When Change Changes You: Finding Peace in Your Body and Spirit with Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich

Change is inevitable—but that doesn't mean we're always prepared for it.

As summer turns toward autumn, Tara welcomes back Reverend Dr. Becca Ehrlich of the New Breath Spirituality Center for a deeply honest conversation about what happens when life shifts beneath our feet. Change can bring excitement and possibility, but it can also bring anxiety, grief, fear, and a whole mix of emotions that our bodies experience long before our minds know what to do with them.

Becca, a spiritual director and somatics practitioner, introduces us to the world of somatic spirituality and invites us to pay attention to the wisdom of our bodies. What does it mean to feel our emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them? How can we expand our capacity to handle what life throws at us? And how might our bodies actually become part of the way we experience God?

Tara and Becca talk about grief, life transitions, nervous-system regulation, co-regulation, movement, prayer, and the surprising ways our bodies can help us process change. Along the way, they explore Becca's own experience of leaving a faith tradition after 20 years and the complicated “both/and” of grieving what we're leaving while making room for what comes next.

They also discover a beautiful connection between somatic practice and spirituality—from Joan of Arc's embodied courage to the simple physical act of crossing yourself during prayer.

You don't have to be calm all the time. You don't have to have everything figured out. And you don't have to navigate change alone.

Sometimes the invitation is simply to notice, breathe, listen, and make a little more room for what you're experiencing.

And at the end of it all, there's this beautiful reminder:

You are loved. ❤️

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

S7 E19 When Change Changes You: Finding Peace in Your Body and Spirit with Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich

Tara: [00:00:00] Hello, friends. Welcome to HSP, or Holy Shenanigans Podcast, where we share stories of the sacred showing up in every day life.

Tara: As the summer season is turning to autumn, change is not only in the air, but showing up on our calendars and every part of our lives. School, university, work, and more, change is here and here to stay. When you think of the word change or shifts that it brings, how does that make you feel? Some people naturally embrace change with gusto, but many people struggle to navigate change and find that change brings fear, anxiety, grief, and something more.

Tara: To help us think about change from new perspectives today is a [00:01:00] second-time guest here at Holy Shenanigans Podcast, Reverend Dr.

Tara: Becca Ehrlich. She is a longtime friend and pastoral colleague with lots of experience and education on navigating change. Becca, welcome to HSP once again. Would you please introduce yourself?

Becca: Yeah., Thanks for having me. I'm Becca Ehrlich. I do lots of fun things. One of the things I do is I'm a spiritual director and somatics practitioner. I'm getting trained in somatic experiencing, and we can talk a lot more about what that looks like and what that means. I also do somatic breathwork and Reiki and that's my practitioner side of things.

Becca: I'm executive director and founder of New Breath Spirituality Center, where we do things locally in the Albany, New York area and also online, and then we have retreats multiple times a year, which is super fun. And I also teach Christian spirituality at United Lutheran Seminary. So lots of different things.

Tara: I'm so excited to talk to you today because we have known each other at [00:02:00] least a decade.

Becca: Oh, more than that. I think closer to 20 years now.

Tara: Oh, shush, we don't wanna tell people how old we are.

Becca: Okay. We're much you- no, decade. We'll go with decade.

Tara: One of the things I love about our friendship is that we have navigated change as friends.

Tara: I initially knew you when I first was going through the process of becoming ordained in seminary and then we became colleagues. But before that we were really good friends. So I really feel like today as we have this conversation, it's an opportunity for, us to talk about change, but I just really appreciate your willingness to come and talk about some things that might be sensitive too.

Tara: Because those times of change in our lives sometimes just show up with a big wallop, and we have no idea that they were coming our way. as our audience listens today, I just wanna set a safe container for us and for them, and to let them know that, some of our conversation is gonna be emotive, and there may be some [00:03:00] things that could be triggering for people.

Tara: But our goal is to provide a space for healing and support. So with all that said, why is this topic of change so important to you?

