Sunday, August 3, 2025

Day 100/100!!! - Deep Faith, Deeper Life: Living Spiritually in the World

 

“The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it.”
— Henri J.M. Nouwen


We often think of spirituality as something separate from the world—as if to be spiritual means to retreat, detach, or rise above daily life. But what if real spiritual growth brings us closer to life, not further away?

Henri Nouwen’s words invite us to reimagine the spiritual path. Rather than pulling us into isolation, the spiritual life calls us deeper - into relationship, into community, into the beauty and messiness of this world. It’s not about escaping reality, but about learning to see it with fresh eyes, open hearts, and awakened souls.

As I reflect on this final day of the 100 day journey, I’m reminded that the fruits of spiritual practice are not just inner peace or insight. They are compassion. Courage. Purpose. They are found in how we show up for others, how we serve the world around us, and how we embody divine love in small, everyday moments.

Spirituality isn’t a retreat from the world - it is a deepening into it.

Living Spiritually in the Everyday

When we take time to pray, meditate, or reflect, we are not pulling away from life but preparing ourselves to engage with more depth. These practices soften us. They stretch us. They help us become more attuned to the sacred that pulses through each conversation, each act of service, each encounter with nature.

Our spiritual lives are not meant to stay on the mat, or in the pages of a journal. They’re meant to overflow into how we treat others, how we face challenges, how we care for the planet, and how we find joy in the present moment.

🌿 Reflection Prompts for Day 100

  • 🌀 How does your spiritual practice draw you deeper into your life and the world around you?

  • 🌀 What is one intentional way you can engage today with spiritual awareness and purpose?

  • 🌀 How can your faith shape your daily actions and interactions?

A Prayer for Presence and Purpose

God of grace,
Thank You for leading me not away from life, but deeper into it.
Help me to live each day with open eyes and an open heart,
engaged fully with the world You love.
Guide me to act with compassion, courage, and joy,
reflecting Your Spirit in all I do.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

✨ Small Practices to Engage Spiritually Today

  • Begin your day with mindful prayer or meditation, setting an intention to be fully present.

  • Listen with compassion in conversations, resisting the urge to rush or fix.

  • Notice the sacred in the ordinary - a leaf trembling in the wind, a stranger’s smile, a shared laugh.

  • Take one small action of service - a kind word, a helping hand, a gesture of solidarity with the hurting.

These simple acts, grounded in spiritual awareness, ripple outward in ways we may never fully see. They are how we embody faith. They are how we become participants in divine love.


🌬️ Guided Meditation: Deepening into Life and the World

Find a comfortable seat. Close your eyes, breathe deeply.
With each inhale, welcome clarity. With each exhale, release distraction.

Let these words settle into your heart:

“The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it.”

Imagine yourself stepping into your day - eyes open, heart soft, spirit awake.
See yourself moving through tasks and relationships with presence, curiosity, and care.
Let your breath become a prayer:
“I am present. I am connected. I live with purpose.”

When you’re ready, gently return. Open your eyes. Carry this sacred awareness with you into your day.




 You’ve Reached Day 100

You’ve journeyed through 100 days of reflection, prayer, and embodied wisdom.
This isn’t the end—it’s a threshold. You are being invited to live this wisdom, one mindful, courageous, compassionate step at a time.

May you walk forward with clarity, heart, and sacred purpose.


#EMBodyWisdom #100DaysOfWisdom #HenriNouwen #SpiritualPractice #EngagedFaith #EmbodiedSpirituality


Closing Reflections – Thank You for 100 Days of EMBody Wisdom

Dear friend,

We’ve arrived at the end of our 100 Days of EMBody Wisdom - a sacred journey of reflection, prayer, and practice. Whether you joined from the beginning or found your way here partway through, I want to say from the bottom of my heart: thank you.

Over these 100 days, we’ve explored what it means to live spiritually grounded, embodied, and connected. We’ve reflected on themes of love, truth, healing, unity, and purpose. We’ve sat with sacred texts, ancient wisdom, and everyday insights - allowing them to shape our hearts, stretch our minds, and inspire our lives.

This isn’t the end - it’s the beginning of a deeper walk.

Spiritual practice is not a destination; it’s a rhythm. A returning. A remembering. And I want to continue walking with you in that rhythm.


🌟 What’s Next: Stay Connected Through Weekly Videos

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be sharing weekly video reflections with spiritual insights, practices, and encouragement to help you stay rooted in your faith and connected to your body, community, and purpose.

These short videos will include:

  • Grounding meditations

  • Spiritual teachings and reflection prompts

  • Practical ways to embody your faith in daily life

  • Inspiration to keep your heart open and your spirit strong

You can find them each week on [YouTube / Instagram / Your Platform of Choice – update link if needed], or stay subscribed to this blog to receive them straight to your inbox.


🌿 Until Then…

May you continue to walk with courage and curiosity.
May your daily life be filled with small sacred moments.
And may the wisdom you've cultivated over these 100 days bloom in ways you can’t yet imagine.

