Spiritual Practices For Political Engagement

Drawing on Brene Brown, we define spirituality as “recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love.” For many people that recognition and celebration occurs within the context of a faith tradition. Others find it outside organized religion, in the majesty of the natural world, in the humanity of their neighbors, in moments of stillness, and in the wisdom of philosophers and poets. The connection to each other and to the forces that bind us can never be severed, but it can be forgotten. Spiritual practices help us remember. So along side all of our conversations, we offer practices that integrate the spiritual wisdom of our guests.

Introspection

with Marvie Corbett

Click here to download.

Music

with David Gungor

Movement

with Jaycee Gossett

Resources for Practice:

Somatics

with Staci Haines

Also check out Staci’s other offerings:

Meditation

with Sharon Salzberg

Also check out Sharon’s other offerings:

Rest

with Saundra Dalton-Smith

Sacred Rest, the book (Affiliate link)

Free Rest Quiz to discover your deficit

Sacred Rest 30 Day Challenge

Rest Well Online Course

Sabbath by Wayne Muller (Affiliate Link)

Discernment

with Emily P Freeman

Also check out Emily’s Other Offerings:

Poetry

with Laura Martin

Let There Be: A Benediction for Right Now

Let there be light,

and gentleness,

and stuffed animals tucking into bed at night,

and coffee bought for a stranger,

and refugees welcomes at airports,

and allelulia on your lips when you thought you had finished saying it.

Let there be those who study peace,

those who minister without books,

those who paint a world not yet seen.

Let there be those who take their pain and sing,

and those who take their hope and write.

Let there be grace so obvious

that you must stop to notice it.

Let there be those who trade disbelief for daily bread.

Let there be all of us,

little benedictions,

blessing something,

and not even knowing

all the places that blessing travels.

From Breaking Into Light by Laura Martin

Nature

with John Philip Newell

Walking Meditation with Music

Walking Meditation without Music

Also check out John Philip’s Books:

Prayer

with Cameron Bellm

Prayer for this Election

The world is bleeding, and every four years, or every two, we get to rush in with guaze, with bandages and the best of intentions, to reach out with tender hands to all who are in pain. Its naive to think that we can solve it all with one circle of ink on a ballot, but we can at least make the offering of our attention, Turning our gaze to those who are crushed under the grinding wheels of our systems. We can at least vote not in self-interest, preserving our own wealth and power, but in generosity, in empathy, extending what we have, open-handedly, to others. Amen

A few other prayers for this election:

5 Habits of the Heart

with Parker Palmer

Five Habits of the HeartDownload

Also check out:

Spiritual Practices help us remember our connectedness. They help us remember when trauma makes us forget. They help us remember when politics makes us forget. They are the first step to doing politics differently.

Politics is Hard. But Together We Can Change It.

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