Becca: change is inevitable, right? It's going to happen in life. We like to think it's not going to like it's not gonna happen to us, but life happens, right? Things happen both good and bad change, right? And often it doesn't truly matter if it's a good or bad change to our bodies, because our bodies often react to change in different ways depending on our history and how change has affected us in the past.

Becca: We may have anxiety or dread around change, or we may be excited and joyful about change, and it might be a mix, right? It might be a whole lot of mix of lots of different things around what change could look like. And I think oftentimes society likes to tell us that we need to suppress all the different reactions we have to [00:04:00] change.

Becca: And my theory is we need to do the opposite. I honestly don't think we talk about it enough think about how we handled the pandemic as a society,

Becca: there's this huge collective life-changing experience where we were experiencing life or death situations and society was like, "Oh, that happened for a few years.

Becca: Okay, we're just going back to normal now."

Tara: It's funny you mention that. I was recently reading through some essays I had written about that time. And I had written a song called We Didn't Know That the World Was Going to Change,

Becca: Ah.

Tara: and it's all about, how do we live into that time and realize that we just can't go back to the status quo.

Tara: What did we learn from this? it's a very emotional

Tara: Account of that. But I think that that is very much a shared experience in our whole world. I think that people still don't really [00:05:00] know how much that changed many, for people.

Becca: Yeah, 'cause there's not intentional space for that, right? Unless you make it if you're working with a professional or having conversations or, say, processing it through music, If you're making space for that, there's definitely some work. But in general, there was no space. We just sort of were like, "Okay, and we're done with that now."

Becca: And I think we do that a lot with lots of things in life, because society expects us to just go back to whatever we were doing, even though we had a life-changing situation

Tara: So say more about what somatic work is. 'Cause I'm sure there are folks that understand that term, but why don't we start there?

Becca: Yeah it's interesting because I feel like somatics is having a moment in TikTok and Reels and stuff. And there's a lot of misinformation out there, about what somatics is and what it's supposed to do and what it looks like. So I like talking about it so people actually get an idea of what it should be doing versus what the [00:06:00] quick fixes that we're sold in social media tend to be.

Becca: But that's my disclaimer. Soma is Greek for body, and somatics is basically helping us to be more aware of what's happening internally in our bodies so that we can expand our capacity for what life throws at us so we can feel safer in our bodies. And often that means also unwinding physiological stress and trauma patterns that may be continuing in our bodies 'cause they didn't get to complete the first time

Tara: I'm fascinated with that whole concept of like, completing a cycle and how important that is but I think that in regards to change, it's really important that people have this conversation and really start thinking about the embodied aspect of being a human.

Tara: Cause we so often think about, our intellectual lives, and we compartmentalize so much between intellectual and physical and spiritual [00:07:00] experiences, that I think that the somatics could be a really wonderful way for people to be more integrated. Is that the hope of this work?

Becca: Yes, and I think what's super interesting about it is that as they've done studies, they've discovered that more information is coming from our bodies to our brain than there is coming from our brains to our bodies. Most of us think our brain, things happen, and then it affects our bodies, and it's actually more our body sending signals to our brains.

Becca: Which means being more aware of what's happening in our bodies can help then shape how our brains work, which is fascinating stuff.

Tara: That is. So how did you begin getting involved in this work of somatics?

Becca: So I was doing research on trauma work for my own edification, honestly. Like I was trying to work through some stuff. I tried everything. I'd been doing traditional therapy, which is great for a while. And I'd seen some s- shifts, but not as much as I would've liked.

Becca: I went on a wellness retreat that was filmed [00:08:00] and aired as a TV show, and I made some strides there for sure. No spoilers if anyone wants to watch the show. I did lots of different things and still wasn't finding long-term change that I wanted. And I saw a posting, I think on Reddit honestly, about somatic work, and I was like, "That's fascinating.

Becca: I don't know anything about that." And so I said, "I wonder if there's any somatic practitioners in my area." So I Googled and I found one that was like 15 minutes away from my house, and I was like, "All right, we're gonna give this a go." And I've been working with her for a little over two years now, and about a year into it I was like, "Oh, I think I'm actually called to incorporate this work into my own spirituality work and other things I do."

