The Temple of the Body ~ A Transmission

A contemplation on embodiment, ensoulment, and a guided meditation

The first temple was, is, and will always be, the mind of God as it takes form through the body of the Goddess. Their union is the original consecration of holy territory—from Alpha (Α) to Omega (Ω). We call this The Cosmos.

Every temple on earth is meant to capture some aspect of that original architecture. Back when we remembered this more completely, even the act of building was done as a prayer—every movement a metaphor; all effort offered in reciprocity; precision as love in the masculine form. We labored over the structure because it was meant to hold something holy—the Mystery, wonder as love in the feminine form. The play of opposites, the tension of polarities dancing: light and shadow, matter and spirit, solitude and hosts of angels, silence and the holy roar. There is nothing that cannot be contained within a properly built temple…just as there is nothing that cannot be contained in the Cosmos, in the mind of God.

Before you were born, your soul and the Divine Source from which it comes, made a deal. Perhaps it is more elegant and accurate to say...a vow. 

This vow was simple and still echoes in the minds of mystics: As above, so below.

In this vow, the body took shape…an incarnation of spirit in flesh came through and to earth. That’s you.

As above, so below. The body of each human being (and every creature) is designed from the original blueprint. We contain multitudes. The temple of the body is the home of the Soul. I like to think about how this might have gone down:

Source said to Soul:

“I will make you a moveable home where you can practice all manner of magic and alchemy. You will call it a body. Through it, you will have inexhaustible power and access to all the elements of earth. I will make you a home with a hearth that never goes out; where water runs pure through the channels as blood. And in this home you will create as I do. You will make and destroy worlds every day–consciously and unconsciously. You will learn to feel everything. This will be your triumph and despair. This will be your worship.

Over a lifetime your temple will hold all of the prayers, tears, songs, poems, art, friends, lessons learned, riches earned, agony, ecstasy…all you need to make the kingdom of heaven on earth. Love will be the mortar. And it will expand and become grand as you remember who you are, where you came from, and where you are going. You will be the caretaker of this temple, the master architect, and the resident deity. Though it sounds like a lot, it will not be overwhelming. It will be the most natural—there is nothing in it that is not already you. But, it will also require effort because of the responsibility that comes with incarnation. Remembering your roles, enacting them, but also learning to become still, the temple itself—this is the key to keeping it. This is how you keep your end of the bargain.

From time to time you will forget. That is the difference between my mind and yours. I cannot forget and you will have to work to remember. There will be times when you will struggle and suffer; when you feel lost; when you won’t want to be in your temple because it feels empty, scary, lonely, or in ruins. You might lose your way altogether and find yourself wandering from market stall to market stall where the plastic replicas of holy objects are sold for a dollar.

Do not despair. Even when you are lost in the marketplace or the wilderness, you are still within your temple. There is an entrance to be found almost everywhere. Look there behind the crowded stalls and endless shelves of temptation, there is a clearing, a forgotten path through high grass. Follow it.

Alone is something you will also feel from time to time. It’s a particular trick of the human condition. It may help you to know that solitude is essential, but “alone” is a place inside this temple of the body that you will retreat to when you feel afraid, sad, or ashamed. It’s a small room without windows where you will go to protect yourself. When you are there you cannot feel what and who has hurt or frightened you, but you also cannot feel me. Though you cannot imagine it now (as a Soul), you will forget (as a human being) from time to time. And you will go to that room and feel alone.

All you need to do to remember is look for a door; step out and breathe. In truth, you can remember without stepping out as long as you can still breathe. As long as you are breathing, you will be cared for. Come to the surface of your skin. Come to where you can hear your heart beating; feel the heat of that inner fire. You’ve found the hearth where I sit. This is the way back.

The better you know this temple, the more you tend it, the more light and life it has to offer. I have seen incredible creations: hidden grottos with waterfalls and wildlife; groves of tall trees silver with moonlight; caverns with underground lakes and high ceilings lit from unseen sources; altars built into cliff walls; mansions with many rooms; domes of luminescent light; circular libraries containing all the world’s wisdom; boudoirs and temple rooms filled with sumptuous fabrics, colors and treats…all this world of wonders is within.

When you come home to the body on the soft green earth, you are a living prayer—not just for yourself, but for all life. You are really here—the lights are on. Your temple is alive with activity, holy with song. The fire burns! You are a beacon to others and a refuge. It will occur to you quite naturally then to offer yourself in service. You will be in a strong position to work on the collective project of creation from your own divinity. This is how you will honor our vow.”

With this, Source built a temple and called it YOU. Your Soul's body was erected in a grand fashion in the mind of Source and you stared at the blueprint in awe. Never had something felt more familiar and true. You bowed to this—acceptance of the responsibility, reverence for the gift of life. And as Source breathed, a great mist arose and your Soul became a fleck of condensation. And you moved from ether to wind to fire to water to earth. Down you came, through the mind of the Father, and took form in the womb of the Mother. 

May we live with the light of awareness shining from every window and clear about who we are and what we came to do: however big or small; however long or short. These measurements fall away as we rest in the temple we inhabit, the soul embodied, an eternal prayer of our own being and becoming. Holding up our end of the bargain, best we can.

And when it’s time to leave this place we retreat into the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost (and often secret) chamber of the temple. Here we dis-identify one-by-one from the elements that constellated us. And the temple dissolves from the ground floor up through the roof: from earth to water to sparks to mist to space. Up we go, away we go. The temple now a shell—dust to dust—and our body’s last breath a retreat back into Source. A kiss. Welcome back. 

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Please enjoy this meditation from last week’s Coming Home session. It’s a journey into your own body/soul/temple. Very nourishing. XO