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

I’m back again! Thank you for reading these over the past couple years, it really means a lot. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect and brainstorm and will be trying a new approach to the blogs this year. I want to focus on contemporary news, within the realms I feel comfortable with. Local religious news, films I have opportunities to see, and self-discovery methods I have been growing in over the last 2 months. I’ve been obsessively trying to prepare myself for the next steps over the summer, thinking I have to be as prepared as I can be for the sake of my own survival. After hours of planning and wrestling with all that could go wrong if I pursue one path or another, my mind has felt like it’s on overdrive, for the sake of my own survival. I have been challenged recently to reflect on how apprehensive I feel, how much I am trying and striving for what’s next, and to question where rest may fit in. He challenged me with the very question of this blog, what if survival and rest are not in competition with one another, but work hand in hand? Here I’ll work through what that may look like.

I contribute some aspect of my survival/rest dilemma to movies and films. In thousands of hours watching action/adventure or almost any movie genre, I have probably seen a combined hour of the characters in the film resting. The characters we are meant to resonate with in film aren’t typically those who have little to do. They are not characters who are free from conflict. They are not characters who spend more time “doing nothing” as opposed to “doing something”. I believe humans are drawn to stories, stories that present a conflict they can comprehend, and allows the audience to see themselves in the actions of the characters. The stories that I have watched, especially American film, rarely will encourage the audience to rest in a belief that everything is if fine or everything will work out. In an hour and a half, the characters move from action to reaction, trying to resolve (sometimes accomplishing) all of their conflicts, with no rest, no breaks. If the stars on the big screen to do it, if the character I see myself in can do it, why would I rest if I could resolve all of my conflicts by working harder?

Additionally, news never stops. Whether you live in the heart of a big city, or a remote commune, gossip exists everywhere and we as humans have never been able to resist it. The speed at which news of events, thoughts, and opinions travel is unprecedented and exponentially growing. “Fake” news is even being shared at a similar rate, sometimes an even higher rate than “real” news. FOMO is a social anxiety influenced by the feeling that one might be missing out on an event they would enjoy. Consuming news can leave one restless, and avoiding being apart of the news can also leave one restless. If the spread of information never stops, how am I supposed to rest? If I want to make life more than just survival, how do I rest when there’s always another avenue to “get ahead”.

“I dedicate time to rest and breath, expressing an understanding of reflection.”

This is a version of a mantra I have been gifted with over the past two months. In my walking meditation practice, I repeat a version of this to myself, aligning my steps so I complete the phrase in four steps, pausing on the fourth to inhale what I hope to practice. By no means have I practice it, and I am no where close to mastery. Yet, I still try.

I try to reflect.

I try to rest.

I survive to rest.

I rest to survive.

I challenge you to reflect on where rest can aid your survival and where survival can support your rest. Understand and remember. Inhale and bring to mind. Express and pay attention.