State of the Soul Part II: Connecting Parts with God

This session builds on the track State of the Soul Part 1,

Where we identified a specific facet of our soul.

In this session,

Part 2,

We're going to consider how this part of us would answer the question,

What is the state of my soul?

This is my favorite thing about the intersection of parts work with spiritual formation.

It gives us categories and space to hold intention,

The varied landscape of our souls.

One corner or contour of the depths of our soul might be at peace,

While another is anxious or overwhelmed.

One part of us might feel at rest in God's goodness,

While another part of us feels unseen and forgotten.

If we can identify the state of these different parts of us,

We can more clearly understand what these parts of us might need to facilitate a richer communion with God,

Rather than shaming ourselves for not having it together or just trusting God as we seemingly should be able to do more easily.

We'll spend the session connecting with what this part of us might need as we journey in the formation of our souls,

And inviting God's presence to meet us where we are.

I invite you to take a deep breath as I open us with a prayer.

Lord God,

You know exactly what is happening inside of us.

Every corner and every depth of our soul is known to you.

Nothing is too mysterious or difficult for you.

Would you mercifully remove barriers that are keeping any part of us from resting in your presence?

Would you pour out your grace on any parts of us that are not yet ready to rest in your presence?

Removing shame and reminding us of your steadfast and loyal love,

Your patience and peace that fully covers us,

All of us.

Amen.

I encourage you to close your eyes throughout this guided meditation,

Bringing to mind the part of you that you want to focus on today.

If you just completed the track State of the Soul Part One,

You might be focusing on that specific part that you identified.

And like that track,

If at any point this meditation brings up emotion or anything else that feels too overwhelming,

Please give yourself permission to pause and go for a walk or take this to a trusted professional or a safe friend.

In whatever way works for you,

We're going to start our guided imagery here,

Whether it's continuing to imagine a movie screen and a part of you on that movie screen,

Or any other imagery that helps you imagine your soul.

We're going to consider the state of the soul as it relates specifically to this one part,

Understanding that this is just one facet of the larger tapestry of our being.

And rather than looking for the right answer or how we should feel,

We're going to create space for real and raw answers,

Knowing that God is already aware of where we are,

Every depth of us and meets us where we are.

If it's helpful,

You can take a really deep intentional breath,

Like deepest breath you've taken all day with a really heavy sigh and bring to mind the cries of pain from the Psalms or Christ's compassion with people around him in the Gospels,

Anchoring yourself and remembering who God is and stepping away from shame or shoulds.

Taking a nice deep breath,

Let yourself imagine the part of you that you're focusing on,

Remembering the thoughts,

Feelings,

Body sensations,

Other memories,

Protective reactions or vulnerability of this part.

And if you're having a hard time placing this part in imagery,

You can simply imagine this part of you inside of a circle.

However,

And wherever you're envisioning this part of you,

With curiosity,

Simply notice what comes to mind as I ask the following questions.

Let your mind construct mental imagery that depicts what's happening relationally between this facet of your soul and God.

Again,

We're not looking for the right answer.

We're looking for honest answers,

Answers that God's already aware of.

So to start,

How near or far is this part of you from God?

What do you see when I ask that?

Does this part of you seem to be hiding from you,

Hiding from God or others?

If so,

Is there any kind of specific fear,

Worry,

Pain or shame that you sense might be motivating this hiding?

When thinking about where this part is in relation to God,

Does this part of you feel forced to try to be near God right now?

With a nice deep breath,

You can consider how does this part of you view God,

Allowing room to consider this from a really raw place,

Considering if this part of you seems to be aware of God in general.

I know this might sound odd,

But for younger parts of us,

It's actually quite common to assume the part of us would know who God is.

But if we pause and really consider if this part of us knows God,

Sometimes we realize they don't or that he's just an idea and there's not a safety or trust built between this part and God relationally.

And rather than whether or not this part of you knows the right answers about who God is,

Consider any fear,

Worry,

Pain,

Shame for this part that might make it difficult for them to see God as good,

Compassionate,

Present or loving.

Next,

We'll consider how does this part of you think that God views them?

Does this part of you have any sense that God views them as bad,

Not good enough,

Dirty,

Shameful?

Does this part of you have any sense that God looks at them with disdain or disgust?

Does this part of you have any sense that God doesn't even notice them or doesn't care,

Like a neglectful or disengaged parent?

Just gently surveying what kind of thoughts about God are present relationally,

What is experienced with God relationally for this part.

