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

I believe “Inside Out 2” and the “Inside Out” series as a whole is one of the best portrayals of emotional education I have ever experienced. I’m jealous this generation of children has the entertaining and informative work of art at such a young age. At 24, I still struggle to communicate my emotions and when times get tough, I typically resort back to being the robot I’ve made myself to be, after years of ignoring my feelings. Anyways, I really enjoyed these two movies and inspired me to think what a spiritual version of Inside Out might look like. How do spiritual states of serenity, gratitude, and compassion impact each other, if they even impact each other in the first place. Do spiritual states, practices, senses have a hold on an individual that can unlock different aspects of themselves? Could an understanding and expression of different spiritual senses, states, and practices transform our world?

This post will be different than my previous, as this is only me sharing my thoughts on spiritual concepts. I want to explore how spiritual states work within our beings, similar to how emotions are portrayed to work in the body in “Inside Out”. I wonder when each of these states will begin to work in our lives, if certain states come and certain states go in particular areas of our lives. I wonder if these spiritual states interact with our emotions, possibly heighten the spiritual state, or confuse the individual ads to what they are feeling. I wonder if spiritual states affect more than just the individual, or if a spiritual aura exudes from one individual to another, where someone can sense the spirituality of another with enough training. I wonder if being more socially aware and understanding of spiritual states can bring change to our society, maybe even a harmonious expression of individuality across cultures.

Inner Calm

First, I want to go over a couple of spiritual concepts that are supposed to create a calm feeling. I have heard Serenity is a spiritual state that is described as a deep peace and calmness that engulfs the individual. I have heard from those who have expressed a serene feeling that they have achieved it through forms of meditation, such as prayer, moments of stillness, waiting for answers, etc. I touched on the idea of Inner Peace a few weeks ago and I believe the feeling of inner peace could possibly result from a state of Serenity developed within a person. I believe the state of Serenity is one built through intentional focus on what is interacting with one’s spirit. I believe Serenity is both the process of identifying the interaction and clarifying how the stimulant is interacting with one’s spirit. From here, I believe developing one’s Serenity state can calm one’s spirit, placating a person’s mind to influence an individual’s decision making.

I believe Mindfulness plays a part in one’s journey with Serenity. When I engaged with my Mindfulness, I would practice being fully present where I was, pushing to the side what I have to do later, or how I might have screwed up earlier that day. I would try to engage with the current moment, with my breath, with my mind to focus on now, because now is the only experience I could have in that moment. I would try to be aware of my thoughts bringing intentional focus to my thoughts, not so much my feelings, I’m working on it but feelings still scare me. Anyways, over the past 6 months, I have been trying to approach my thoughts and feelings without judgement, removing condemnation from an “evil” thought and removing praise from a “good” feeling, but approaching it all with curiosity. I have been trying to incorporate more of these practices within my daily life and not limiting it to the time I set apart for mindfulness. I believe removing the judgement from our thoughts and feelings removes the inhibitions we have to explore creative sides ourselves. I believe mindfulness helps me remain even-tempered in terms of resolving conflicts in my own life and the life of those I’m involved in. I believe mindfulness is the reason why my students call me a “nonchalant” Dorm Dad. Though I don’t believe I have reached the state of Serenity I believe my practice of Mindfulness helps me inch towards Serenity to rest in my inner calm.

Inner Empathy

I thought I was an empathetic person. Now, I never feel like I am empathetic enough. I don’t know much about psychology and sociology, but I believe if I was more empathetic life would look quite different than it does now. Anyhow, I believe being more empathetic encourages you to come alongside someone in a tough time if they want you too. I believe being more compassionate builds connection with yourself and with others in a way that could be beneficial to your spirit. I have heard compassion is a state that comes from the mix of empathy and desire. I believe compassion is the combination of understanding the feelings of someone else and expressing one’s wish for suffering to be removed from someone else’s life. I believe compassion releases the weight on someone else’s shoulders and spreads the weight to you and the party’s shoulders. I believe compassion is a state that optimizes kindness and is rooted in one’s inner sense of empathy.

