For much of my life, I didn’t really know how to truly connect to God. I’d read the Bible and my eyes would read the words, but my brain didn’t actually pick up a lot of what they said. I’d go to church and listen and follow the services, but didn’t really feel anything. I’d pray but didn’t really know how to pray. As time went on and I experienced a different church, one where there was a lot of singing at the beginning, and genuine praise, I started to experience feeling God’s presence in the church. I started to learn about prayer groups and workbooks and how valuable they are for understanding the Bible. As more time went on I started to hear God, guiding me, answering me.
In tandem with all this, I started on my weight loss journey after I had my youngest. This ultimately led me to other components of overall wellness, such as mindset, inner healing and shadow work, as well as soul healing and health. I started to learn the importance of taking care of my spiritual body and how deeply connected it is to the mind and the body. I started to learn that the root of most of our mental, physical, and life problems stem from the disconnect from our soul body as well as God’s love and energy. We simply aren’t taught about these connections or how to tap into them energetically. While I started this journey just trying to lose weight and help others with their health and weight loss, I’ve been led to develop my own spiritual gifts and use them to help others find their own. We all have them, because they come from our soul body, and from God. We aren’t taught that we have them, let alone how to use them, but there are references all through the Bible pointing us to them. However, in order to tap into these, you have to first connect to God. When you seek Him, He will happily meet you.
So, how do you connect to God? What are some practices for this?
- Make time to meet Him every day.
The first thing is to make a practice of meeting with God, personally every day. Start your day with God. If it is just once a day at first, that is fine, you will gradually start to seek Him more often through the day as your connection to Him deepens. The important thing is to carve time for it every day. Spend some time in prayer or gratitude. Add devotionals or workbooks to your time. For example, I find when I start in prayer, then go to my devotional or workbook, then look up the Bible verses it refers to; it is always a direct answer or in direct relation to what I was praying about. This is one of the ways He lets you know He hears you and answers you. - Add meditation
God will speak to you in one form or another through mediation. This could look like images, it could be thoughts dropping in that answer your question, it can be a feeling like love or peace, or it can be emotions that suddenly rise up. When I started this, it was a simple few minutes each morning and I simply asked: what guidance do I need this morning? Sometimes I was given an image others it was simply a few words. Don’t worry if nothing happens at first, it’s simply a matter of consistency and practice. Even just spending the few minutes meditating, just breathing deeply, will help you find an inner calm, and with consistency you will start to experience more in time.
To do this, simply find somewhere quiet. Sit on a pillow on the floor or a comfortable chair. Close your eyes and direct them upward toward the middle of your forehead. Breathe in slowly to a count of four – long and deep inbreath. Hold the breath at the top for a count of four. Breathe out long and slow for a count of four. Keep breathing deeply, in and out, for at least 5 minutes. You can also add some calming music to play while you do this. Clear your mind. If thoughts come in, let them pass through and shift your focus back to your breathing. - Inner healing and shadow work.
I had heard of inner healing but hadn’t really delved into it too much and shadow work was completely foreign to me until about a year ago. These two go hand in hand and very much interrelated. Many of us may be familiar with the concept that we all have things we have experienced that we want to heal from. This is because we recognize the ways in which they hold us back, affect us in our day to day life, and/or affect our relationships. We go find self help books, we take up different groups or activities, go to counseling or therapy to try and heal these things. However, they are often much deeper than a specific experience. Shadow work can help you get to the root.
We all have parts of ourselves that we don’t like and that we don’t want to acknowledge. We also all have past hurts and pain that we may want to completely forget about and often avoid processing or confronting. While we can try to ignore them, they will confront us over and over; we just don’t usually recognize that this is what is happening. It happens in our relationships, in various social situations, and other interactions or circumstances. They can pop up through other people, behaviors, situations, etc. that ignite an intense emotional response or reaction in you. This happens because it reminds you of a past trauma or hurt, but we often don’t realize that is what is happening in the moment. This can look like victimhood, feeling ignored, feeling left out, feeling unheard, etc. Inner healing and shadow work help you become more aware of these things, get to the root of them, identify how they have turned into limiting beliefs, fears, and emotional blocks.
The reason this work is so important is because it helps break down these emotional barriers and blockages we put up. These blocks can keep you disconnected from your true self as well as God. They can also prevent you from stepping into what you really want in life and who you really want to be, because you’re hanging onto the old; there’s no room for the new or what God is trying to bless you with. You can’t receive what you don’t have any room for.