And even if we know this isn't who God is,

Being respectful and trying to pause and sit with where this part of us is,

That viewpoint,

That perspective for that part,

How do they see and experience things?

With a nice deep breath,

What does this part of you think or feel when you consider moving closer to God?

Moving closer to God.

Does this part of you feel open to that idea?

Does that feel safe?

Or does this part of you seem to feel scared or hesitant to move closer to God?

Just gently considering does the thought of nearness to God provoke any fear,

Worry,

Pain or shame for this part of you?

Continuing those nice deep breaths,

Notice if there's any part of yourself that's responding in judgment or shame when you're noticing and observing how this specific part of you that we're focusing on would answer these questions.

So just being curious,

Is there a critical or harsh voice inside that's kind of inserting their perspective on this process,

On this experience?

And if you're noticing anything that's not curious but instead judgmental,

You can ask this judgmental or harsh part of you if they would be willing to create space for you to engage in this exercise here.

At a later time you can actually go back and go through these exercises and focus your attention on this critical or self-shaming part of you.

For now though I encourage you to simply focus on the part of you For now though I encourage you to simply ask this part if they would be willing to give you some space.

Critical parts of us will often take a step back if we ask them to and it can be helpful that they know they don't have to totally leave or not asking them to completely go away.

We're just asking them to take a few steps back for us to breathe deeply and be able to engage in the exercise without the harsh criticisms or self-shame flooding in.

And as you're checking in with any self-shame or criticisms that might be complicating things here,

I'm also going to have you check in with your breath and invite you to check in on how grounded you feel.

Sometimes it can be helpful to feel the ground or furniture beneath us feeling textures of pillows,

Couches,

Rugs,

Blankets,

Or even our clothing.

These things can really help us ground in the present.

And this kind of tactile grounding with our deep breathing it helps us stay anchored with that calm and curious perspective rather than feeling thrown into a wave of emotion or flooded by overwhelming thoughts.

So we just want to be mindful here of whether or not we're getting almost sucked into the perspective of the part that we're focusing on or the perspective of any self-shaming or critical parts of us that aren't so sure about this exercise quite yet.

Wherever you are,

I encourage you to take some nice deep breaths and know that at any moment you can pause this and do additional grounding or go for a walk.

And continuing on,

As you're noticing the relational dynamics between this part of your soul and God we're going to consider what this part of us might need.

As I ask a series of questions here you can invite this part of you that you're imagining to answer the question.

I know this might sound strange,

It can feel odd when parts work as new but it's a part of you that's asking the question.

It can feel odd when parts work as new.

If possible,

I invite you to be just open and curious while at the same time allowing space for any skeptical or judgmental parts of you to watch from a step back or a few steps back.

They can observe this whole process.

Our first question,

If there's a disconnect from God an uncertainty about movement toward Him for this part of you I invite you to lovingly and gently ask this part what they would need to feel safe moving toward God.

You can ask what kind of relational trust would need to be built.

This part of you might not have been engaged in your spiritual formation or spiritual discipline practices in your life and faith journey so far so it's actually really reasonable for this part of you to want or need to get to know God in ways they simply haven't been able to yet.

If there is a disconnect from God and you notice this part of you wants to move toward Him or even leap toward Him you can notice what kind of longing that might be pulling on.

Being curious about any grief or pain that might also be there.

Being curious about any joy that comes up with this imagery of leaping toward God or being embraced in His tender care.

And just gently checking in,

Confirming that any movement and connection with God is really what this part of you wants and feels most comfortable with and not what any part of you thinks you're supposed to feel or imagine.

We really want to cultivate very authentic,

And real connection with God that's not just a thought or a should.

With a nice deep breath,

Another way to approach what this facet of your soul might need is to simply ask,

What do you need?

Maybe this part of you simply longs to be seen,

Heard,

Understood.

Imagine asking this part of you this simple question Imagine asking this part of you this simple question What happened?

Or empathically inquire,

Did something happen?

This can sometimes open the door for a perspective and context that can make sense of vulnerable wounds and protective strategies you might be noticing.

As you consider what this part of you needs,

I invite you to let your mind be open to holistic needs.

Not limiting it to things that seem spiritual on the surface.

Maybe this part of you is tired and needs a nap and a snack.

While this might not feel all that spiritual,

We have the beautiful testament story of Elijah who's given a nap and a snack to restore and sustain him.

Especially if we're engaging with the younger part of us,

We might want to consider age-appropriate needs for this part.

