Grounded (Practice: Resting in the Loving Gaze of God (2))

In an earlier post, I wrote about the practice of “resting in the loving gaze of God.” Here is a detailed script for engaging in this practice:

1. Before you begin, it’s important to acknowledge that this spiritual practice may be challenging. Many of us have been conditioned by unhealthy faith communities or unhealthy family members or unhealthy circumstances to not see ourselves, or others, in the way that God does. So, before you begin, make a commitment to yourself, silently or aloud, like this: “I recognize that this practice may challenge me. Accordingly, I give myself grace. I don’t have to do this or experience it perfectly. This will be a step, even if it’s only a small one, toward seeing myself and others as God does.”
2. We will engage in this practice for ourselves, and for others. That is, there is a social component to this practice that is just as important as the individual component.
3. Now, close your eyes. Take a moment of silence to still yourself. Pay attention to your body. Notice where it is tense and try to relax. Attend to your breathing–deep and slow breaths. Pay attention to your mind and heart. As thoughts and emotions emerge in this stillness, acknowledge them, and then release them.
4. In this stillness, try to picture God looking at you. 
   1. Let his location come to you. He may be looking down from heaven above. He may be looking at you from a posture immediately across from you. He may be looking at you very closely as you lie in bed. 
   2. Try to imagine on his face a look of total devotion and delight.
      1. If it helps, use a known image to help–the face of a  person in your life who is devoted to you and delighted in you; the face of someone you have seen in a play, movie or art that radiates devotion and delight. It could even be a child’s face–they are so good at unreserved delight and devotion!
      2. You may want to picture God as Father (or Mother), as Jesus, or even as the Spirit. It is OK to picture God as a person you know as well.
      3. Picture his eyes, and the way they radiate love.
      4. Picture his smile, and the way it radiates love.
   3. Imagine the voice of God saying to you, “You are my beloved.” What does that voice sound like to you? Is it tender? Strong? Loud? Quiet?
   4. Rest for a moment more in the long loving gaze of God.
5. As you do, draw your attention to yourself. 
   1. What emotions do you experience? As they emerge, acknowledge each one, including the negative ones.
   2. Try your best to savor this experience, to be fully present to it.
   3. What physical sensations do you experience? How has this impacted your breathing? What, if any, impact do you experience in your body (easing of tightness, increasing of tightness)? What is your body telling you?
   4. How might this experience live itself out as you move through the day and encounter voices, including your own, that sound in contradiction to God’s voice?
6. Now, imagine other people. Family. Friends. Coworkers. Even strangers. Imagine God now turning toward them–with the exact same look of delight and devotion.
   1. Imagine yourself joining God in that look. Imagine saying with God to these other people, “You are God’s beloved.”
   2. Is there someone specific, or a specific group, who comes to mind as you silently mouth those words?
   3. Is there someone specific, or a specific group, you feel led to invite, in your imagination, to come and rest in the long loving gaze of God?
   4. Who do you know that has not been treated as God’s beloved, by others or by yourself. Invite them, in your imagination, to rest in the long and loving gaze of God.
7. What does this experience feel like? What emotions are you noticing? What is your body telling you?
8. Rest for a moment more, with these others, in the long and loving gaze of God.
9. How might that experience live itself out as you encounter others today?
10. Close by thanking God for what you experienced in this practice.