Becca: And that's how I ended up starting the training process and getting trained in it.

Tara: So here at the podcast I love to have conversations about how the Holy Spirit or the divine show up in our everyday lives.

Tara: So that's how I term it as holy shenanigans. 

Tara: And I wonder, Becca, would you be willing to share a story around [00:09:00] change and holy shenanigans from your own life?

Becca: Ha. Which one? 

Tara: whichever one calls to you today.

Becca: Yeah. I can share about the most recent one. I went through this huge change of transferring denominations, and there was a lot of grief around that for me 'cause I had been in my... now former, 'cause I've transferred, but former denomination for 20 years. I had joined that denomination when I was a young adult, right?

Becca: It felt like my whole adult life was in that denomination, and I don't think we talk enough about life transitions around faith communities and things like that because I think oftentimes people are like, "Oh, you left the faith community and joined another. A big whoop-de-doo."

Becca: But it's like those are huge changes for people. especially if there's changes in belief between them or different communities or whatever. It's just a huge life change. So in addition to the grief that I had to work through about transferring, the other piece for me was finding [00:10:00] the capacity to hold the excitement about going somewhere new, right? So it was both/and. It was both the grief of leaving somewhere I had been for 20 years, and then the excitement and joy of going somewhere new that has potential.

Tara: And so there was both/and for me, right? It wasn't just one or the other. It was both together

Tara: Yeah. Yeah. and that's so much a part of our, human experience. It's not just one or the other. But it's complex, Even if you go to a movie, like, the new Spider-Man movie, it's, wonderful, and it is an emotional rollercoaster. It's exciting, and it's, like, heart-wrenching, and you will cry, but then you also laugh out loud.

Tara: But those creative mediums, I think, are part of why people love movies, because it's another safe container.

Becca: Yep. To feel all the things about being human.

Tara: I just, think that your work is so important [00:11:00] because we just don't want it to be in a movie theater that we can have those experiences. Like, We need to bring those things out of the dark of the movie theater

Becca: Yeah

Tara: and into the light of day, into our stories 

Becca: yeah, especially because a lot of that runs in the background that we're not even aware of, right? Which is why therapy is so good 'cause it's that top-down where it can help work with thought patterns, right? And then you've got somatics, which is more bottom-up, where we're working with the physiological piece of it, of like what's coming online when I get activated before my brain even registers it, right? I was surprised at how much my body needed rest during it. There were times where in between clients I was, like, laying on the couch in my office with a weighted blanket for 15 minutes before the next one because I just needed to not think or do anything and just rest for a little bit.

Becca: And being, like, self-compassionate during that time and not judgy about myself of needing more rest, right? I [00:12:00] go to bed ridiculously early now just because my body needs more rest than it usually does just because of the life shift. Being aware of body sensations and emotions and letting them come up in little bits so that they're not overwhelming, but still letting myself have the space to feel those things when I can, right?

Becca: Obviously if I'm in the grocery store in the pasta aisle probably not a time to, sob my eyes out. But or it can be. I 

Tara: Sometimes you do cry in the pasta aisle

Becca: I joke about that, but when my first engagement ended, I actually did that. it's fine. That was not a hypothetical

Becca: situation. 

Tara: many people could say it might not have been the pasta aisle, but I cried in a place that I wouldn't have normally cried because I was processing a lot of grief or change.

Tara: Yeah. 

Becca: Yeah. So sometimes you can do that, right? if you're in a work meeting you can't do that and you just kinda have to be like, "Okay body I feel things coming up. I'm gonna come back to you, I promise." And then make good on that promise but do it in ways that are not overwhelming, right?

Becca: One of the things that you [00:13:00] hear on social media is "Feel your feelings," which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the problem is if you don't have the capacity for the s- strength of those feelings in that moment, it can actually do more harm than good because then it'll overwhelm your system.

