All posts tagged: spiritual

People Going Through A Spiritual Awakening Often Do 9 Quirky Things On Their Own

People Going Through A Spiritual Awakening Often Do 9 Quirky Things On Their Own

Published by Jenni Sidey

Spiritual awakenings can be challenging to define since everyone experiences them differently. Social worker Dan Mager described spiritual awakenings as a shift in someone’s conscious awareness.  While some people experience a spiritual awakening as an abrupt jolt, it often presents itself subtly and gradually. The transformation might unfold over time, so you might not notice it at first. Yet over time, signs that you’re in a deeply reflective phase of your life, and that you prefer your own company above all else, will reveal themselves. 9 quirky things people do when they’re going through a spiritual awakening:  1. They spend more time alone insta_photos | Shutterstock A sign you’re in the hermit phase of your life after a spiritual awakening is wanting to spend more time alone. Your need to be alone isn’t about how introverted or extroverted you are. You’re not avoiding people because you don’t like being around them; instead, you’re prioritizing time spent with yourself to explore your spirituality. Being in a deeply reflective hermit phase might mean turning down invitations to go out …

Do You Have Spiritual Empathy?

Do You Have Spiritual Empathy?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Spiritual empathy is an important form of heartfelt perception that many people might not consider. I have described spiritual empathy as empathizing with others through one’s spirituality. Consider this style “divining empathy,” which explains the process of connecting to spirituality (however you define it) to open your heart. For some, spirituality could be God, Goddess, nature, a creative intelligence, or the power of love. The divine is a stepping stone to your large, compassionate self. You become a vessel for spirit as you give and receive empathy. In some spiritual traditions, ego = edging God out, which you are less prone to do. This style reflects the sublime perspective of the Prayer of Saint Francis: Make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is despair, hope. For it is in giving that we receive. If you have spiritual empathy, you may be drawn to the clergy or charitable nonprofit work. Satisfying careers include spiritual psychotherapist, life coach, acupuncturist, or yoga instructor. Or you may be a …

Are You a Spiritual Pig-Pen?

Are You a Spiritual Pig-Pen?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Today I was thinking about the concept of ‘spiritual hygiene.’ How many of you remember Pig-Pen from Charlie Brown? When we were growing up, and I know I’m dating myself, Pig-Pen was this character in the Peanuts gang that always had a cloud of smoke around him. Wherever he went, there was a cloud of dirt. He was part of the Peanuts gang, he was in the crew, but he was also looked at very disdainfully. As kids, we thought that was funny. As adults, It’s not so funny. Now I’m thinking about Pig-Pen as a metaphor for somebody that’s in need of spiritual hygiene. I’m sure younger generations have something that they call that, right? It’s usually the person who trauma dumps on everyone, like in the group chat in the middle of the night. Usually that person who has weird energy, and when they walk in the room, people are thinking, “Oh, here they go again!” Or the person that you know is going to say something negative about the situation instead of …

‘So healing’: can singing Miley Cyrus with strangers cure our spiritual malaise?

‘So healing’: can singing Miley Cyrus with strangers cure our spiritual malaise?

Published by Sam Flores

We met in a former synagogue, a vast room with hardwood floors where the sound could echo freely. All were strangers, many former choir nerds, united by a love for group singing. Our goal was to learn and perform, in a single day, a classic of our time: a song from the Hannah Montana movie. The event, near downtown Los Angeles, was a one-day choir hosted by the Gaia Music Collective – a three-hour gathering where more than 100 people rehearsed a choral arrangement of the song and sang it three times, with ourselves as the only audience. “There’s just something so ineffably spiritual about singing with such a large group of people,” said Kristen West, 29. “I think they call it collective effervescence. It’s basically what makes church so magical.” Gaia Music Collective members rehearse One-day choirs are growing in popularity, and not just in Los Angeles. In New York, Gaia, which launched in a Brooklyn apartment as an effort to create connection during the pandemic, has brought thousands of people together since. Similar …

Spiritual Warfare Comes to the National Mall

Spiritual Warfare Comes to the National Mall

Published by José Betancourt

By 10 a.m. yesterday, the line of people wishing to dedicate America to God was more than three hours long. They came ready with prayer flags to wave the Holy Spirit into action, and shofars to scatter demonic forces. They wore T-shirts declaring the sort of Christians they were. A muscular man wore one that read Prayer Warrior. A woman in cargo shorts announced that she was an Intercessor for America. An elderly woman wore one that read I Am the Weapon. “You understand you’re not going to be able to get in with that,” a security guard told a man wheeling a huge cross toward the entrance to the National Mall, as thousands of people began spreading out across a swath of grass that many of them now considered a kind of occupied territory in a cosmic spiritual war. “We are here to bring the Earth into alignment with God,” a man named Joel Balin, who had come with a friend from Atlanta, told me. “To bring the kingdom of heaven to Earth.” The …

Is Berkeley’s Universe a Spiritual Hologram

Is Berkeley’s Universe a Spiritual Hologram

Published by Jenni Sidey

This abridged republished article first appeared in New English Review Born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, on 12th March 1685, Irish philosopher George Berkeley studied at Trinity College, Dublin. He became a Fellow in 1707 and this required him to be placed in clerical orders, thus leading to his ordination into the Anglican Church. In 1710, he published The Principles of Human Knowledge but it failed to win over readers to his immaterial theory. He then published a more popular version, The Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous, in 1713. Much of his philosophy was regarded as silly by other philosophers during this period but they couldn’t refute it. So, what to make of the Dialogues? According to Berkeley, everything is perceived in the mind of God. For Berkeley, God is the basis for improving one’s life, not damaging it, and a common-sense view of life is the best path to achieving such a goal. Berkeley was unique and quite happy in his philosophical world view, while he thought other philosophers throughout history were usually frustrated and complicated matters by analysing …