The Well Update - The Well-Watered Soul

The Well Update Continued

Well-Watered Soul

This is one area I can say is great! I have such beautiful rhythms built into my life these days. 

I water my soul in the mornings through Lectio Divina in the Psalms and just praying through them and journaling about what phrases hit me. I decided to go through them in The Passion Translation, and that has been really delightful for me. 

Then I have been doing my rolling and stretching while I listen to Pray as You Go and/or Lectio365. I have a whole group of exercises that the doctor gave me on Monday and some more that Jennifer, PT gave me on Wednesday, so I have loved doing this rolling and stretching more meditatively.

 (Sometimes that leads me to a routine of Pilates right afterward or a long training walk for the Camino where I often intercede for those he lays on my heart - since I am not able to walk right now, it is more Pilates and core work.) 

Then it is spiritual direction sessions either with individuals or in small groups (which I find watering to my soul). I love preparing for these. 

I also work on curriculum development for different things. They are all related to spiritual direction and Enneagram with Ignatian spirituality. Even though I am "working," these are always nourishing for my soul too!

I take a midday break for Silent Prayer with either the nuns in East Mosely outside of London or with Jo and the OMS/Seed Community on Mondays and Wednesdays. Sometimes I lead these too. 

Afternoons vary considerably. I am having more and more sessions with directees in the afternoon (at some point, I need to limit the number, but people leave, and others come to fill their spots, so it works out to be about 2-3 sessions a day Monday-Thursday with a maximum of 1 on Fridays (and sometimes none like today, woohoo!)

I do tend to crash by about 3 pm (because I get up so early) and usually read or watch the news or a show I have recorded from the night before. I am currently enjoying Survivor and the Amazing Race! 

Evenings vary too. Sunday evenings are often with our Seed Community group. We also have people over for dinner, and I need to get back to doing that more often since George is home now and COVID is over! I also watch something. George and I are having "inside dates" and watching an Anthony Trollope period piece right now. I am not excessive though. I feel like the minute it dries my soul up and becomes desolating, I turn it off and have some evening prayer

I want to water my soul more right before bed, but I always fall asleep during the night Examen. So, I mostly pray through the Examen in the mornings and sometimes midday with the OMS!

Another thing for me to water my soul has been more "Welcoming Prayer" It is Silent/Centering Prayer in the midst of a life. It also overlaps with STOP from the Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram by Loughrige and Calhoun. I am a Motions of the Soul Enneagram Educator and Practitioner, and I really love this practice:

• SEE – Stop and ask God to give you the eyes to see from His perspective 
• TRIGGERS – Where did I leave my true self behind?
• OPEN – to HEAD, HEART & GUT HARMONY/IDENTITY NAME [1]
• Whom does God say that I am? What is my “true self” identity? 
• PRESENCE – Intentionally Live into God’s Presence

Not only does it parallel Welcoming Prayer, but it also goes along with the Immunity to Change and One Big Thing concept in the 2 HC. Each personality type has different questions to ask yourself within each category. 

I have loved the inner work God has been doing in me through it!

• [1] This is added to the original STOP material and comes from the book Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God by Jamie Winship.