In this bonus episode of GILY, Devany and Meredith offer a warm welcome — in the old English sense: you are a desired guest. From that same spirit of hospitality, they share their stories. Meredith moves from evangelical certainty through postpartum collapse to energy work, the Fourth Way, and a living, clear-eyed Christianity. Devany reflects on her contemplative roots, a season inside evangelicalism after grief, and how stillness, Centering Prayer, and decolonially informed somatics continue to guide her home to her own voice.

Together they trace the spiral of deconstruction — funny, humbling, sometimes self-righteous — reclaim Jesus beyond punitive theology, and name their shared lens: we start where it hurts and stay for the healing — mind, body, spirit, community, and land. We hope you feel welcome in your own story, too.

Gentle note: Strong language at times — use care if little ears are nearby.

• Welcome = desired guest — your story and questions belong here.
• Deconstruction is a spiral — certainty can feel safe; humility keeps us awake.
• The body is a teacher — pain and fatigue can guide us home.
• Stillness steadies — contemplation widens compassion.
• Many paths, one Source — Love runs through them all.

“We’re done tidying our souls for anyone.” “I had been borrowing someone else’s motherhood.” “All of you is welcome here — your tears, your growls, your weird movements.” “I stopped outsourcing certainty — and started listening in.” “If you want to hear yourself, turn up the silence.”

• Contemplation — A long, loving look at the real; stillness that widens perception.
• Fourth Way (Gurdjieff/Ouspensky) — Awakening through the intellectual, emotional, and moving centers — monks in the world, not the monastery.
• Self-Observation / Non-Identification / Self-Remembering — Noticing thoughts, loosening attachment to them, remembering essence.
• Somatics — From the Greek soma (living body). A way of understanding and practicing life through the body as an intelligent, adaptive, interdependent system — shaped by family, community, culture, land, Spirit, and relationship. Modern somatic practice is deeply informed by the survival wisdom of Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized peoples who have used body-based knowing to endure, heal, and resist oppression.

Devany’s somatic journey has been shaped by Sonya Renee Taylor, Staci K. Haines, Dra. Rocío Rosales Meza, and mentor Marisa Guadalupe, with learning also supported by The Embody Lab.

• Deconstruction — Unraveling belief systems and power structures; humility over certainty.

We also mention Thomas Keating (Centering Prayer), the Fourth Way, Four Winds/Andean-informed teachings, Human Design, and The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ youth crisis support).

• The Universal Christ — Richard Rohr
• The Wisdom Jesus — Cynthia Bourgeault
• Untamed — Glennon Doyle
• The Way of Integrity — Martha Beck

🌱 A Gentle Reminder We share from lived story and practice. This isn’t medical, mental-health, or legal advice. Use your own discernment and seek professional support as needed. Care for yourself as you listen. Take what resonates; leave the rest.

Invitations

• Come Home to Your Center (Illumine Within) — Devany’s Centering Circles offer stillness, somatic grounding, Centering Prayer, and reflective listening. Explore offerings at illuminewithin.com.

Energetic Support (Hibernate Healing) — Meredith offers energy work and spiritual guidance in Austin or online. (Rebrand in progress; sessions available now.) www.sparklecirclehealing.com