Becca: So sometimes you just need to cry for a little bit and then look around the, room and be like, "Oh, that's a pretty rock. I like that rock." And like, hang out with the rock, sit with the rock, hold the rock for a little bit, and then come back to the sadness, right? And kinda go back and forth between so that you're not overwhelming your system

Tara: the metaphor that comes up for me is like with different kind of medications, sometimes people have to do like little, teeny, tiny microdoses of things till the body kind of adjusts and, yeah.

Becca: Yep. So in somatic experiencing, we actually call it titration, which is the scientific term for doing little bits. So you are correct. That's exactly right.

Tara: I've learned something new already.

Becca: I love it. Everyone's learning fancy terms for somatic experiencing today, which is super fun. The other word is pendulation, which is what it sounds like, where you pendulate or go back and forth between activation and resource. Resource [00:14:00] is like anything that helps support you right?

Becca: Gives you peace, joy, whatever. You go back and forth between those. And between titration and pendulation, you're not overwhelming your system, which is why feel your feelings isn't super helpful as a thing because you might not be able to feel it fully. You wanna get your system processing it in little bits so that it's not too much, if that makes sense 

Tara: it makes sense. I'm thinking of even in times of after like, a very significant loss if somebody loses a family member, naturally communities had a way of making that safe container by surrounding people,

Tara: that while they were in those, \ incredibly hard jags of grief and loss, there was a whole community that literally held people, that fed people.

Tara: Yeah. That didn't leave them in the midst of that well of grief so that they had somebody to bring them through and, like you say, complete that somatic cycle.

Becca: Yes, and that's so great that [00:15:00] you're, like, naturally talking about all the things. The other big thing is co-regulation with another human. And we can talk about regulation and what that means in a minute, but basically with someone else, sometimes processing these body sensations, emotions, all this stuff with someone that you trust.

Becca: They don't even necessarily have to do anything. They just need to be present, right?

Tara: Yeah, kinda like body doubling. 

Becca: exactly. And so when you have another nervous system there that's there and supporting you that, indicates to your body like, this is a place where I can process things. Yeah. 'Cause we're made to be in community, right?

Tara: Yeah, we are. Do you wanna say anything more about regulation?

Becca: Yeah. So this is the one thing that really burns my butt about all this stuff on social media. So you're getting to the heart of it. 

Becca: Nervous system regulation is having a moment in social media. I don't know if you've seen it on some of your feed or other people have. Maybe it's just my feed 'cause I'm a nervous system nerd.

Becca: But a lot of people like to think that nervous system regulation means being calm all the time, and that's [00:16:00] a lot of times what's being sold, right? "Do this, breath pattern for a while, and then you'll be calm. And then every time you get activated do this breath pattern."

Becca: And I'm like that's not super helpful. I mean, like, It might help if you're having some anxiety in the moment, you need to do that. S- that's fine. I'm a breath work practitioner. You can do that. But that doesn't help deep-seated cycles complete or actually working through the stuff, right?

Becca: It's just telling your body, "Okay, it's not okay to feel this thing right now. I'm gonna shut it down," right? So regulation is actually the opposite of that. It's expanding our window of capacity, of tolerance so that when life throws stuff at us we don't automatically fly off the handle or freeze and shut down.

Becca: We have a more expanded capacity to handle what life throws at us. That's what regulation is. And it's not a one-time re- Like, people are like, "Oh, reset your nervous system and be calm all the time," and you're like, that's not helpful. We want to do this little bits at a time, slowly, to make our bodies feel [00:17:00] safety so then we can expand that window and then be able to handle more.

Becca: That's regulation. And regulation is being able to feel the activation and be able to bounce back quicker, right? So not only have we expanded the window, it's not gonna ruin our day for the rest of the day necessarily. We'll be able to bounce back in a few hours versus 24 hours.

Tara: My father passed away in, uh, December of 2020. And had been in nursing care, and , in processing his passing from a distance, like I was already, jogging a little bit, but I found that, know, when I got up in the morning especially after he had passed away I could put on my sneakers and I would actually say, "Hey, Dad, let's go for a jog."

Tara: And so it was a beautiful location.

