Deep Dive Part 5
December 21, 2025
Deep Dive Part 5
What we comprehend and grasp from our deep dive is finally combined with our soul. This union is also called embodiment. Though the soul is not the body, it works through the body just like the heart and mind. We can know something mentally and feel it emotionally, but only when we embody it does it become part of our being.
When we learn a dance, a chore, or a physical routine, we don’t have to relearn it each time. It becomes part of us; it is what we call muscle memory. The same is true of mental and emotional truths. They move beyond the mind and heart into the body when we truly understand them. When something is understood, and embodied, it becomes part of our being.
The body is a powerful center of intelligence. It can carry us in a completely different direction than our minds or hearts. For example, when I begin my daily cardio exercise, I often initially resist. But once the music starts, my body leaps into action and takes over. I embody the rhythm and the movements. For an hour, my body moves effortlessly and with joy. This embodied practice has become part of who I am.
We can combine anything we want to be a part of ourselves. In Radical Wholeness, Philip Shepherd calls this “embodied presence,” which brings all of who we are into the present moment. The body is a living archive of all we hold and all we hold dear.
I see this truth in action when I refer troubled teens to wilderness programs. These young people often give lip service to their therapists and families, yet they continue destructive behaviors. So, to truly move past their immaturity, they must face life directly. This is best done in the wilderness, where they are removed from their habits and triggers. In the wilderness programs, they learn teamwork, resilience, and self-reliance. They embody what they once only talked about but had no real incentive to combine with. A competent staff in the Wilderness Program provides the container for the teen to find a new way of moving in the world.
So it is with us. Every deep dive offers the chance to combine the truths of that immersion into our being. However, before arriving at the combination, we must first journey through the four steps: curiosity, courage, challenge, and comprehension. The fifth ingredient is “combination.”
Combining ourselves with the truths we discover is the sacred work of spiritual alchemy … the merging of ego and soul. Transformation occurs when the ego bows to the soul and serves it, rather than commanding it. This is true amalgamation.
Spiritual practice: Go inward and listen to your heart. What truths are you ready to combine with your being? Choose a study or experience that will immerse you deeply in that truth.
Self-inquiry: What do you wish to embody as part of yourself that, until now, you have only longed for?
Prayer:
Dear God, I ask that Your Holy Comforter combine within me all that brings me closer to my true self and to You. Amen.
