This is Going Inward, a 7-day journey into your inner life.

+ FRAMING TRANSCRIPT

This is Going Inward, a 7-day journey into your inner life. Today is Day 7, our last day.

You’ve done so well to stick with this.
It takes courage and a lot of initiative to go journeying within yourself -- especially when you’re searching for something you long for but can’t prove.

Some would call it a leap of faith.
And it’s just the reality right now, that so many of us feel alone in so many parts of our lives.

And ironically, given that Spirit is all about love and connection, a lot of us feel particularly isolated in our spiritual lives.
This is a risky situation to be in, because as much as our inner inquiry is personal, it’s ultimately impossible for spiritual connection to be cultivated alone.

Of course, you are not the only one who carries a Spirit core.
We are, each of us, carriers of divinity, and we are each uniquely qualified to express that inner Spirit in our lives.

Since we each have unique personalities and different life experiences, we each express Spirit differently.

So to really get to know Spirit, we can’t just get to know the Spirit in us, but we have to get to know the Spirit in each other.

We do this by forming relationships, and orienting those relationships around learning to understand and care for one another, and eventually, to love one another.
Spirit is not given to be locked away.
The very nature of divinity is to share.
Spirit has chosen to share in every aspect of your experience, literally to live within you.

The more that you cultivate that inner relationship, the more you will be compelled to follow spirit’s leading in your life, which is outward.

Outward to show up as your big-hearted self in the world.
Outward to share with others the way that Spirit shares with you.
You’ll collaborate with others, magnifying and exponentially contributing to the expression of Spirit in society and culture.
You’ll help to make the world outside more and more like the place of divine love inside.

In this way, the journey inward is a journey to the heart of belonging.

You belong to Spirit, and Spirit belongs to you.
That’s what Spirit is saying by coming to live within you.
And Spirit is saying the same thing to every other person.
We all belong to Spirit, and so we all belong to each other.
This is why it’s so important to socialize Spirit in our lives, to foster community that supports and inspires each one of us on our personal spiritual journeys.

If you do nothing else, I invite you to reach out to one other person, someone you care about and trust, and share with them some of the substance of your inner journey with Spirit so far.
Ask them about theirs too.
As I say, it takes courage -- right now this is not the norm! But it never will be unless we start using our voices in this way.

For now, I thank you for being brave, and for risking something new.
May you continue to grow in your capacity to feel the presence of Spirit as you go.

+ EXPERIENCE TRANSCRIPT

Belonging

Make sure you have a comfortable place to be today, somewhere you won’t be interrupted for a full 20 minutes.
Take some good breaths to get settled.
Let yourself arrive.
Close your eyes if you’d like.

There’s no right posture or position for going inward.
You can sit or stand or walk, move or be still.
As you continue communing with your inner Spirit in the days and weeks to come, you may find yourself doing so silently or out loud or some of each.
You may find it helpful to journal.
This practice is personal, it’s yours.
You are unique and your relationship with Spirit is unique.

No other person in the world can develop your relationship with Spirit.
No one else in the world knows how.
You are the expert -- the only one who can learn how your inner spirit connection works, what it feels like, and what it brings about in your life.

Everything being offered here is just an invitation.

So, let’s return to this amazing inner space that you’ve been cultivating.

Enter the portal of your mind.
Take a moment to show up here, look around, remind yourself of this safe and powerful place that is always available within you. Now, move toward your spirit center.

In your own words, greet your inner Spirit.
Welcome Spirit in.
Invite Spirit to infuse your mind and heart during this time.
And now, as you have before, bring forward to your inner Spirit something that’s on your heart.
Remember that nothing is too big or too small, nothing is too bad or shameful, and nothing is too hard.
Spirit is all-loving, all-forgiving, all-merciful, and already fully acquainted with all the details of who you are.
Spirit is not afraid of you or shocked by what you have to say. There’s nothing you can bring to Spirit that Spirit’s not equipped to handle.
And Spirit is not there to cast judgment, despite what you may have been told.
What Spirit wants is for you to be freed of the self-recrimination, anger, shame, fear, and inner criticism that hold you hostage.
Spirit wants to partner with you so that you can grow into the person that Spirit knows you can be.
So let it out.
Share whatever it is.
Let’s take three full minutes for you to do that.

Good work.

Whatever just happened, good job for coming here again, trying again. You can always come here -- again, and again, and again.
So having laid before Spirit what you’re holding, now -- and this might be the harder part -- let yourself be received.
Let Spirit receive you, every part of you, including everything you just shared.
Let Spirit say to you,
You belong here.
You belong here.
You belong.
You belong with me.

For the next three minutes, do what you can to relax into this space of receiving Spirit’s love.
Allowing yourself to fully, completely, belong.

Good.

Now, our final step for today: opening to insight.
Spending time with Spirit allows you to see from within, to source the insight for your life from this place of divine love. And how does that work?
Well we’ve encountered Spirit in the mind, the very place where you have the ideas and make the decisions that guide the actions that become the story of your life.
This is Spirit’s realm of influence.
Whatever you shared with Spirit today, Spirit is just waiting to work with you on it.
And you do that work by sharing with Spirit and then listening for insight, giving focused attention to a question or problem and then opening your heart and mind to receive.

This circulation can get deeper and deeper and more powerful and clearer and more profound throughout your life.
So what are you listening for?
It’s important to say that this is not about listening for voices.
The voice within your mind is your own, and it’s actually better to dismiss an idea than convince yourself that it’s the word of God.
So what you’re listening for is an idea in your own voice that has a felt spiritual quality.

Where you feel a sense in your heart that an idea in your mind has spirit value.
Like it’s arising from this place of love and safety and true belonging.
Something about it rings true -- it feels like it would bring about greater good, or it has a creative energy around it, or maybe, it’s the hard thing you know is right even if you would rather not do it

And the ultimate litmus test: does it lead to love?

So let’s just try this for a few minutes: opening ourselves, without pressure, to the possibility of receiving insight from Spirit.

Nice.

This takes practice.

Sometimes insight won’t arise right away but instead will come to you later on in the day or the week.

Sometimes you might need to come back to this place and share with Spirit many times before you’re able to access new insight. The point is simply to find yourself more and more in this place of spiritual receptivity.

Spirit makes your inner world more beautiful, and when you make decisions and take actions based on spirit insight, you make the world around you more beautiful.

But discerning spirit insight can still be tricky.
Remember, it takes real effort, and lifelong practice, to expand the borders of your awareness to make contact with Spirit.
And this is where something else important comes into play:
Other people!

Sharing our experience with others is crucial for spiritual growth and for just this kind of discernment.
It’s when you think, “Hey, I feel like I’m being drawn in a certain direction,” and then you ask someone else, “What do you think?”
Creating conversations of love and trust with others who are also exploring this realm.

And what you’re doing by being here is strengthening your capacity to show up for just these kinds of relationships, because this inner relationship will take you to the very heart of belonging.

Breathe into your heart.
The heart is where we began.
Before we embarked I invited you to put one hand on your heart and sit with what you long for.
Today I invite you to feel your heart center and open your heart to Spirit.

Spirit who has been waiting for you, who longs for you in return.

To be expressed in you.
To partner with you for the rest of your life.

Allow yourself to receive that incredible love and to reciprocate.

To acknowledge that inner Spirit.
To express the magnificence of this divine essence having chosen to live in you.

You have begun something beautiful, something life-changing.
Because of your courage and curiosity.
Because you are open to letting your mind be opened and changed.

You are on the adventurous path towards home.