To Exist In the Flow: An Exercise

Awakening to Wholeness is a series of prompts, reflections, and teachings about how holding the tension of opposites can help us to heal division and experience wholeness. If you feel moved to share your own reflections, we invite you to email us with the subject line “Wisdom of Opposites” or tag us on social media with #EHoPWisdomOfOpposites.

I am part of, and at one with, the continuous flow of life from my Source.

To be an artist is to cultivate the flow as a matter of vocation.

And, in doing so with all my heart, the flow has established itself as the default setting for my life operating system.

That I recognize the flow as the only reality, does not mean I don’t have to consciously and constantly choose this setting in my daily life.

My inner critic is still alive and jabbing.

Little by little, though, I notice this voice more quickly
and am able to discern
it from the voice
of Love.

Following the voice
of Love,
I am reset.

Exercise:

Quiet yourself and take a few deep breaths in and out.

Bring to mind a recent emotional encounter you had with another person. Reflect on the presence of fear in the encounter. Reflect on the presence of trust in the encounter.

Locate the relationship between fear and trust that best matches your experience in the grid below.

If fear overwhelmed trust in this particular encounter, can you bring to mind an encounter where trust overwhelmed fear? What was different about the two encounters?

Contemplative Questions

We offer the following questions as prompts to help you reflect on the presence of opposites in your spiritual practice and your life.

• When was the last time your inner critic showed up? What were the circumstances? What was at stake?
• How did you respond? Can you write the inner conversation? Notice feelings in your body as you write.
• Can you reimagine this event with the voice of trust? How do fear and trust dance together in your life?

Julie Ann Stevens

Julie Ann Stevens is an American Contemplative artist living in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her artwork — encompassing visual imagery, written reflections, and guided experiences — has attracted an international audience drawn to its heartfulness and depth. A central theme in her work is transformation and the divine process of being made new. She is a Board member of the Episcopal House of Prayer, and our 2022 Contemplative Artist in Residence.

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