Everything Is Grace with Kimberly Braun
How can we trust that the moment we receive disappointing news, that this news is God’s grace for us? This question is answered this week by Kimberly Braun, who spent 10 years as a monastic nun. What she discovered during her daily, hourly, and yearly devotion is that everything is in fact grace.
She sits down this week with Matt O’Neill to discuss how to access our inner guidance, follow our calling, and discover for ourselves that even our most disappointing days are in fact being guided by God’s grace.
Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:
Lessons from her book, Miracles in the Naked Light
What it means to be love
How fear gets in the way of love
How to know you’re following your calling
How to tap into your calling
How is everything grace
[02:36] Lessons from Her Book
Miracles in the Naked Light offers profound insights on embracing authenticity and deepening our spiritual connection. Contrary to the romanticized image, monastic life often brings up unconscious fears and wounds for healing, rather than offering constant peace and serenity. By letting go of our defenses and embracing vulnerability, we open ourselves up to experiencing grace in every moment, making miracles a part of our ordinary lives. Prayer has transformed for Kimberly, becoming more about opening her vibration to connect with the Divine, experiencing the Beloved within herself in a wordless way.
[06:52] What It Means to Be Love
To be love means to express oneself without reservation, not worrying about acceptance or rejection. It means being the source of love itself and engaging in the dance of love through giving and receiving with others and the world in an open exchange of energy. Ultimately, to be love is to embody love in one's very being so that a presence and vibration of love is what one radiates wherever they go.
[12:44] How to Know You’re Following Your Calling
Some signs that you may be following an authentic calling rather than just your ego include experiencing a wordless peace, a sense of expansion rather than tension or contraction, and natural inclinations to lean into the calling even if it's scary. As you get to know yourself more intimately through practices like meditation, you can learn to discern the subtle cues within yourself to distinguish between a calling from a higher source versus projections of the mind.
[17:32] Everything is Grace
Kimberly suggests reframing the perspective on difficult life experiences by saying "everything is grace for me." When viewed through this lens, even challenging situations that involve loss or suffering can be opportunities for growth, as they push us to reflect more deeply and make positive changes that may ultimately lead to greater fulfillment, wisdom and understanding. Rather than seeing experiences as purely negative, focusing on how they can cultivate important life lessons frames them in a way that finds meaning and benefit.
Notable quotes:
[06:52] Even though we have beliefs that we may ascribe to or we have aspirations that we hold, ultimately, it's our experience and our reflection on our experience that roots us in deep inner wisdom and freedom. [07:07]
[09:14] Fear cloaks itself in a lot of different disguises. [09:19]
[10:43] The spiritual path is a security in the unknown. [10:49]
[17:32] Everything is grace for me – look at how that just shifts the whole energy of that belief or that truth. [17:43]
Resources Mentioned:
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About the Guest
Kimberly Braun is an ordained minister, Reiki Master, and TEDx speaker. With her experience as a meditation faculty at the renowned Omega Institute, Kimberly has positively impacted the lives of tens of thousands through her writing, speaking engagements, retreats, and courses.
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