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

As of right now, I don’t believe or have hope in restoration. I am not sure if things return back to what they were. I believe change is inevitable, and growth is more like a spiral than a cycle. When I look at the trees going through their life, they lose their leaves and their leaves return, but I could imagine the leaves don’t grow back in the same location as they once were on the tree. I would challenge you to reframe restoration, not as a going back, but as a moving forward with more clarity, more understanding. I believe a traditional understanding of restoration is appealing to most people due to our desire for beneficial things to not change. However, I believe the way I would like to look at restoration may take more intentionality, and may be harder work. I believe restoration takes the form of learning, a journey of understanding of oneself, of others, and possibly our world’s systems.

I believe restoration is not a one time thing, but one of our living processes. As we head to sleep, our body accelerates our restoration process, a new creation everyday. I believe the quiet, sometimes unnoticeable processes of our body repair us, and we wake up to become aware of how our body feels, the energy we have to interact with others, and the perspective we have in creating meaning in our everyday life. I believe restoration could be a vital process in one’s spiritual journey, often surprising us in unexpected ways.

Restorative Equanimity

Equanimity is defined as evenness of mind especially under stress¹. I believe equanimity could be where restoration starts, the ability to remain calm when chaos is ensuing. It reminds me of the even-tempered basketball player, the one who has seen a million defensive schemes and is not rattled by the change in defensive coverage. They are under control, detailed and decisive in their actions, to create the best opportunity for their team, keeping the ship afloat through any storm. While the player is cognizant of the defenses previous decisions, they remain present, actively reading where a defense is leaning, where the rotation in the defense may be coming, and who is the weakest link on the defensive end of the ball. The steady offensive engine does not hold on to their previous successful possessions or their previous empty possessions, but remains cool as the defense picks up their pressure.

On the Sadhguru Podcast, Sadhguru shares some daily wisdom on the interplay between Equanimity, Balance, and Exuberance². Sadhguru opens up the podcast, claiming there are no problems in life, just situations³. Sahdguru believes you can have two perspectives on a situation, you can turn it into a possibility or a problem, and this is a choice available to every human⁴. Sadhguru continues, to make said choice, one must be a certain way within oneself, one has to consider how their state of equanimity, balance, and exuberance to make situations into a wonderful possibility⁵. Sadhguru closes the podcast by stating one cannot make anything into their problem as long as they don’t see themselves as a problem⁶.

I love Sadhgurus wisdom here, affirming the power of perspective I have heard in other avenues of life. Sadhguru states there’s no problem unless one makes a situation a problem. This is where I believe a revamped understanding of restoration, a new check-in with oneself involving one’s equanimity, balance, and exuberance. With this perspective, I believe we can move away from problem solving, and move towards steadying one’s soul, restoring one’s equanimity, and living from one situation to the next more authentically.

Restorative Repair

Growing up in church, I always heard messages about restoration, messages about the world improving with more Christ-like life. From my studies, I believe lots of religious traditions have a cultural archetype or hero who exemplifies and models the type of love they hope to promote. There are rituals to remind people of these figures, in Christianity, Christmas to remember Jesus, in Judaism, Shavuot to remember Moses, etc. I believe fasting, feasting, pilgrimage, confession and other religious rituals are forms of cultivating through loving oneself or one’s neighbor.

On the Culture Gabfest Podcast, the host and their guests discuss three films, the three films highlighted by the second act of the Wicked adaptation⁷. The host asks if one of the guests is a fan of Wicked itself, and the guest responds by saying he was not a fan⁸. Another guest, Steve is asked how he felt about Wicked, and states he wasn’t familiar with the musical form Wicked originally came in, and disagrees with Dana, Steve stating he believes the second Wicked was better than the first⁹. To Steve, the second Wicked was darker, more interesting, and is more deeply engaged in a short of mean girl fashion, as Dan, another guest, said earlier¹⁰. Steve was interested in how the creators and directors tried to recreate one of Hollywood’s biggest movies without perturbing or unsettling it in anyway¹¹. Later on, the crew talks about a movie called Train Dream and Dan believes the movie is beautiful, capturing the primeval forests and frontier towns while communicating a lot of emotion and unexpected moments¹². Skipping forward, Dana introduces the third movie on the podcast, Peter Hujar’s day, and Steve shares how profound he found the movie, addressing what’s been lost in oblivion and can only be recovered from a transcript of Peter Hujar and Ira Sach’s conversation¹³.

