by our experiences with organized religion. If you are coming into contact with the inherent dignity within someone or something else (or yourself), call it what you need to call it in order to feel the preciousness of that moment.

Trust your experience to tell you what words you need.