Planting God's Seeds

The Path to Permanent Spiritual Transformation, As Taught By Jesus

What do you most deeply desire?

This is a question I often revisit.

And my answer is always the same.

I want to feel love, joy, happiness, fulfilment, peace.

Not as fleeting emotions… but as a permanent state of being.

And deep in my bones, I know, it is my relationship to God, and unveiling the divinity within me that will bring this.

After all, this is what every great spiritual master, sage, mystic, saint and avatar has taught us.

God is all these things. Peace, love, joy, happiness, fulfilment.

And so I think it’s fair to say, that if we want to experience these feelings as permanent ways of beings, all we have to do is follow one of the paths to God, carved out by the great masters, avatars, saints and mystics.

It sounds so simple in theory, doesn’t it?

So then… why is it so difficult?

Why is it, that if we have these paths already laid out for us, we live in a world where suffering is so rampant? In the Western world, mental health issues seem to be the norm. Depression and Anxiety in young people are through the roof. Greed, jealousy, judgement, and fear are still prevalent.

As a society, even one that is more ‘developed’, we seem to be as far away from God as ever.

Why?

Well we know that many people live their lives unaware of God, unaware of the divinity that exists within each living and breathing thing, unaware that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, we are not the body… and that death of the body is not in fact death of the self… the soul is eternal and immortal, a part of God itself.

We could call this unawareness ‘ignorance’, which the Buddha referred to as one of the root delusions that keeps human beings stuck in a perpetual cycle of suffering.

So then, for those of us who’ve walked the spiritual path long enough to be aware of these truths… to be aware of God’s love, and the inherent divinity with us… should we not then rejoice in every waking moment? Should we not be permanently transformed by this very knowing?

But most of us aren’t.

We’re still very much caught up in our humanness, regardless of how extensive our knowledge of spiritual truth is.

Why is that?

The answer that I want to explore today lies in this concept:

Embodiment.

Or rather the lack of embodiment.

Embodiment: The Missing Link to Permanent Spiritual Transformation

If you’ve hung around any contemporary ‘new age’ circles lately, it’s likely you’ve come across the term ‘Embodiment’.

And if you follow various spiritual coaches and embodiment teachers on Instagram, you’d be forgiven in thinking that embodiment has more to do with pleasure, dance, somatic healing, and various forms of movement than anything else.

It sort of does, and sort of doesn’t.

These are all tools that can help with embodiment of any sort of knowledge or spiritual truth, and we’ll explore the link a little later on.

First, let’s explore what Jesus has to say about the concept of embodiment, as told in the bible, and why it can be such a challenge for us to master.

The piece of scripture I am referring to is a well known parable, called the Parable of the Sower.

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seeds fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

- Matthew 13: 3-8

Before we start deconstructing this parable and what it can teach us about embodiment, let us first start by defining what the term actually means.

According to the Oxford Dictionary:

noun: embodiment; plural noun: embodiments

1. a tangible or visible form of an idea, quality, or feeling.

   "she seemed to be a living embodiment of vitality"

To embody something, simple means that you are that. So when, for instance, you or I embody a spiritual truth, it means that this truth is not only understood on an intellectual level… rather it is a lived experience that resides deep in the body.

I like to think of Embodiment as more of an evolutionary process or a scale, as opposed to a switch we turn on or off.

The more and more we embody spiritual truths, the more we experience permanent transformation both in the way we experience life internally and externally.

Our way of being shifts into one where God’s gifts; that of love, peace, joy and fulfilment are dominant. How we see the world shifts in accordance, and in turn that transformation ripples out into our communities both through our deeds, and our presence.

So how can we embody spiritual truths more deeply?

The Parable of the Sower offers us clues as to how we can do this, as well as what stops us from embodying spiritual truth.

Embodiment: The Missing Ingredient From Many Spiritual Circles

Before starting The Modern Mystic, I reached out to a number of advanced spiritual practitioners and seekers whom I trusted to do a little market research.

One of the questions I asked was ‘What do you feel is currently missing from spiritual spaces?’.

Multiple people said ‘embodiment’ was the thing they felt was missing; both from traditional and contemporary spiritual circles.

In contemporary spaces; there are more spiritual coaches, guides, healers and teachers offering their wisdom freely on the internet then ever before…

A little search on social media and you will find free masterclasses, activations, and experiences bordering on the mystical and magical.