I loved this episode by Dana, Dan and Steve, sharing with us the impact of the three movies that premiered this week. In their own way, each movie tried to recreate a time in history, fictional or nonfictional, to allow people to remember something in the past in a new way. Whether the audience has familiarity with the subject or not, did not influence the trio of the Culture Gabfest, and I could imagine will not influence the audience members who do get to see the films, as they become a part of the act. Whether restoring a musical, a period of time, or a conversation, the three films aim to align the audience members with the hearts and minds of the creators. I believe the three movies use the characters, emotions and relationships in each of the movies to restore our cultural memory, to say things words alone may fail to convey, and ultimately repair the struggle between what the spirit is saying and what the spirit believes.

Restorative Practice

I believe restoration looks different from one individual to the next, a practice unique to each spirit. I do not believe in prescriptive practices, but I would like to suggest or challenge people on the way they perceive their experiences. On that note, along with equanimity, I believe reflection occurs before restoration is realized, before one can be authentic and present within their current situation.

On the Magic Our Way Podcast, the speakers get together to hear about Danny’s Beak and Barrel Review¹⁴. Danny shares he went to Disney three or four days before Halloween to try the Beak and Barrel bar at Disney¹⁵. There were limited drinks, time, food, and everything and Danny wanted to get there early so he could have a solid experience¹⁶. Danny makes it clear he is not a fan of Trader Sam’s stating the drinks are sugary sweet and that all the gimmicks get old after a while¹⁷. Danny was concerned that the gimmicks at Beak and Barrel would be too much to enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy the conversation he would have with his friends¹⁸. The entrance to Beak and Barrel was packed and Danny and his family couldn’t get in earlier than their slotted time¹⁹. Once they get in and check in with their host, they are told they got upgraded to a booth, but they had to wait for the other two parties to show up before they could get settled²⁰. Danny recalls the place looks great and appeared larger than he expected, and Rachel chimes in the bar had very high ceilings²¹. The bar wowed Danny and the building seemed massive when he walked in and looked like a real place you would want to drink if you were in the Pirates of Caribbean movie²². However, when they got to the booth, Dan stated it was horrible, the seating was a combination of cushions and chairs around the table, and they were forced to talk to people who weren’t a part of their party²³.

Danny takes the next half hour to explain his experience at the Beak and Barrel bar, the ups and the downs of the Disney experience. I believe his experience can enlighten us how to be fully present in a new environment, how to restore one’s awareness in an environment that may be uncomfortable or undesired. Danny recalls his memories of Pirates of the Caribbean, the beak, the recreation and repair of an old memory into a lived experience. As Danny is retelling his perspective of the events, he sits with them, both in the story and in his sharing, to barrel a tale that can be received by others, every small detail used to display all aspects of his experience. The Beak and Barrel experience created for Danny became a portrayal, an altar, for Danny to share with his audience, a restorative practice not used to audition the Beak and Barrel bar as an addition to one’s bucket list, but a place where one can choose to open themselves up to a unique experience.

Restorative Affirmation

Live in restoration. Intellectualize your return. Re-learn your soul. Keep your equanimity. Repair to new wholeness. Practice stillness. Affirm creatively through your trusted community.

Bibliography

1. “Definition of EQUANIMITY,” Merriam-Webster: America’s Most Trusted Dictionary, last modified November 4, 2025, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equanimity. ↩︎
2. The Sadhguru Podcast, “Equanimity, Balance, & Exuberance #Daily Wisdom,” podcast audio, November 25, 2025, accessed November 26, 2025, https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r531jKKpQYWNgpOFwTrkX. ↩︎
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14. Magic Our Way, “Danny’s Beak and Barrel Review – MOW #604,” podcast audio, November 25, 2025, accessed November 28, 2025, https://open.spotify.com/episode/0CEhJMuybqjxPjaPvNizAL. ↩︎
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