The universe is within you.
You are becoming who you were always meant to be.
You are called not to escape the world—but to deepen into it.

Let’s keep walking together.

With gratitude and peace,
Erin


#EMBodyWisdom #100DaysOfWisdom #StayConnected #SpiritualPractice #EmbodiedFaith #WeeklyWisdom

Saturday, August 2, 2025

Day 99/100 - Becoming Who You Were Always Meant to Be

 

“Spiritual growth is about becoming who you were always meant to be.” – Anonymous


 There’s a quiet, liberating truth in today’s quote. It reminds us that spiritual growth is not about striving to become someone else. It’s about returning to ourselves—uncovering the person we were created to be before fear, comparison, and expectation clouded the view.

Each of us carries within a divine imprint, a spark of sacred truth. But over time, life tends to pile layers on top of it - roles we’re expected to play, stories we’ve been told about our worth, and fears that whisper we’re not enough. Spiritual growth is the gentle and courageous act of peeling those layers back. Not to erase ourselves, but to reveal ourselves.

It’s not a one-time revelation. It’s a daily choice to step into alignment with your true self—to listen for the quiet call of your soul beneath the noise. Who are you at your core, beneath the titles and the tasks? What gifts or passions are still waiting to be lived out? These aren’t questions to answer perfectly, but invitations to explore.

This morning, I paused to journal about who I’m becoming - and who I’ve always been, deep down. It surprised me how much of that truth has been with me since childhood. There’s a purity to that original self: curious, connected, creative, loving. I’ve grown and changed, but some of those core qualities feel like home.

And so today, I offer this prayer:

Loving God,
Thank You for the unique person You created me to be.
Help me to grow into the fullness of that calling,
letting go of fear and doubt,
and embracing the truth You have placed deep within me.
Guide me today to take steps toward living authentically and fully.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Spiritual growth doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes, it’s as simple as choosing to speak the truth, or say no to something that drains your spirit. Sometimes, it’s picking up a long-forgotten passion, or letting yourself rest. The small choices matter. They are sacred steps on the path back to your truest self.

Small Practices for Spiritual Alignment:

  • Spend time in quiet reflection or journaling: Let your core values and longings rise to the surface.

  • Identify a fear or limiting belief: Gently release it through prayer or meditation.

  • Take one intentional action that honors your authentic self - set a boundary, follow a spark of joy, or pursue a calling.

  • Surround yourself with people and practices that support your growth in healthy, encouraging ways.

You were never meant to be a copy of anyone else. Your journey is sacred, your presence needed. Today, may you remember: becoming who you were always meant to be isn’t about striving...it is about unfolding.

Keep going. You’re closer than you think.


#EMBodyWisdom #100DaysOfWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #Authenticity #TrueSelf #EmbodiedFaith

Friday, August 1, 2025

Day 98/100 - Embodying the Divine Thread of Life

 Quote:

“Everything in the universe is within you.” – Rumi


(illustration of the 7th Chakra -
 or Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) - it represents spiritual connection, higher consciousness, and the realization of oneness with all things. It is the center of enlightenment, inner wisdom, and divine awareness. When balanced, it brings a sense of peace, purpose, and unity beyond the ego, allowing us to feel deeply connected to the universe and the infinite.)

There’s something deeply humbling, and incredibly empowering, about Rumi’s words. The idea that the entire universe lives within us feels both poetic and shockingly true. On some level, we already sense it: when we gaze at the stars and feel a strange familiarity, or when we connect with another person and realize we’re not as separate as we thought. But what happens when we actually begin to live as if this were true?

Today, I’m sitting with the mystery of that statement: that everything; every star, every tree, every breath of wind...is already inside me. If that’s the case, then I am not separate from the world around me. I am part of it. Not just as an observer, but as a thread in the sacred web of life.

This thought invites me to slow down and become aware of how I move through the world. If I’m one with all things, then my choices matter. My words matter. Even my thoughts matter. They ripple outward, affecting the whole in ways I may never fully understand. And so, I ask myself: How can I embody this truth today? How can I live like someone who carries the universe within them?

A quiet prayer rises from within me:

Creator God,
Thank You for the mystery and beauty of the universe within me.
Help me to live with awareness of this sacred connection,
embracing the unity that binds all creation.
May I embody love, compassion, and peace,
reflecting the divine in every moment.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Living this way doesn’t require dramatic changes. It asks for presence, for noticing, for small acts of intentional love. Today, I’ll spend time in nature - not just walking through it, but letting it speak to me. I’ll practice a loving-kindness meditation, sending warmth and goodwill not only to those I love, but to those I struggle with… and to the Earth itself. I’ll make one choice - maybe what I eat, or how I speak - that reflects care for the whole.

And above all, I’ll remind myself: I am part of something vast, beautiful, and sacred. I carry the universe within me—not metaphorically, but truly. May that truth root me in love and draw me closer to everything that is.


#EMBodyWisdom #100DaysOfWisdom #RumiWisdom #Interconnectedness #Unity #EmbodiedSpirituality