And yet, many of us will find that while we feel good during these various activations, rarely do the changes felt in the moment create permanent transformation. Or if they do, the shifts are very subtle, and the change seems slow.

We also see this often in traditional spiritual communities, such as churches… which is why I believe many churches have experienced such a decline in membership.

If one does not feel their life is changing for the better… they are not being transformed by participation in their church… they are not feeling happier or more fulfilled by soaking in the wisdom of the preacher or community… what exactly is the purpose of it?

And I believe the reason for all of this, is that the teachers themselves are not always embodied in what they are preaching.

Unless the teacher themselves is walking their talk, and acts behind the scenes in accordance with their teachings even when no one is looking… I believe permanent transformation will not occur asn deeply for their students/audience.

This is why we need more embodied teachers who are transparent about their own journey and how they apply spiritual wisdom practically speaking. Teachers must teach from lived experience as much as scholarly experience.

An embodied teacher is one who exhibits what they preach. They lead by example. The wisdom they offer others is deeply rooted inside themselves. So much so, that it is a lived way of being. They ARE that which they teach.

Let us once again examine The Parable of the Sower to understand more deeply what it means to embody spiritual truth, and how we as modern mystics and seekers can become embodied along our spiritual journey. This time we will refer to later verses, where Jesus is explaining the parable in more plain terms to his disciples.

¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

- Matthew 13: 18-23

The seed that falls on the path and is snatched by the bird, represents those of us who come across spiritual truths; whether they be taught through a teacher, or exhibited through a certain life experience where God is wanting us to learn a specific lesson, but it does not get through. We do not head the wisdom and carry on with our lives.

Perhaps we are closed off to a certain spiritual truth, because the teacher from who the wisdom comes through is someone we judge as different to us. Perhaps there are certain truths about ourselves that we are not ready or willing to hear… perhaps we have made mistakes we have not owned up to, or we are too deep in our pride to admit when we are wrong.

If we’re real honest with ourselves, we’ve all been there.

The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

How many of us have gone to various lectures, taken various courses, or heard a spiritual teacher or a preacher speak… only to be enthralled by what we are learning, commit to taking action…

But then that action quickly falls by the wayside?

I remember early on in my spiritual journey, I used to attend many conferences, lectures and events. During those events I felt incredible! I was so happy, so joyful, so full of love!

Then I’d get home and fall right back into old family dynamics and routines… the happiness, joy and love I’d felt at those events wouldn’t last.

I also see this a lot with spiritual seekers who are chronic learners; those who attend course after course, seminar after seminar, read book after book, attend lecture after lecture… or even those who attend church every Sunday…

And yet nothing in their life has changed.

They act the same and think the same as they did years before.

The wisdom has not rooted within them.

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Ouff, this one hits home, as someone who’s spent a few years in the coaching industry and spent a lot of time in social media, and have felt myself getting sucked into the glamour, the money, the lifestyle…

When I started my coaching business in 2020, it was primarily a vehicle for service and transformation. But with the promises of earning ‘6-7 figures’ and the prestige that seemed to come with those titles, I, like many others got sucked into the game of it all, and forgot why I’d started my business in the first place. It became more about being able to ‘claim’ I was successful simply because I earned a certain amount of money, then the service itself.

Luckily I learned my lesson pretty quickly. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to make money, but we have to be careful that we’re not getting caught up in glamour, in prestige, in image, in greed, or in egoic versions of ‘success’. When we do, the wisdom of God, the calls of our spirit are clouded over by the voice of ego. No longer can we hear the wisdom.

One of my teachers used to tell me that you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and Ego at the same time. Sometimes the desires of the ego and the desires instilled in us by God line up… but sometimes they don’t.

²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

And here in, lies the truly embodied seeker.

When we head the word of God… when we follow the callings of our soul… when we say YES to living life in accordance with a certain spiritual truth or teaching… when we commit to practicing again and again and again even when we get it wrong, even when we mess it up… and when we make peace with the body…

Permanent transformation starts to occur.

Overtime, the wisdom becomes embodied within us.

No longer do we have to ‘try’. No longer do we need to consciously think about it.

It becomes automatic.

It exists in the subconscious, in the body’s energetic field.

It is a part of who we are.

It is rooted deep within.