Tara: It was right by a small lake in central New York, and I could feel the feelings in that time that I was out know, half an hour or 45 minutes.

Becca: Yeah

Tara: [00:18:00] By using my physicality, it gave somewhere for that grief and that remembrance to go that by the time I was done with my run and stretching, I'm like, "Okay, thanks, Dad.

Tara: We'll do this again," it was a very um, tender time, but like I just found that to be so healing, to be able to experience those feelings through that vehicle of movement

Becca: Yep, yep. And that's such a great point, right? Like, I talked about how in my change, my body needed to not move, whereas some other people it might be your body does need that movement, right? That running or that dancing or, fill in the blank, whatever. Or a mix of both. Sometimes your body is like, "I don't wanna move for a while."

Becca: And then other times it's like, "I need to go move for a while," so yeah, that's a great example.

Tara: Thank you. I, think it's, um, helpful sometimes when we're trying to figure out how to navigate change is to, like, hear from other people's stories. And, um, I've [00:19:00] been really interested recently in the life of Joan of Arc.

Tara: And so you have a fun connection to Joan of Arc 

Becca: Yeah, so when I was Roman Catholic Roman Catholics often pick a saint's name to add to their name when they get confirmed in the faith, and my confirmation name was Joan, after 

Becca: Joan 

Becca: of Arc. 

Tara: So for folks that don't know much about Joan of Arc, she was a young maiden, who heard from God and, had this vision and this mystical experience to, as a young maiden with no experience in war or battle, to go and demand from the King of England that they leave the French people alone and that they leave France.

Tara: And I was reading this little book about it, they actually had a segment of her letter to the King of England. Can you imagine, number one, this 13-year-old maiden, I'm guessing her age, right? But 13-year-old maiden saying, "The maiden and God are telling you, get out of [00:20:00] France."

Tara: Like, The chutzpah of that. and she emphasizes in this letter that, , "I wanna do this peacefully, dear King of England. But by God," and this is the quote, "By God, if you don't leave, we will come with all the force that you have ever seen in all of your battles." Can 

Tara: you imagine? But people remember her for her courage as this young maiden who was, committed to finding a way of peace. She lost her life, but, like, that commitment to finding peace through her actions I just find fascinating. And I think it connects to this somatic expression, she was going into very traumatic situations.

Tara: But her motivation was for wholeness for her people,

Tara: As well as for herself.

Becca: She also had very deep spiritual visions. That's one of the things she was known for. [00:21:00] And in somatic work, typically we'll encourage people, like if an image comes up or something around the senses comes up while you're working, often that can hold parts of the healing process. And so for me, Joan of Arc is also part of that 'cause it connects the somatic and the spiritual side of things.

Tara: Yes. I wanna read to you a little segment of a prayer that they wrote based on this story of the King letter. This section really resonated with me. It said, "Reveal the mission you have for me and give me the grace to place my life into your hands. Show me how to carry out all that you have placed on my shoulders." Like, It's a very physical

Tara: Right? " Help me to fight for justice boldly, to show mercy tenderly. Give me a heart that is always ready to forge peace. Teach me to use well the time you have given me." I just found it beautiful.

Tara: So I just lift that up in [00:22:00] gratitude to her example and for her courage to integrate and embody this, spiritual, physical and intellectual expression of being human

Becca: Yeah, definitely.

Becca: What I love about Joan is she was so unapologetically clear about what God was calling her to do. And often, especially if our callings are out of the box or people have been like, "What are you doing?

Becca: You shouldn't be doing that," or right? ... That happens all the time for people who are doing creative, weird stuff, right? And weird, not to them, but weird, to other people. 

Tara: and good. 

Becca: yeah, weird and good and amazing, and the world needs that, right? Joan of Arc is such a good example of someone just being like, "Oh, you think this is not okay for like, a 13 or 14-year-old woman to be doing this who has spiritual visions and knows she's supposed to be doing this?

Becca: Oh this is what I'm born to do."

Tara: , What else would you like to share, around somatics. [00:23:00] Becca?

