God. Spirit. Energy. Universe. Source. Divine Mother. Shim. Mother Nature. However you define God for yourself, where do you feel its presence? In meditation? In conversation? Speaking through your intuition? There are so many different and personal ways to feel God in our lives.
There was a time where I used to get super triggered by the g-word. I was raised Lutheran. My dad worked for the Lutheran church in Kansas City as the Director of Christian Education, a role he created for himself. Our entire lives centered around the church. As kids, my brother, sister and I played in the parish hall while my dad (and mom) worked. Because we were around the church all the time we became known as the “Steyer kids”.
I knew at a very early age that something about the church wasn’t working for me. There was just more to this life than what it offered. As a kid, I remember having multiple experiences where I felt aware of parallel universes. I would feel Spirit as I lay on the grass and watched the clouds move across the sky. I knew there was more than simply this one life.
By the time I was in sixth grade and studying for my communion, my BEing wasn’t buying Lutheranism any longer. I would get horrible migraines. My mom told me years later that I almost had a nervous breakdown because of having to go to these classes. She pulled me out and I never went back.
That’s when I went silent on God.
Years later when I was looking for schools for my daughter, I met an amazing woman who taught for a universal spiritual school in Palo Alto where we lived. It was based on yoga, meditation and acceptance: all beautiful concepts. My kids resonated with this school.Part of their morning routine included chanting—singing simple songs together. One morning as I joined the kids, I noticed myself feeling triggered by the words God and Lord in these chants. At the end of the song the teacher asked the children, “Where is God?” And they all answered, “Within me!”
I remember thinking in that moment: ‘Yes… within all of you.’ But I didn’t include myself.
Later I spoke with the teacher, and she guided me to connect with my own definitions of God, helping me rediscover spirituality, not church-iality. I’ve been on a spiritual path ever since.
God is in my life in many ways: I feel a presence when I meditate. I pray to Divine Mother and saints and sages of all religions. I also hear her; my intuition speaks to me generally in my right ear, and usually in words or phrases. Even the topic for this newsletter came from this connection, so someone must need to read these words. It’s taken me years to trust my intuition, but when I do, I always find myself guided in the right direction.
I’ve established my own rituals within my life and work. Before I begin working, I pray and ask to be a channel of pure light and love. I send healing energy to all of the beings on this earth. I light candles and incense. That’s how the Muse Boards I create with my clients are so richly infused with spirit and energy and love. Such is the magic of intention. Every step of my artistic process for Muse Boards, I do what I can to fill them with healing energies.
The last—and probably the easiest—place where I feel connected to God is in nature. Nothing makes me feel God’s presence like witnessing majestic beauty all around me. The power of the ocean as the waves crash on the shore. The expansiveness of the endless horizon. I’m that big. I feel as expansive as the ocean, as powerful as the waves, as strong as the wind.And that’s one thing I love about my new home; I’m surrounded by redwood trees, where I can easily feel my connection with God and Spirit every day. When I am in the redwood trees, I feel their magnificent power and strength. It feels like a re-connection to myself and to God.
How do you feel God?