Spectrum of Spirit: A Digital Sanctuary for Spiritual Discourse and Community

Imagine having “the ability to control and manipulate electromagnetism”.¹ The potential power coursing through my veins seemed so exhilarating to me as a kid. Static Shock, “an American superhero animated television series based on the Milestone Media/DC Comics superhero Static”, was one of my favorite shows in my childhood. I never took the moment to understand the complexities of this in reality, but just imagined all the cool activities I could do if I could manipulate electricity. Now, being a little more aware than I was in my childhood, I am able to try to understand life’s complexities and contemplate the invisible energies swirling around me. Currently, I also have the ability to look outside of my own cultural understanding of energy and look wider into the global dynamic energy encompassing the world. I recommend engaging with all these mysterious energies, embracing your creativity, and enabling yourself to express yourself the best way you can.

Can electricity create culture? I don’t know enough geography to be able to answer the question from a societal perspective, but on an individual, spiritual level, this could be true. I believe, similar to the power grid that powers almost every American city, the energy within our bodies influences humans’ capacity to thrive. The power grid helps humans navigate the complicated transportation and internet systems, while the spiritual energy in person helps humans navigate the interconnected webs of ourselves and others.

Practical Energy

I believe energy is the foundation of our universe. I believe almost everything that exists, exists because of the formation of energy and the application of that energy. I’m not a scientist, so I will not elaborate this point further, but I believe it is important to move forward with this blog. Energy moves through our world, shifting from one source to another. Though I don’t believe energy is particularly guided by a specific force, I do believe energy is a guiding force, impacting our physical reality as well as the spiritual realms that coincide with our physical space. Energy manifests in multiple ways, sound and light being the forms I am most familiar with. Light and electricity flow throughout our world to increase the fluidity of our well-being, but more often than not, the essence of electricity is unseen. This is similar to the energy that interacts with our spirit. When harnessed, the energy in our spirit can empower us to be the best version of ourselves, just like the electricity we have harnessed has opened up new possibilities within our world.

Stay Spiritual released another video reacting to the Netflix trailer of “The Electric State”.² Following the replaying of the trailer, James and Justin begin a discussion I couldn’t have predicted. James mentions contemporary movies are consistently striking a human nerve, our connection to technology.³ Justin responds saying we depend on robotic products to get through our everyday life and questions how humans will respond to technology once it is “dressed up” as a human.⁴ James relates the conversation to a movie, “Castaway”, where the main character develops a relationship with a volleyball, and once the volleyball is removed from his life, the main character moves into despair. James proposes human relationships aren’t built off what one can do for another, but the imagination and memories we associate with the object.⁵

As I’ve previously stated, I believe humans are energy-filled beings. The energy inside of us allows us to understand ourselves, interact with our environment, and express ourselves to others. I believe it’s very important for us to understand our living energy, dance with it, and become one with it. I believe once our understanding of our energy increases, our relationship with technology becomes less fearful, and more peaceful.

I don’t believe relying on technology is a harmful practice, but it allows us to disperse our energy to all of the passions we might have. Justin’s question is one I think we will have to consider one day, but I believe James’ response is a serviceable one for our current understanding. I recommend taking a moment to breathe, recognize what you might have lost and what you might have gained. I recommend pondering your state of mind in these changes and feeling the emotions that are evoked. I recommend observing the imagination you have applied to the significant loss/gain and try to find practical harmony and balance within yourself to use your energy to reach your full potential.

Reflecting Energy

I believe every culture has influential figures that shape the development of the culture. George Washington and Rosa Parks are some of the many influential figures who shaped the progression of the United States. Algerian people also have significant individuals who have shaped their culture, Houari Boumediene, “an Algerian military officer and politician who was the second head of state of Algeria”,⁶ and Mohamed Doumier, a famous caricaturist and lithographer who made satirical journals and lampooned the government.⁷ Their legacies of revolt and rebellion traverse through Algerian storytelling, as they see themselves in another period of uprising due to their government’s decisions.