Becca: So some questions that can help you start thinking about and notice more things inside your body sometimes so that you can connect back to what's happening there. We're not usually encouraged to do that in consumer culture, 'cause there's lots of reasons, but one is that if you're actually connecting to your body and what it needs, you're not producing all the time, right?

Becca: Or consuming. So one of the things you can do is just find ways to become more aware of your body during the day, right? So some examples of this could be, like, can you actually notice when you're hungry, or when you have to go to the bathroom, or when your body needs to move or stay still, as we were talking, right?

Becca: Your body needed to move during that life transition. My body needed to lay down, right? Notice when you have an emotion coming up, right? Those kinds of things. And how does that affect how you can connect with God? One of the things I love about Ignatian spirituality is this idea that our emotions can convey messages from God, and we can hear what God is trying [00:24:00] to tell us through emotions.

Becca: And what are some ways that you can practice your spirituality and incorporate body awareness into that, right? Maybe it's moving your body while connecting with God. Maybe it's being in a different body position when you connect with God, right? Just finding different ways to incorporate body awareness in your spiritual life.

Becca: And then just think about different professionals that you may wanna work with, right? I love that therapy is more mainstream now and people are doing that, and that's fantastic. But there are other traditions of professionals that may be helpful to your path. So maybe coaches, spiritual directors, or even a somatic practitioner.

Tara: Yeah 

Becca: find out what training the somatic practitioner did, 'cause there are some quickie weekend things that people do which are not bad. That helps start the process of people learning about somatics. But you probably want someone who's done more extensive work. So for example, people who are either somatic experiencing students or somatic experiencing practitioners that's a three-year intensive program.

Becca: So often if people are looking for [00:25:00] somatic-type work those are the people. I'm a little biased 'cause that's what I'm getting trained in, but that's usually where I, I bring to people. EMDR is also under the somatic umbrella. If you find someone who does that kind of work, those kinds of things.

Becca: Brainspotting is another that falls under the somatic thing. I could talk about this forever, but Google. Find people, right? If you have those stressor trauma cycles in your body that you know like, if you're having trouble with anxiety or depression or see a therapist, for sure.

Becca: And also somatic work might also be helpful as well.

Tara: And if you are fortunate to find somebody who can engage in these interdisciplinary practices that is like finding the unicorn, right?

Becca: sure. Yeah. So what's fun about it a, a lot of the people that are in my trainings, not everybody, 'cause there are lots of people in different scopes of practice that get trained as somatic experiencing practitioners, but a good chunk of the people are therapists. So you could potentially find a therapist that's also a somatic practitioner, which is really cool.

Becca: I'm a spiritual director that also is a somatic [00:26:00] practitioner, right? We do exist. They're less likely, but you can find them, and the best part is the internet exists, so it doesn't necessarily have to be someone local. You could definitely do stuff online as well

Tara: so how do people connect to you, Reverend Dr. Becca, 

Becca: My website is bodyspiritwisdom.com because we have wisdom in our spirits and our bodies, and I incorporate both those things. So check that out. See if any of that's interesting to you. And you can find me on Instagram @pastorbecca.

Tara: Even if people are like, "Hey, I'm not sure how I wanna move forward with this," I think that you would be a wonderful person for them to reach out to, , do they want spiritual direction, do they wanna do somatic work , 'cause I, I know there's a lot of different directions that you can support people with, 

Becca: For sure. Yeah, and I would love to talk to people. As I said, I could talk forever about why this type of work is important, and I wish more people knew about it. So thank you for helping me get the word out, because this is important work to help people do

Tara: . It is. Oh, can I tell you a quick [00:27:00] story about a somatic practice that I didn't quite understand was a somatic practice

Tara: until our conversation 

Tara: today? 

Becca: Yes, please

Tara: , I did not grow up in the Catholic tradition. I grew in a Baptist tradition that there wasn't um, in a liturgical world we say there weren't smells and bells.

Tara: It wasn't that there were rituals that you would experience in a Catholic or Episcopalian or even Lutheran or Presbyterian system. But for some reason when I was super young, I had friends that were Catholic, and I would see them crossing themselves, right? And so I just kind of started doing it when I was praying.