And this is what it means to embody the wisdom of God.

This IS the key to true spiritual transformation.

How does one transform themselves into ‘good soil’, so that God’s seeds can land and root within us?

I truly believe that if we are disconnected from our bodies, the seeds of God cannot fully take root.

Does that mean we must love every piece of our body 100% in order for spiritual truth to land? I don’t think so, no… that’s probably too big of an ask.

What we don’t want, is to live a life completely out of body, which is all too common for many spiritual seekers and practitioners, as it can feel painful to ‘be’ in the body, and more comfortable to have our consciousness sit in the cosmic ether!

But we cannot transform ourselves into good soil this way.

So we must make peace with the body by feeling & releasing our emotions. We must release shame, guilt, and dense negative emotions trapped in the body, and locked in the heart, keeping it closed and guarded.

I was having a conversation with a client of mine the other day, and she was telling me that she could feel all of these emotions inside her that wanted to be expressed & released, but she couldn’t quite access them. She felt as though they were ‘underwater’.

This client is someone who is very intelligent, and very knowledgable. She knows that allowing herself to feel her feelings is powerful, and will help her move forward in positive ways.

But she simply couldn’t access them.

I explained to her, that the reason she feels this is likely because her mind has built up energetic walls around her heart so she doesn’t have to ‘feel’ the painful feelings associated with certain life experiences.

With all those walls around her heart, it’s hard to ‘access’ those feelings.

I also know that this client is ‘doing the work’ to make peace with her body. I know that by doing this work, slowly the walls around her heart will break down… and she will be able to access these stored feelings.

One spiritual teacher named Michael Singer (author of The Untethered Soul), explains the concept of a closed heart a bit like this:

The mind is the big brother, and the heart the little sister. When the little sister (the heart) gets hurt, the big brother (the mind) becomes protective. He says “don’t you dare hurt my little sister’, and puts a protective cage around little sister heart so she won’t get hurt again.

While the mind (ego) thinks it’s being helpful, unfortunately this causes more harm than good.

Not only are the feelings associated from uncomfortable situations now locked in the body somatically speaking, but the truths that we want to sink into the heart can’t get in.

And this is where somatic & physiological movement modalities can be useful in our process of opening the heart and making peace with the body.

It is well documented scientifically that our physiology is deeply connected to our emotional and spiritual landscape. (Bruce Lipton, Dr. Joe Dispenza are some teachers to check out in this regard).

If one is disconnected from the body, they cannot fully access the heart, which means spiritual wisdom cannot fully root.

This is why movement can often feel so healing & liberating! This is why humans have danced since the beginning of our history. When we dance, we feel one with our bodies, and our heart fills with joy!

And when we feel joy, the walls around our heart melt just a little bit more… meaning spiritual truths can root just a little bit more.

Of course dance is not the only tool to open the heart & connect with the body.

My own embodiment tool kit has shifted and evolved through the years, and has included a whole range of things such as; yoga asana, weight training, singing and writing songs, spending time with people I love, engaging in activities that bring me joy, laughing as much as possible, spending a lot of time in nature and by water, eating better for my body, inner child work, self-led letting go and forgiveness practices, and working with various healing practitioners that have helped me remove triggers and emotional baggage from ‘negative’ past experiences… as well as doing ‘the work’ to love all the parts of my body that don’t feel easy to love.

Permanent Spiritual Transformation is the Gift of Embodiment

This is what it means to me, when Jesus says that the good seed produced ‘a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’

When a spiritual truth is rooted in the heart, it bares fruit for the rest of our lives.

When we choose to abide by love instead of fear… that love spreads and multiplies. It affects everyone we meet. Love, joy, laughter, forgiveness… these feelings are infectious, exponentially raising the consciousness of our communities.

⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

What will you do now, having read this musing?

Will this be another thing you read and then forget about as you get swept up in your daily life?

Or will you contemplate how to cultivate even better soil within you, so you can fully receive God’s gifts that are always readily available?

Can you choose to open your heart just a little bit more to God’s love, and to how life is showing up for you in this moment?

Will you allow for spiritual truths, such as those about love, forgiveness, and the divinity of the soul to root in you just a little deeper?

The embodiment of spiritual wisdom is the gift that keeps on giving.

The lens of love changes life dramatically.

So what lens will you view your life from? The lens of love, or the lens of fear?