Cultural Diversity posted a short showing a woman sharing her thoughts about Algerian culture.⁸ I still don’t speak Arabic. The video analysis will not be an analysis on the words the woman uses, but the other types of communication I can observe i.e. body language, facial expression, etc. The short showcases a woman in a box in the middle of the screen with Arabic words surrounding her in Palestinian colors.⁹ The woman appears to be very intentional, confident and passionate with her words, enunciating her syllables in every word.¹⁰ In her monologue, I do recognize the names mentioned above, Boumediene and Doumier, but the rest of her monologue does not make sense to me.¹¹ At the end of her monologue, she salutes the camera, bringing her hand to her head as I perceive as a sign of respect.¹² The last clause of her monologue is repeated at the end, emphasizing whatever her final message was.¹³ There are three emojis across her forehead, the Algerian flag, followed by a two fingers up in the peace sign, and the Palestinian flag.¹⁴

As we see in the short, the figures, Boumediene and Doumier, are still inspiring people today. The two revolutionaries are referenced in modern day Algerian media, a century after they left life as we know them. In my opinion, I believe this video was made not to divide people, but using these two names, the woman attempts to unite her people. She references these names to evoke the memory of historical, impactful figures. Boumediene and Doumier are still relevant and shaping cultural narratives today.

Taking the time to hear someone share about their own cultural history, reminds me of the people who have changed American culture and impacted my life. Stepping outside of myself, having conversations with others about how people remember the figures that impacted my life, brings me to a more inclusive understanding of the collective memory of our culture. Leadership changes cultures. I believe understanding the impact of leaders outside of your own culture can help us reflect on our identity and share our energy with others.

Crafting Energy

I believe creating helps you connect and connecting helps you create. I believe creating and connecting, on occasion, can bring you to a better understanding of the intricacies of life. I’m reminded of a childhood read, “Charlotte’s Web”, a story of animals led by a spider named Charlotte. Like most spiders, Charlotte builds her home with an intricate spider web design, as every spider’s web is 100% unique, just like a human fingerprint. Charlotte not only crafts her living space with her energy, but she uses her energy to craft a community in the barn full of animals she leads through the events of life.

Reflecting on the creation of a spider web, I decided to try to make my own. Artistic Expression contributed to my inspiration.¹⁵ First, I grabbed a blue piece of paper and folded the paper diagonally.¹⁶ Following, I folded the diagonal paper in half twice, on the middle corner of the triangle.¹⁷ Then, I folded the paper once more but taking one of the smaller edges and folding the edge on top of the rest of the triangle (I found this hard to explain lol).¹⁸ The previous fold leaves the top part of the triangle uncovered, and I cut the uncovered area of the triangle with scissors.¹⁹ From here, I drew some zig-zag lines on one side of the misshapen triangle, in honor of Static Shock.²⁰ I cut out around the zig zag lines to have lighting bolts represented on the folded piece of paper.²¹ Lastly, I opened up the paper to see my newly crafted blue electric spider web.²²

Referring back to my childhood favorite, Static Shock, and connecting it to my present experience at The Stony Brook School, gave me a glimpse into how the different stages of myself influence one another. Appreciating the craft allowed me to reevaluate some of the challenges I have experienced and how I went about solving them. I recommend exploring your creativity practically by reflecting on your experiences. I recommend making crafts like the web to express yourself, maybe even pinpointing where you are on your web and where you feel you are heading. I believe a contemplative practice like this can somewhat mirror the rarely seen spiritual dimension of our lives, and appreciate the way we treasure the cultures that have influenced us.

Reaffirming Energy

Feel the electricity of life. Dance with your living energy. Contemplate the light of your cultural surroundings. Experience new ways of investigating your creativity. Connect the dots. Trust the process. Craft through the complexities. Navigate your web.

Bibliography

1. “Static Shock,” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last modified October 7, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_Shock. ↩︎
2. Stay Spiritual, “The Electric State Netflix Trailer,” YouTube, last modified October 22, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpxPvHDY9Ic&t=56s. ↩︎
3. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
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6. Wikipedia, “Houari Boumédiène,” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last modified October 22, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houari_Boum%C3%A9di%C3%A8ne. ↩︎
7. The National Gallery, London, “Honoré-Victorin Daumier,” The National Gallery, London, accessed October 23, 2024, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/honore-victorin-daumier. ↩︎
8. Culturaldiversity, “رد فعل على الشعب الجزائري وعلى الراحل هواري بومدين وعلى محمد دومير,” YouTube, last modified October 22, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UfSABg5UVaw. ↩︎
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15. Artistic Expression, “Let’s Make a Spider Web,” YouTube, last modified October 22, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Kzl7x0XOYCk. ↩︎
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