Knowing if we sense this part of us is 4 or 5,

Their needs will likely be different from a part of us that is 12 or 13.

And the way that we dialogue with them or try to communicate with them might look different as well.

There might be a lot more non-verbal communication than explicit verbal questions or responses that we imagine.

And if you're not sure of where this part of you is in relation to God,

Or how to connect to this part of you in relation to God,

Pause and allow yourself a lot of space to take a deep breath.

Let yourself take a deep breath with a sigh.

And consider if you're feeling any pressure to get it right,

Or if you're feeling overwhelmed.

Remembering that you can seek out the counsel of a therapist or mentor who has knowledge of parts work if you feel stuck.

And whatever you might be noticing,

It's so important to again remember we're not trying to force movement from disconnection to connection with God.

We're creating space to consider how to build safety and trust for a strong and secure connection from the depths of our soul to God's tender care.

This allows us to honestly acknowledge the state of our soul for this facet of us.

Knowing again that it's one strand in a larger multifaceted whole.

This might all feel really new and overwhelming to the part of us we're focusing on,

Especially if it's the young part.

So continue those deep breaths,

Knowing it's okay to be wherever you are.

Before we close,

I invite you to take a few moments to almost take some mental snapshots of the imagery that you've been observing here.

If it's helpful,

You can jot down a few notes about what you've noticed,

Or go through this recording again,

Writing down the things that come to mind,

Or even drawing them.

I highly recommend drawing out mental imagery.

It's a great way to connect with deeper parts of our brain that don't know verbal language.

So we can see this as connecting with deeper parts of the soul as well.

Whatever you've noticed,

And whatever's become clear about what this part of you needs,

I invite you to do three things.

One,

I encourage you to thank this part of you for letting us spend a lot of time focusing on them.

And if that feels odd or strange to you right now,

You can have them receive that from me,

Saying thank you for letting us spend a lot of time focusing on them right now.

Two,

I invite you to assure the part of you that you have seen and heard what they've expressed in this mental imagery.

And if it's genuine,

You can let this part of you know that your intention is to let this inform how you engage in the formation of your soul,

Respectfully being mindful of where this part of you is and what they need in relation to God.

And three,

I invite you to consider a specific action,

Or not action,

You can do or not do,

In the coming week that would honor what you've encountered in this exercise today.

So really,

This is a way to live out the second thing of letting this part of you know that you've seen them,

You've heard them.

So an example of an action might be doing something like spending time in some really sad psalms,

Letting the cries of grief and lament resonate with hurting parts of you,

Allowing space to engage with sacred parts of our faith tradition that give us permission to be human and in pain.

Maybe that's what this part of you most needs right now.

Another example might be choosing to spend some time in the gospels,

Looking at how Jesus engaged with people,

Inviting this part of you to see Christ's compassion before trying to force or shame this part of you into resting in God's care.

Or you might consider an intentional non-action.

Maybe this part of you needs you to step back temporarily from certain spiritual disciplines or practices that are causing shame or pain.

Maybe instead of reading scripture,

This part of you most needs to spend time out in God's creation,

Marveling at trees,

Seeing and feeling God's movement in the movement of a breeze.

Maybe that simplicity is the safest connection point to God right now.

Maybe this part of you needs to know that God has seen and cares about pain that has been experienced.

Maybe there's a worship song or a trusted friend that could be an instrument in letting this part of you know that in the messiness of a broken world,

God weeps with us.

And if right now that feels like just an idea,

Not something that connects for this part,

Maybe it would feel therapeutic to draw what you've imagined of this part of you and drawing out God's presence with this part of you.

If we do this gently and with compassion,

It can be a way to invite a hurting part of us to see a new perspective,

One where God is present.

And we want to be careful not to force something like this,

Asking and trusting God's pursuit of us,

Rather than trying to force a right belief that bypasses pain and grief that's real and pain and grief that God cares about.

For this session,

I'll close us with a prayer.

Lord God,

We cannot heal things on our own,

Especially not the parts of us that don't know you as healer or don't trust you as healer.

Would you meet us right where we are?

Would you protect us from self-shame or the shame of others that tries to force in genuine spiritual movement?

Would you guide us in a real and raw commuting with you?

A real and raw movement to your tender care that cannot be contained.

Please give us wisdom and direction in what this part of us most needs.

Pour out your mercy as we try and navigate what movement we make toward you and what movement we entrust into your hands and your care.

Amen.

Amen.