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

Another four years, another time of change in the United States. Election Day. The first election I remember was in 2008 when Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. I knew nothing about politics and the United States government when I was seven, but I did recognize the divide caused amongst my community. Polarizing events like the election was the first time I was exposed to people with strong views towards ideas, people, and parties. 16 years later, I have a little more knowledge in terms of the history of our American culture and am more aware of international perspectives on the United States government as well as government systems around the world. I believe understanding our contemporary world, as well as the spiritual world that coincides, involves seeing the way we have been influenced to view our identity as individuals and as a community.

Disclaimer, I do not know much or relatively care much for politics. This blog is not aiming to be political, as I believe discussing religion can cause enough controversy lol. However, I believe reflecting on political environments with a spiritual and cultural lens can allow us to see the interconnectedness of the three areas. Politics can reflect a group’s values, perceptions and identity in a way not many institutions can. I believe observing the spirituality around politics can allow us to understand our global world better, inhaling the diverse cultures that impact the United States and beyond.

Predictive Response

In ancient times, political and spiritual leadership was held in the hands of one individual, the Priest-King. Through the centuries, leaders of society believed this was too much power to give to one individual or one group, therefore, leading to the separation of church and state. However, in this current presidential race, I have seen traces of religion and spirituality being connected to one side, Donald Trump. I believe Donald Trump is a complicated person who knows how to play the game of American Society, and is one of, if not the best player of the game currently. I chose to look at how Donald Trump might use the religious and spiritually concerned community to shape his political outcome.

Stay Spiritual, released a video about Election Day.¹ James and Justin watch a video of a Darryl Anka, a movie producer and spiritual channeler.² He channels an entity named Bashar, a social memory complex, multiple entities in one entity, a hyper dimensional entity, who speaks through Darryl to communicate to his audience.³ Rational Wiki states Bashar is a enlightened extraterrestrial entity.⁴ Basher through Darryl states on a formal level, they are not allowed to speak on the behalf of our politics.⁵ However, Bashar comments since our politics are changing in the near future, they can give some very general specifics about the election in the United States (oxymoron?).⁶ Bashar warns that his following message should be taken with consideration of caveats due to his inability to speak in detail about these things and to take responsibility for what they are about to foretell.⁷ “The female will lead to open contact, the male will lead to the termination of the United States and World War 3”.⁸ Bashar closes telling the audience this type of prediction is highly unusual and is only because humans are closer to contact than they ever have been.⁹ James and Justin clarify open contact is contact with aliens.¹⁰ Either way whoever, wins, it’s a tall order.¹¹ Towards the end of the episode, Justin reiterates if Trump wins, he hopes the world does not blow up and we don’t have World War 3.¹² Justin hopes that no matter who wins, we contact aliens because it would be cool.¹³

The speculation of Bashar is interesting and brings a question I’ve had in regards to religion. In the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, god curses Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit. In this curse, god states to Eve, “your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you”.¹⁴ If the ruling of man over woman is a curse from god, why do we try to avoid the curse by having women in places of leadership? Patriarchy has existed on Earth since ancient times, and I think Bashar is trying to advise us to change our ways. I would think the Strongman figures of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, etc. should be enough examples for us to know that maybe it’s time to change things up. I understand that whenever there is hope for change, anxiety of that change raises with it, but I believe if Bashar is right, it’s a switch I’m willing to take.

On the other hand, Bashar believes the man will lead to the termination of the United States and World War 3. In one sense, this is not much of a surprise to me, as the history of the world is filled with men terminating countries through acts of war. In another sense, I don’t believe this is a positive future I would hope for, so, similar to James and Justin, I am choosing not to believe Bashar’s prediction. Considering what I want to value and what I don’t want to believe I think are important in an election season. I would encourage you to choose to evaluate what you believe in and relate it to our modernized world. I would encourage you to watch how the communities you care about are impacted by the results of the election. I would encourage you to respond to whatever another person may be feeling from both sides, empathizing as they try to predict their world in another new political environment.