Becca: Ah.

Tara: And years later when I was learning more about prayer practices, I learned, you know, this is my mind, my heart, and all of me is what that crossing practice means, that when you come to prayer, you're bringing all of yourself, mind, heart, and body. It's like this statement of [00:28:00] embodiment to prayer in connection with God.

Becca: Love it 

Tara: As a person with neurodivergence going on in their mind, having that physical touchpoint helps me to stay centered in that time of worship 

Tara: or 

Becca: Yeah. Oh, for sure. Yeah, that's definitely a somatic spiritual practice, ... I love that you just made that connection. Especially for those of us who are neurodivergent helping ourselves be more aware of our bodily and nervous system needs, is really important, too.

Becca: The fact that you were able to be like, "Oh, I really like this tactile way, this body way of praying that helps me connect with God," that's awesome

Tara: Yeah. Thank you.

Tara: I just wanna thank you so much for being here , to share, , where life has taken you since the last time you were here on the podcast, and I'm so thankful for your, friendship. As we wrap up our conversation, would you like to offer us a blessing?

Becca: I was trying to remember if I did this the last time I was on. I might have. This is a fun [00:29:00] blessing. I use this a lot when I sub in faith communities. And no one knows where it comes from, which I kinda love. I kinda love that it has this mystery behind its origin.

Becca: So this is a blessing that they use at the end of worship at the congregation I did my internship at. And one time I forgot my notes when I went up, and realized I had it memorized. When you do it every week it just ingrains in your brain without you knowing. And then I was like, "Oh no."

Becca: And then I was just like I'm gonna try it," and then I was able to do it. I bring it with me everywhere where I lead worship or when I do other things, 'cause it's one of my favorite blessings. But no one knows where it came from. We think it might have been brought by some snowbirds from another congregation that they worship at and they brought it.

Becca: No one actually knows who wrote it, where it came from. 

Tara: So if whoever wrote this, please reach out to us via our text at Buzzsprout and say, "I know where this came from."

Becca: There was a congregation in the Midwest that used to write a lot of liturgical things back in the day around that same era. So we have a theory that it probably came out of [00:30:00] there originally, and then like, just made the rounds, but we don't know for sure.

Becca: So all right, here is the blessing. Here is this blessing for you today. And now as you go from this place, go knowing that you are saved by grace. You are justified, you are forgiven, you are sought out, beloved, hidden in Christ, and made for the glory of God. You are known. You are never forsaken. You are held in the palm of God's hand.

Becca: You are loved. May the peace and power of our God be with us until we gather again, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Tara: Amen. And yes, friends, I did cross 

Tara: myself. 

Becca: she totally did. I'm vouching for it.

Tara: You can't see it, but it happened. Thank you so much, Reverend Dr.

Tara: Becca Ehrlich. For helping us learn a little bit more about, a lot more about somatics and how this work is important in folks' lives. One last question. If you have a parting word for folks who are, going through it

Tara: [00:31:00] Besides this wonderful blessing, what would you say to them?

Becca: You are loved

Tara: I am your Holy Shenanigans muse, Tara Lamont Eastman. Thank you for joining Becca and I for some somatics holy shenanigans that surprise, encourage, redirect, and turn life upside down, all in the name of love. This is an unpredictable spiritual adventure that is always sacred, but never stuffy. Um, Thank you always to Ian Eastman for sound production, and Becca, thank you so much for joining us at the HSP Neighborhood for a second time.

Tara: You are always welcome to come back. to assist with Holy Shenanigans podcast production costs, you can contribute at www.buymeacoffee.com/taraeastman. And if you want to leave us a message, go on over to our Buzzsprout page for Holy [00:32:00] Shenanigans and you can text us directly there and say, "Hey, I loved this about the conversation," or, "I'd like to learn more about this."

Tara: Or you can just say hello. We're always happy to hear from you. Until next time, may you be well, may you be at peace, and may you know, as Reverend Dr. Becca Ehrlich has said, "You are always loved."