The Gospel Within You

There is a gospel within you that wants to be preached
with words – possibly – but mostly with your body

truth spoken through the way your feet stand firmly and confidently on the earth

the way you

t a k e

u p

s p a c e

the way you are done caring about perfection or pleasing

the way you move freely – liberated from the religions that have kept your hips,
breasts, and lips bound, expressionless, and quiet

the way your eyes reveal the unshakable truth you know deep in your bones
that you – we – are Her.

Lisa McCrohan, MA, LCSW-C, SEP

Clients share with me their sufferings – their stories of hurt and sometimes hell they’ve lived through.

I acknowledge these. I “walk beside” people to enter into a new relationship with their sufferings and stories of going through hell. AND, as often happens when I am sitting with someone, I can see beneath these stories that have clouded over the deeper truth of who they are. And while one aspect of my job as a somatic experiencing psychotherapist is to help clients navigate the landscape of hell, hurt, and suffering, it is also to help clients REMEMBER their innate goodness.

It is to help my clients REMEMBER that they are a living, breathing, embodied aspect of the Divine – in the flesh, in these bones, in this body, in this human experience right now.

It’s to help my clients REMEMBER who they truly are.

It’s to help my clients listen within, to treat themselves with tenderness and regard – whether they believe they are worthy or not of such love.

It’s to help my clients TAKE UP SPACE – to walk with dignity, to spread out, to not hide their imperfections, tears, awesomeness, or light.

It’s to help my clients to REMEMBER the sacred story of their true belonging– and then to express that gospel within them…unapologetic, truthful, authentic.

A gospel is a sacred story of remembering the divine. A gospel is an account of the divine living and moving through us human beings. Trauma work is sacred work. When potential clients call me and ask about working with me, they share the symptoms and the pain they are feeling. Yet what I also hear is this: somewhere from deep within them – sometimes conscious and sometimes not – REMEMBERS and holds onto the truth of who they are. Something holy within them remembers that it is their birthright to embody an inherent freedom – liberated from the experiences (and some times institutions!) that have held them back from claiming their right to be here, to matter, and to embody their aspect of Her (yes, I’m using a feminine pronoun for the Divine…because it’s good to change it up).

And that holy remembering is like kindling in their soul. They know it’s time. It’s time to embody that gospel within them – to be that “living, breathing, fumbling around, uncertain, and yet so very certain in a deeper way” expression of Love.

And you know what? Our world needs this right now. Our world needs more soulful people remembering, reclaiming, and preaching that EMBODIED gospel within them. Our world needs such hope and light and truth spoken through our words, gifts, presence, and actions.

There is a gospel within you, too, that wants to be preached – “spoken” through your body and the way you stand firmly and confidently on this earth and TAKE UP SPACE to be the liberated, shining light you have always been.

There is a gospel within you wanting to embodied with the unshakable truth that you are Divine – not when you have “everything worked out,” mastered your anxious thoughts, conquered your fears, tamed your insecurities, or finally feel like you are enough. The gospel within you includes all that!

There is a gospel within you wanting to embodied and shared.

Maybe your gospel includes stories of regret, failure, or missed opportunities for connection.  Maybe your gospel includes stories of anxiety, trauma, depression, or addiction.  Maybe your gospel includes stories of betrayal, hurt, loneliness, or grief.

There are blank pages still to be written that include:

I’m sorry; please forgive me.

Please love me.

I need help.

I forgive you.

I cannot see you anymore.

I want to connect with you.

I need a place where I feel like I belong.

There are stories still to be written of remembering and reclaiming your inherent goodness, healing, letting go, and grace entering the picture.  There are stories still to be written of you claiming your seat here in this life and being a light – a kind, benevolent presence – in this world hungry for inspiration and hope.

Your gospel – with all the stories of your failures and triumphs, your addictions and grace, your not belonging and finding your home – wants to be preached and embodied for your own healing and for the healing of our world.