The Restorative Power of Love

A Conversation with Felicia Murrell

Felicia is a spiritual companion, author, speaker, and certified master life coach. She’s spent decades walking alongside others on the spiritual path, and her new book, And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World, offers an invitation to live from a place of wholeness and wonder.

A Patchwork of Spiritual Influences

Felicia grew up in a small town in North Carolina, where life was clearly divided by the railroad tracks, with Black families living on one side and white families on the other. But even within that, Felicia was surrounded by a patchwork of spiritual influences. Her father’s side of the family attended the African Methodist Episcopal Church; her mother’s side went to the United Church of Christ and eventually became involved in a Pentecostal community.

She calls the experience her “coat of many colours,” and it gave her a unique perspective on faith and belonging. Her spiritual journey didn’t stop there. It continued to evolve through deep, personal experiences with God, moments of questioning, and a growing sense of the sacred in all things.

From Practices to Presence

Like many of us, Felicia’s early understanding of prayer was all about doing and following prayer formulas. But as life got fuller (she’s a mom of four!), she began to feel the pressure of trying to do it all and be less formulaic.

Then came a surprising invitation: what if she let go of all the doing for a while and just received?

She began practicing what she now calls a prayer of receptivity. Inspired by soaking prayer she learned in the Pentecostal church she attended with her mom as a teen and later by contemplative practices, she found her heart slowly transforming through silence, presence, and stillness. Teachers like Brother Lawrence, Father Thomas Keating, and Cynthia Bourgeault became spiritual companions along the way.

Her takeaway? “Love transformed me in ways that striving never could.”

When Love Becomes Real

One of the most powerful moments in our conversation came when Felicia shared a turning point in her experience of divine love. A woman once prayed over her, saying, “Let my arms be your arms, God,” and then simply embraced her. That hug became a moment of profound awakening. Felicia felt love moving through that touch, not as an idea or a belief, but as something real, embodied, and healing.

That’s when love stopped being just a concept for Felicia. It became a living, breathing presence that would shape her life and calling.

The Power of “And”

Felicia’s book title begins with a small but mighty word: And.

We live in a culture that often pushes us into binary thinking, like right or wrong, this or that, in or out. But love, as Felicia reminds us, makes room. It holds tension. Her book explores how we can hold complexity, diversity, and difference without needing to resolve it all into sameness.

As she says, “Love allows. Love celebrates the full spectrum of colour, story, and humanity.”

Nature, Community, and the Divine

Felicia also spoke beautifully about nature as her first Bible. The trees, the birds, and the flowers all speak of God’s creativity and diversity. She tries to keep childlike wonder alive whenever she goes outside.

She also talked about the changing shape of community. While traditional church gatherings were important in her upbringing, Felicia now finds connection in smaller, more intentional circles such as her long-standing “girls’ night out” group. What matters most is the presence we bring to each other, whether it’s over Zoom or at a restaurant table.

Love as Resistance

As the conversation moved toward the state of the world, Felicia spoke honestly about her heartbreak over the rise of fear, division, and Christian nationalism. But she also spoke with hope. She believes we’re being called back, not just to truth-telling, but to truth that is rooted in love. She believes that we are being called back to actions and words that remind us of our true selves.

“People’s actions are not their identity,” she said. “Love always calls us back to our true selves.”

Living from the Heart

To close, I asked Felicia what it means to her to live from the heart. Her answer was simple, beautiful, and grounding:

“To live from the heart is to say yes to love. It involves being fully present to myself, others, and the Divine. Every day, I pray, ‘Dear Love, may all that is eternal within me greet the wonder of this day. Show me where to go. Show me what to do. Show me what to say and to whom.”

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This post is based on “Walking Each Other Home” with Felicia Murrell” on the SoulStream Living from the Heart podcast. To listen to the full episode, visit our podcast page.