Abide in me, and I in you
JOHN 15:4
I have heard this passage countless times in services, bible readings, prayers, hymns, and songs,
but it wasn’t until I learned to embody my faith that I truly resonated with it.
Only then did I see clearly that this is the missing piece of the puzzle.
Too often, as Christians, we are seeking and looking outward, relying on services, others, or external sources for strength hoping they will help us draw closer to God.
This is why my “why” for Soulroots is so personal.
“It is about learning to understand our unique design as vessels where all that we need is already present.”
God has given us all we need to support us through our experiences and to receive the Comforter.
In a previous blog Christ in the Body: Somatic Healing and the Death of the Old Self , I touch upon this, if the message reaches even one person and supports their journey as it transformed mine, I will be profoundly grateful.
“Abide”
The Greek word monē, from the root μένω (menō), means to remain, to abide, to stay, to dwell continually.
It’s not just “house” or “home” it conveys a spiritual abiding, an ongoing inner presence.
It’s continuous. It indwells.
Are we too often looking for something in the future, when the truth is, when we are in Christ, the new creation lives within us?
The “Indwelling Presence” is the Spirit of God living within us, not as an abstract concept, but as a continual source of life, wisdom, and love.
“Christ lives within you” (Romans 8:10)
No longer external, not someone to reach for, but Love dwelling in the innermost space of our hearts, guiding, restoring, and renewing from within.
It lives in our breath, our heartbeat, our nervous system’s stillness. It’s the felt sense of being held, grounded, and safe in God.
“Don’t you realise that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”
(1 Corinthians 3:16)
The Body Remembers
How can we experience this indwelling presence if we don’t know how to feel it or observe it in our bodies?
“Indwelling Presence is not something we summon, it’s something we remember.”
Our bodies are living archives of experience. As Bessel van der Kolk writes in The Body Keeps the Score, trauma, stress, and unprocessed emotions are stored in the body,
in posture, muscle tension, breath patterns, and nervous system responses.
Turning inward allows us to:
Remember God’s presence within us, not search for it externally.
Listen to what our body remembers — the places we hold fear, pain, or limitation.
Engage in a sacred dialogue where the body reveals, and the Spirit transforms.
“The body remembers what the soul has forgotten. The Spirit indwells what the body has always carried.”
This is a two-fold remembering:
Spiritual — God’s abiding presence is within us, always available, never lost.
Somatic — our body holds the story of our life, our wounds, and our healing potential.
By turning inward, we not only connect with God but also attune to our own inner landscape,
allowing the divine presence to meet us exactly where we are, even in the tension or trauma we carry.
This is why somatic practice is vital. It is a way of coming home to the body, to the form in which we were created. Trauma, stress, and life experiences may obscure this innate wisdom,
but somatics helps us feel and remember our original wholeness.
noticing tension, breath patterns, posture, or sensations, we are not just healing the body.
Returning to our original design, connecting to the form God created us in.
Accessing the inner space where the Spirit dwells.
Remembering and releasing patterns of trauma that obscure our innate wholeness.
Our spiritual practices, prayer, meditation, dwelling with God naturally complement somatics.
We;
Turning inward to meet the Indwelling Presence.
Anchoring ourselves in the ever-present love and guidance of God.
Aligning our inner being with the truth of our creation, restoring harmony between body, mind, and spirit.
“Through prayer and meditation, we dwell with Him; through somatics, we dwell in the form He made us. Together, we remember who we were always meant to be.”
So if you feel lost, wandering through life’s uncertainty, sensing the absence of the things you hoped for, or witnessing the evidence of things not yet visible, know this:
you are not without a path.
Somatic foundations, offer a bridge back to yourself, awaken you to the inner life that has always been present, even when obscured by fear, trauma, or doubt. Through this practice, you can witness your own heart, the compassion, grace, and resilience quietly flowing beneath the surface.
It is felt in your body, in your breath, your posture, the rhythm of your heartbeat.
It is a way to anchor yourself in something unwavering.
The Indwelling Presence, the life force within you, the truth that you were created whole, in His image.
From this inner witness, grace unfolds naturally.
Compassion rises first for yourself, then radiating outward.
When storms come, as they inevitably do, this embodied awareness becomes your anchor.
Not a fleeting fix, but a steady ground of presence and trust.
A place within where you are always seen, held, and guided.
It is here,
in this sacred, embodied space, that hope, courage, and healing are anchored, ready to weather every storm.