Algerian Response

To me, admiration is intriguing in the way it is used and applied in our society. Admire means “regard with respect or warm approval”.¹⁵ The word comes from two Latin words, “Ad” meaning at and “mirari” meaning wonder.¹⁶ In my experience, people admire qualities that they know something has. Yet to me, the roots of the word admire suggests we should be using “admire” to wonder about a quality something has, not respect and approve of a quality with certainty. I admire Algerian culture, not because I know a lot about their culture, but because I wonder how their identity continues to evolve.

Cultural Diversity released a short video about their military parade on November 1st.¹⁷ The video is a compilation of clips from the military parade with rock/heavy metal music in the background.¹⁸ In the top left corner the Algerian flag is shown and the logo of what I presume is a local news station sits in the top right corner.¹⁹ Next to the Algerian flag in the right corner is the date of the event, 1/11/2024.²⁰ In the bottom right corner, the Algerian flag is flipped upside down and the number 70 followed by Arabic letters, maybe a commemoration of an anniversary.²¹ The short then moves to three important-looking people riding on the back of a military truck, accompanied by people on horses.²² After a very quick succession of multiple videos from the event, we see a swarm of military trucks driving down the street.²³ Next we see a man parachuting in the air, ships and missiles, showcasing the technology accessible to the Algerian army.²⁴ Fighter jets fly over the scene as the riflemen of the military march in unison down the street. What I assume is military leadership, watches the men march from higher ground, saluting the troops, raising a flat hand to the head.²⁵ The short concludes with huge tanks, face painted soldiers, and one last authoritative figure saluting the camera in slow motion.²⁶

I admire the portrayed pride Algerians have for their country and their military. The CulturalDiversity channel shows no shame in being prideful of their heritage and culture. Events like a military parade can impact people to be a part of something bigger than themselves, inviting them to join a group. I believe the messaging is very enticing, as without words, the video conveys a community of respect and strength. In a world where identities are constantly shifting, the consistency of military propaganda could intrigue an individual looking for stability amongst others. I believe the advertised pride doesn’t apply exclusively to Algeria, but applies to every country around the world.

My admiration doesn’t stop with Algeria, but reaches the ends of the world. I believe culture and spirituality influence every pocket of the world to live in a unique and distinct way. The more I investigate, the more I see similarities between different cultures, showing me the spirit that works collectively within us. At the same time, the more I investigate, the more I see the nuances that distinguish one group of people from another. I would encourage you to find your passion, admire it with wonder, and respond to the sense of unity that vibrates through the world.

Call to Respond

Open yourself to cultures. Learn lessons from your responses. Inhale diversity. Be present with your perspective. Shape your own political view. Develop dialogue with different minds. Unite your understanding. See spiritually.

Bibliography

1. Stay Spiritual, “Election day TRUMP vs HARRIS prediction,” YouTube, last modified November 5, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xqDw4ONxOI&t=341s. ↩︎
2. “Darryl Anka,” RationalWiki, accessed November 6, 2024, https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Darryl_Anka. ↩︎
3. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
4. “Darryl Anka,” ↩︎
5. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
6. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
7. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
8. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
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12. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
13. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
14. “Bible Gateway Passage: Genesis 3 – New International Version,” Bible Gateway, accessed November 6, 2024, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203&version=NIV. ↩︎
15. “Admire Defintion – Google Search,” Google, accessed November 6, 2024, https://www.google.com/search?q=admire+defintion&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS1091US1091&oq=admire+defintion&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDI1MzhqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on. ↩︎
16. “Admire Defintion – Google Search,” ↩︎
17. CulturalDiversity, “انبهار كبير لاكبر الصحف العالمية والمحللين العسكريين بالعرض العسكري الجزائري 1نوفمبر 2024,” YouTube, last modified November 5, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/B6b9KXrpZUM. ↩︎
18. CulturalDiversity ↩︎
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