Nor Doth She Sleep – In the Peace of Christ Sophia, Living Wisdom
“Peace, Be Still” – image by Dalmo Mendonça
Each week of Advent and into Epiphany, we’re offering practices and invitations of becoming, as we have this year following each of our articles.
The last two years, we’ve had written reflections throughout advent with the themes of Adventing Christ Consciousness and the Divine Feminine. We’ll be drawing upon those writings (and sharing the links) to be the source material for our Becoming invitations.
you are invited, if you like, to read the articles informing these practices for the second week of Advent:
Christ Sophia Dances in Her Many Forms
Daring to Dream from the Divine Womb
Is There Peace of Earth?
This advent season, we are receiving the invitation into the womb of the Divine Mother. We are welcoming our place as the Christ child to come into this world anew, nurturing and gestating our divine becoming.
From the deep hope of new life being born of the womb of God, we are invited this week into the peace that passes all understanding.
These days, we may find it hard to feel peaceful.
How can we have peace of mind with all that is going on in the world?
A striking Christmas Carol was written in 1863 by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In the midst of a terrible civil war in which his son had been injured, he expressed a lament over the contrast of the bells on Christmas day declaring “peace on earth” with the despair he felt at the state of the world:
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to [all].”
Part of living authentically into hope and peace is to acknowledge and even welcome the doubt, dejection, and hopelessness we may feel at times. We can’t just bypass our way into thinking happier thoughts and having a positive outlook. Otherwise, our hope will be merely wishful thinking and our peace will be shallow denial. Our whole being will not truly be in the peace of God.
In the womb of the Divine Mother, we are closer to a deeper source of peace, if we have ears to hear.
And to be true and honest, we may not, at this moment, be able to hear the voice of peace—we may need to stay in the lament a bit longer.
Yet still, even in this state of mind and heart, we can find solace in the shared womb. We are not alone. We can welcome the enfolding of a communion of saints and guides who are here with us in this deep, sacred, mystical space.
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor does [S]he sleep,
For Christ is here; [our] spirit near
Brings peace on earth, goodwill to [all].”
To me, I feel as if the sound of these bells ringing loud and deep reverberate into the depths of our souls—as we hear them from within the womb.
The deep peace that comes from down in the core of our being, right from the Source.
Deeper than the racing thoughts or mental fixations we may find ourselves caught in. Deeper than the aching heart or difficult emotions that swell upon us. Deeper than the anxiety or despair we may feel at times in our gut.
The peace that passes all understanding.
A sacred gift of life vibrating beneath the surface appearance of things. An underlying, foundational peace that we can be made from in each moment. As the wellspring of our life flowing forth continuously from the very ground and fount of our being.
And we can birth forth this peace ever more into the world, WeCreating together the coming of peace on Earth, goodwill to all. Christ Sophia, divine wisdom, dancing forth from deep abiding peace in her becoming through us.
For such a time as this.
We were made for these times.
An Audio Divina Practice from the Womb of the Divine Mother
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Listening with the Ears of Our Soul
We are each wired in different ways. Some of us respond best to the written word, some to the spoken word, some to music, some to art, some to dance. We can connect to God through each of these ways. Though we may have a preferred sense through which to pray, the richest prayer life will come through experiencing God through all your senses.
Audio divina is translated as “divine hearing.” It’s the practice of praying with a sacred song or work of music. By incorporating art into prayer, audio divina invites us to bring our sense of hearing and deep soul resonance, activated through sound, into our relationship with God.
Music has an incredible power in our lives that perhaps originates from our very heartbeat, that primordial life-sustaining rhythm. Over time, as you cultivate your ability to hear in a deeper way, consider using other music you love and with which you are drawn to pray. Begin to notice how you listen to your life in a deeper way.
Audio divina thus takes on an incarnational nature, affirming the goodness of how we encounter the world differently when we listen deeply to the rhythms of melodies of our lives.
Here are steps you can take to enter into a practice of Auido divina with the song below:
In preparation for this practice, find a comfortable and quiet place to sit. Quiet your mind and body, setting aside all the thoughts and to-do lists running through your mind. Open your time of prayer by inviting holy spirit to guide your listening.
1. Close your eyes, breathe, clear your mind, and ask God/the Divine to enter into this time of contemplation with you and to speak to you through this music.
Play the piece of music once to enter into its landscape. Listen to the piece of music with the “ear of your heart, the ear of your womb.” Allow the music to fill you, breathing it in.
