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

I have never seen myself as a teacher. For me, teaching has felt like one thing I would never touch working at a school. I don’t desire to be the expert in the room, especially to younger children who are looking for answers and grades, not necessarily questions. In fact, yesterday, while attending one of my morning services, the leader of the group offered that I give a 10 minute homily in the coming year. This request brought me to feel a lot of different emotions, the most prevalent being a desire to escape the situation. After some persuasion and convincing, I agreed to give a homily sometime in the next six months, however I am not super excited for that day to come. I’m not waking up ready to share what I have learned with others. However, as I hope you can see in these blogs, I am someone who likes to learn from the different forces in my life, take their tutoring to question my levels of restraint, my compulsion to roar, and my ability to make something out of nothing. I believe chaos is one of our greatest teachers, the curriculum cutting through our circadian rhythm.

In this blog I will be looking at thoughts towards modest practices, high-stakes championships, and recordings of holidays to explore the facets of experiences that influence our future behaviors. I hope to explore the denotation of discipline, the benefit of belonging, and the meaning of memory and correlate their function in one’s life to their appearance in the most unexpected areas of life.

Teaching Firebreak

Trophies. Given to winners. Winners of some sort of competition, where one side is superior to another. In the New Testament of the Bible, there are some books that refer to the Christian walk as a race, a competition, that rewards trophies, wreaths, and other luxuries, whether figurative or literal, in this life or the next. Jesus was storied to be one who was gentle and lowly, a carpenter’s son, someone who wasn’t physically appealing, who didn’t try to outdo anyone, and did not live in luxury in the way we understand on earth. I say this to say, it’s interesting to me that the apostles ever received confirmation from a divine source similar to Jesus’ divine source, informing them what is awaiting for them in heaven if they compete, convert, and possibly contribute to god’s control of the earth. Fasts are uplifted to celebratory feasts, retreats can be presented as requirements to get ahead, public prayer and praise a means to progress to something greater. I believe these actions can be seen as moral trophies, trophies I did not know were being handed out by the Creator of the universe.

The Stay Spiritual Channel released a video reacting to Swami Ramdev’s discussion about the benefits of celibacy¹. After watching what seems like the whole video, Justin lets the audience know him and James know someone who is asexual, nonsexual at all². The two discuss how the episode is about celibacy, and James points out it was sort of a mixed bag of things³. Justin points out they know someone who is asexual and secular, not religious and doesn’t believe in anything⁴. Justin responds to the video by encouraging his audience to not hurt anyone and to not hurt themself⁵. Justin wonders how much time Swami Ramdev’s suggestion takes up, and questions if resistance patterns may be building⁶. Justin points out that celibacy in the video is talked about like it is an achievement⁷. James agrees and also thinks the video suggests celibacy could get one into the right place⁸. Justin appears to not like the sound of this, sharing the obvious, that just about every human baby is born through sex⁹. Appearing frustrated, Justin continues, stating he doesn’t understand achievement, he doesn’t understand just doing things¹⁰. Justin reveals his perspective, his dislike for a violent or cruel world, and encourages others to not hurt anyone and to not hurt yourself¹¹.

James and Justin seem to relate to how I feel about some of religious/virtuous practices that are promoted and glorified. Even if people don’t subscribe to a religion, some decide to practice celibacy, not for a spiritual award, but for their own personal reason. I also agree with Justin. I believe the less harm we push upon ourselves or others, our lives become more beneficial, from an individual standpoint and possibly from a communal standpoint. I don’t believe celibacy was intended to be seen as an achievement, as something to do, and a trophy to signify higher purposes. I believe celibacy was intended to be a private practice, arguably one of the most private practices, to let one’s desires burn. I believe celibacy is a practice that lets a fire break out within, controlled passion meant to create a pause in one’s life. I believe the pause is not meant to receive glory or rewards from people or the Creator themself, but to diminish a part of humanity’s appetite, to hear the noise underneath, to hear what is taught when the fire breaks.

Teaching Crowd

I recently went to a basketball game at Madison Square Garden. Crazy game, lots of lead changes, screaming fans, and expressive players. There were moments in the intensity where I was able to take a step back and witness the emotional energy of the crowd. Exuberance countered by disappointment, ecstatic roaring met with stunned awe of what just happened. The neutral site of the packed stadium was one of the first times I felt the cohesiveness and divisiveness of belonging in a sports setting. The tabloid chants, the rhythmic waves in the crowd, the bold presence of the team’s colors, the superstitious response of the crowd, reminded me of fanatic expressions of belonging and support. Communities came together from all over the United States, from their chest, cheering on their team, with their chest, supporting the organization.