Inner Curiosity

I think I have always been curious, it’s the reason I have been playing NBA 2k for 10 years and the reason I started Spectrum of Spirit. I always wanted to investigate ways to break the game, investigate how people experience life, investigate how to break the system. I believe the more I investigate, the more moments of joy and inspiration I experience. I believe I have always had questions about the ways humans think and act and I think this comes from a place of astonishment or amazement. I would encourage everyone to approach the world with wonder to some capacity, to find what their spirit resonates with. I have heard wonder is a state where one is amazed with their surroundings. I have heard wonder is a state of being curious about what’s going on within oneself and around them. I have heard wonder is sparked by intriguing the mysteries of life and the universe, from the smallest concern to the biggest philosophical questions. I believe the sense of awe and curiosity cultivates wonder in an individual to reignite a new sense of intuition and innovation.

I believe Gratitude plays hand and hand with Wonder, almost like a yin yang relationship. There are times where I am investigating for hours and have not come to the conclusion I am looking for. However, throughout the investigative process I have tried more and more, to be grateful for the nuggets of knowledge I picked up along the way. I have heard Gratitude to be described as a state of thankfulness for life. I have heard Gratitude to be explained as a state of appreciation for the experiences that we have, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I believe gratitude could be very beneficial in one’s life for what one observes, inhales, and expresses in their daily life. I believe gratitude works alongside wonder to push new breakthroughs in the intellectual world. I believe when one acknowledges how a service or product has benefited them, it leads to curiosity on how to make the product of service more convenient. I believe living in wonder without gratitude can leave one endlessly chasing for the next best thing, leading to despair. I believe living in gratitude without wonder can leave one consistently stagnant in their life, leading to complacency. I believe both sides of the coin can create a more holistic experience for an individual and an open-minded exploration of your inner curiosity.

I believe Gratitude and Wonder are two spiritual states on the sides of the life coin, but they are also accompanied by a spiritual sense of Reverence. I have been told reverence is the sense that leads to a state of reverence towards things we do not yet comprehend. Reverence has been described to me as the spiritual sense of awe and respect towards something that is greater. I have been told Reverence is to be shown towards one’s parents, teachers, religious leaders and god. I believe Reverence is a sense that should also be shown to the little natural world we have left and the ever expanding universe. I believe forms of spiritual practice and ritual could be rooted in a sense of Reverence for what is not understood. I believe Reverence precedes Wonder before Wonder is matched with Gratitude. I believe experiencing uninterrupted and uninhibited nature is one of the most powerful spiritual practices that invokes Reverence in a person. I believe experiencing the raw sensations of nature, the desire for survival, can conjure Reverence, Gratitude, and Wonder. I believe Reverence changes from one subject to another, as I believe the relationship between two objects constantly adapts to the feelings and thoughts shared between the two. I believe Reverence opens up the opportunity to rediscover respect, recover awe, and live daily life in a state of Wonder. Spectrum of Spirit is about observing spirituality, and I don’t believe you can observe spirituality without observing nature. I would encourage you to engage and understand nature, Revere nature with artistic and musical expression, and experience Wonder through your inner curiosity.

Inner Strength

As a former athlete, resilience is something that was preached in almost every locker room I was in. Whether it was playing against older kids, highly ranked kids, or playing through injury, mental resilience was a staple of almost every pep talk before a game. While competing in middle school and high school, I believed resilience only applied to the physical and mental realms, but now I have a different perspective. I have heard Resilience is the ability to recover from obstacles or setbacks in one’s life. I have heard Resilience is the ability to maintain positivity despite the current perception of reality for the individual. I believe Resilience is a spiritual ability to overcome the traumas of one’s own life and the trauma inherited by their ancestors. I believe Resilience is a spiritual ability that can produce spiritual strength in times of uncertainty. I believe cultures around the world have all shown some form of collective spiritual resilience and built inner strength, through the periods of oppression and adversity they have had to fight through.

Inner Call

Reflect on what’s inside. Cultivate your States. Value the small shaping of your spirit. Take action in your world. Calm your steps. Embody Curiosity. Live in your strength. Observe your transformation. Inhale the profound. Express externally. Impact Serenely. Offer Reverence. Map your road of Gratitude. Personalize Compassion. Wonder with others. Grow Humbly.