Sacred Practice from the book

Somatic Souvenir: A Practice of Sacred Surrender

Mary Magdalene did not choose me; I was simply there. Open. Receptive.

Ready. This is what surrender feels like. Not passive, but fully alive, fully

present. A deep trust in your body's knowing.

But we forget. Again and again, we return to our lives and forget. The silence,

the song, the sense of being held. Every time, I think: This time, it’s forever. And

every time, the world pushes back: into fear, into urgency, into tension. Yet my

body remembers.

We are in a constant spiral dance with Mary Magdalene, remembering and

forgetting. It is our bodies that can bring us back. Even though I cannot live in

full surrender every day, my body has tasted it. The absence of fear. The

presence of the holy. A somatic souvenir I can return to again and again.

I invite you into this remembrance, a practice to imprint the sacred into your

nervous system so that when the world makes you forget, your body can guide

you back. On my website you will find a recording I made inside her cave

leading you through this practice. Otherwise, record the instructions below and

lead yourself through this. Listening to our own voices during a ritual is

incredibly potent.

Step 1: Remember The Felt Sense of the Sacred

Find a quiet space. Sit or lie down. Make sure you aren’t wearing belts or tight

jeans that constrict your diaphragm. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in

through your nose, filling your lungs, belly and womb completely. Exhale with

sound; let your voice carry the breath out.

Place your hands on your body. Feel your weight, your warmth. Speak to

yourself the way Mary Magdalene speaks, with utmost compassion and

tenderness, whatever you need to hear today, for example:

You are beautiful and holy.

You are so loved.

You are sacred, precious and perfect.

If a memory of deep trust or peace arises, let it fill your body.

Where do you feel it?

What is its texture?

Its temperature?

Does it move or stay still?

If you cannot recall this feeling, that is okay. Simply invite it in. Ask:

What would trust feel like in my body?

Then listen, not with your mind, but with your soma, your whole-body wisdom.

Step 2: Vocalising the Sacred

The body holds onto fear, tension, and unprocessed emotions. The voice is a

direct pathway to release and remembrance.

Inhale deeply and let out a soft, open sound on the exhale: a sigh, a hum, a tone.

Let your voice guide you.

Try this:

Humming – to soothe the nervous system.

Moaning – to release what is held too tightly.

Use the ancient power of vowels – ahhh.

Let sound be a portal back to your body’s knowing.

Step 3: Receiving The Somatic Souvenir

Now, place both hands over your heart, your belly, or any part of your body

that calls for attention.

Whisper: The sacred is not elsewhere. It is here. It is now. And it is mine.

Breathe it in. Let your body record this moment: the sensation, the voice, the

knowing. Touch yourself in any way that feels nourishing to you.

You have just etched the sacred into your nervous system. A somatic souvenir

to return to anytime life pulls you away from trust, softness, and surrender.

Step 4: Offering Life-force Back to the Sacred

When we visit holy spaces – whether ancient caves or the sacred sanctuary of

our own bodies – we often come to ask. To plead. To take. But the sacred is a

relationship. Mary Magdalene asks us to bring something back.

So, as you complete this practice, offer something in return:

A song sung aloud or in your heart.

A touch filled with reverence.

A breath of gratitude.

When we give life-force to the sacred, the sacred gives back tenfold.