On the CULTURAL TV Channel, the creators share the highlights of the Searense Championship for the second division¹². The video starts with a post game interview and we hear the post game interview in the background as we watch the highlights of the game¹³. We watch the player of the game getting an interview, a reward, and we proceed to watch the highlights of his goals¹⁴. The losing teams coach gets interviewed and tells his team and the interviewer the other team played better futbol than they did and encourages his team to keep their heads up and to go after it next year¹⁵. One of the players on the winning team gets interviewed and jokes about requesting a day off tomorrow for winning their division champs for back to back years¹⁶. The mayor of Santa Catarina is interviewed on the importance of sports, especially futbol, to bringing the community together, and asks the mayor to talk about the involvement of the city hall and the sports foundation¹⁷. The mayor responds to the question answering the competition is entertaining while the athletes are speakers to health care, due to the healthy shape they are in to compete¹⁸. The mayor continues, stating how the competition only stays on the field, making the soccer matches a family friendly event¹⁹.

This was a cool video from CULTURAL TV, giving me more insight into the collaboration between who is in the crowd and who is on the field. In Santa Catarina, futbol is not just a sport for entertainment, but is embodied in the participants bloodstream, in the crowds culture, their identity strong like a shot towards the goal. The team with the losing effort continues to have hope, not carrying the near-misses as burdens, but a belief the next year is theirs, they’ll complete the comeback, and make history in their home club’s tradition. The crowd taught me how involved everyone is, the players’ and coaches’ family and friends and even the mayor of Santa Catarina dedicating resources to providing more futbol events. I believe crowds appear for more than just entertainment, but the opportunity to belong to something outside of oneself, the opportunity to hope for a desirable outcome, the opportunity to identify with like-minded people, and ultimately teach the power of community, coming together to sustain and create change.

Teaching Take

Teaching is accidental. I believe no matter one’s expertise or experience, people learn from others, sometimes the concepts the teacher wants them to learn, sometimes other ideas sparked by the teacher. Teaching is magic. Teaching can be a spell, enchanting the student with a perspective they didn’t have before. I believe the work of teaching is a craft, the creation of understanding, curiosity, or expression that can aid an individual to a better version of themself.

On the Artistic Journey Channel, the creator posted a short on how to make a DIY scrapbook²⁰. One of the pages of the scrap book is an Anniversary mailbox, a mailbox with portions of mailed letters written on pieces of paper, signature lines meant to spark memories of letters shared with the scrapbooker and the recipient²¹. There’s another cute page of a glass bottle, the type you see in movies where someone picks up a bottle from the sea to see a ship or a letter written in side²². However, on this page, there was a rolled up and sealed letter on top of the drawing of the glass bottle²³. Two of the pages compliment one another, the first, “just for the record” is the title, and another statement of the two belonging to each other follows. The page opens up to a cut out I am not 100% positive one²⁴. However, after a cute page about a Google search, we see another page of the phrase “just for the record” that opens up to a paper record player playing a record in the shape of a heart²⁵.

Honestly, this short confused me. The video is framed as a birthday scrapbook, but I did not see anything in reference to a traditional birthday. However, I do believe there were some lessons taught to me in my experience with the short. The scrapbook is very well done, very touching, and very creative, a unique way of holding on to memories. However these aren’t photogenic memories, I believe these are memories with makeup, enhancements, to romanticize the moments shared more intensely. The scrapbook induces a spell, a trip to the past, the craft awakens memories from one’s own experience, and portrays them in a beautiful way. I believe scrapbooking can be a powerful tool in one’s personal journey, an avenue to take authority over your own memories, author your own story, and expressing which memories you want to share, the memories you took a lesson that taught you more about yourself, the narrative of your spirituality.

Teaching Theme

Imagine your body. Crowd your season. Evaluate the keepsake of celibacy. Sharpen with secrets. Find your inner teacher. Break the edges with fire. Create your final take. Understand and crack. Inhale and open. Express with power. Collect your origin. Eternalize your culture. Echo your scrapbook. Stitch your mystery. Explore the past of your soul. Hold your twin. Dance for threes. Teach with energy. Realize life.

Bibliography

1. Stay Spiritual, “Swami Ramdev And The Benefits Of Celibacy | Foreigners Reaction Video || स्वामी रामदेव 🧘🕉️🪷,” Youtube, December 9, 2025, accessed December 10, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuypNIYnW-E. ↩︎
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12. CULTURAL TV, “Goal! Final of the Searense Championship 2nd Division: EC Ipiranga 1 x 4 Oto Construções,” Youtube, December 8, 2025, accessed December 11, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK8PMSJ-_94&t=1s. ↩︎
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20. Artistic Journey, “DIY Birthday Scrapbook,” YouTube, December 10, 2025, accessed December 11, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v-E4rFISmNc. ↩︎
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