2. Welcome the rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and/or overall sounds that resonate in your being. Open in deep receptivity to these sounds and what they may signal for you. This may come as arisings in your mind or deeper felt intuitions that reside underneath our conscious thoughts. If there is a dominant sound, image, or feeling calling to you, allow a few moments of silence to follow and savor it, treasuring up and pondering them in your depths.
If you would like, listen to the music again, or as many times as you feel drawn to, receiving both the words of the lyrics and the deep movements of the instruments and voices.
3. When you feel ready, bring forth an inner response in prayer as you savor the physical sensations, thoughts, and/or emotions that have surfaced.
If you’re alone, remain in silent contemplation for as long as you like. Or if you are sharing in this practice with a group, offer into the WeSpace what is present from your experience.
If you like, you can also end the practice by opening to any action or response arising in you from this practice.
Calling Upon our Spiritual Ancestors and Guides
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Welcoming God-Beside-Us in Her Many Forms
In the peace of the divine womb, we are not alone.
Christ Sophia dances in her many forms, and they are with us in every part of our being.
As we hold our awareness from our own womb space, and in the larger embrace of the womb of the Divine Mother, we can also consciously engage with the deep connections and soul kinship of our spiritual family—both living and in spirit.
The peace that we may find from deep within is not a solitary one. It is shared in the communion of saints and sacred fellowship of God-Beside-Us in many forms
We are in this together. And in our closeness, we can stabilize and support one another with a deeper and wider peace, held in common.
This week, you are invited to set the intention to connect directly with a guide or spirit being who is present to you now—or one who might come to you in this advent season.
Set the intention to share in communion with a spiritual ancestor or guide.
You might find resonance with connecting with Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day, December 12th. Or St. Lucia on the 13th. These feast days create a cosmic groove of connection and openness, as thousands upon thousands have moved in this channel through the years.
Or you may connect with any other form or figure who resonates with you, someone who has embodied Christ Sophia and given her shape in this world. There are many! You can also welcome her through any of the saints throughout Christian history, like Mary Magdalene, Brigid, Hildegard, Theresa, Julian, or any other you feel drawn to. Or you may be drawn to male forms, like Francis, Eckhart, Peter, or Jesus. Often, their writings can be an avenue to connecting with them or finding who you are attracted to meeting. Or you can invite a sacred elder presence of love to come to you, even if you don’t know anything about them yet!
Create a small altar of symbols, images, or expressions of devotion and connection. Sit before it and light a candle, setting the intention to connect with a specific ancestor or spirit guide. Speak aloud what you need or what you’re longing for. Ask them to come and meet you now. Listen.
You can engage in this type of welcoming personally or in your WeSpace group.
If you want to be guided into a meditation for accessing a spirit guide, you can use this one from Paul Smith.
Living from Mindful Peace & Justice
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An Invitation to Being Present in our Spheres of Influence
So then how do we live?
The phrase “Spheres of Influence” refers to the areas of our life we may not have control over but nonetheless are able to make a difference and impact through our presence and actions.
As we seek for our spiritual practices and learnings to impact our lives and make a difference in the world, we can intentionally and consciously consider how we might integrate these lessons, practices, and ways of being in our everyday lives.
In this season of Advent, we’ll invite you to consider how you want to live out these practices of becoming in your daily lives, impacting others in your spheres of influence, whether they be in person locally, unbound by geographical space online, or throughout the mystical cosmos!
As we consider and welcome the advent of deep peace this week, we also seek to be presences of peace in our lives—to be wombful bearers of this peace in the world.
What will this look like in our lives? In our day-to-day actions?
This week, with special attention on living in a state of mindful peace sourced from deep within, you are invited to consider the following reflection questions:
1. As there is no peace without justice, what is one way that you can concretely and intentionally work for justice in a situation in your life, with your neighbors, with a place or situation that is on your heart? If you don’t have one come to mind, be open this week to an invitation arising to respond to actively—in mystical activism and/or hands on engagement.
2. Can you be especially present this week to sensing and noticing when the shared field, the energetic setting is agitated or ill-at-ease? When you become aware of this, how might you root down into deeper peace and bring that into this sphere of influence in a conscious and loving way?
3. In any effort or action of peacemaking this week, would you want to invite your spirit guide to be an active part of the process? If you like, you could even invite them to bring to your attention an area of engaging and sowing peace in the world—or with your neighbor.
Join Us in Practice and Commuion During Advent!
This Sunday at 11am Eastern, come partake in a time of shared engagement with these themes and practices:
Join on Fridays at 11:45am Eastern for a weekly advent meditation with the theme of the week:
(if you’re not already a member of our online community page, the Mystical Garden, click here to join)
All Images are open-source, used with permission, or created by ICN