There is lots of great information out there on this, lots of great books that can help you with this. I created and published a journal specifically for this kind of work, based on what I have found helpful in my own inner healing and shadow work. You can find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Growth-Healing-Journal-Tool-Personal/dp/B0B7QP7VHY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3VG78EQDLJEXE&keywords=Rachelle+Weiss&qid=1679456864&sprefix=rachelle+weiss%2Caps%2C206&sr=8-4 - Increase your awareness of signs and wonders around you.
God and angels are always with you and they are always trying to get your attention and guide you in the right direction. There are numerous Bible verses that speak about angels. Two that I am fond of are:
Exodus 23:20 Behold, I send you an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.
Psalms 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear the up in their hands, lest thou dash a foot against a stone.
Since angels cannot speak to us directly and because we are often too busy and consumed with our day to day lives they will use any means necessary to get our attention. This can come in many forms, but a lot of times they will use things like nature. For example, when a butterfly comes close to you and seems to flutter about longer than seems normal, or a grasshopper lands on you. Sometimes it may be in the sky, like the shapes of the clouds. It an come in the form of numbers, you may keep seeing a certain number everywhere, on clocks, on your receipts, timestamps on the treadmill, etc. We often dismiss these, but many times these are angels trying to guide you or respond to something you might be thinking about or a decision you’re weighing.
I will never forget when I saw a butterfly not long after one of my dearest friends died. It wasn’t just any butterfly. I had certain kinds in my yard that I saw many times, but this one, was out of place. It was the exact same kind of butterfly I released at her memorial service. You couldn’t see the butterflies beforehand, when the time came we all opened the little box and let the butterflies free. It fluttered around me and I have never seen one quite like it in terms of the colors. One day about a year or so after she died, I was sitting with our mutual friend outside talking when a butterfly landed on one of our chairs and fluttered around near us. We thought it was so special and then I realized it was the exact same type of butterfly from our friend’s service. It was a message that our friend was at peace and nearby in spirit.
You can tell these types of things from what may seem like random encounters of this kind because they are always accompanied by an energetic feeling. Something inside you lights up. It can even trigger physical responses, like chills, goosebumps, butterflies in the stomach, etc. The more you tune into what is around you this way, the more you can see how God and angels are always trying to reach you and the many ways God will try to let you know He hears you. - Listen to your inner voice and intuition.
We all have an inner voice and intuition. You can heighten it by inviting the Holy Spirit in each morning, asking the Holy Spirit to move through you and be your guide and lead you through your senses. This is that little voice in the back of your head that we often dismiss as a passing thought. It is that random inclination to do something that you get. It’s when you suddenly get an idea or inspiration to do something. This is another way God and angels try to guide you. This is your soul calling, trying to tell you what it wants. When we ignore it we are kind of saying, “no thanks, God, I don’t want that.” We don’t realize this, of course, but this is essentially what we are doing. And, because God will not interfere with free will, he will not move forward until we give Him permission. One of the ways we can do this is following that intuitive feeling or inspiration and following that action. This is telling God, “ok, I trust you and I am following your guidance.” So, tune into that inner part of yourself. Get some time to yourself each day, just to sit in quiet, or maybe with some calming music. Get out and take a walk alone, in the fresh air and in nature. Take some time out each day, alone, away from the noise of the world and your life, so you can hear yourself, your inner voice.
These are 5 practices to that will help you connect to God and, by extension, your soul. He is within you and He is always with you. He uses all of his creation, angels, and your mind and body to answer you, guide you, and show you He hears you. But you have to meet Him halfway and do your part. And these 5 practices I have laid out are great ways to do that. This is a lifelong thing. This is one of the ways you nurture your soul. The more you connect with Him, the more everything else will start to fall in place as your focus shifts from all the things of the world, to God and the truest part of yourself, your soul.
I really hope you find this helpful! If you would like to lean into this even further, feel free to check out my Faith by Design Facebook page where I provide channeled daily guidance to help people connect to God, angels, and their soul. I also have a private Facebook group by the same name where I offer more channeling, in a more private community where members can ask questions, and where I offer more group sessions and interactions. Please share in the comments your thoughts. I’d love to hear what resonates, how you want to add these practices into your life.
If you want to continue the pursuit of faith, fitness, and joy with me, you can also follow Faith Fitness Joy on Facebook and Instagram. I hope to see you in the comments and on the socials!