Should spiritual communities engage in activism?

The videos coming out of Minneapolis show us something crucial: Song is a potent force for social change.

 

This is only our second blog post. Some readers may be surprised to hear us talking about social change. I thought this organization was about spiritual practice?

We are.

Our mission honors three pillars:

     1. Expand the accessibility of practice.

(This is what you most likely know us for: we educate about sacred sound, connect people with events and communities, and support the expansion of offerings.)

     2. Build interfaith bridges.

(Because our world needs it, now more than ever - and music makes connection easy!)

     3. And finally, INSPIRE PRACTICE IN ACTION.

When we engage in a spiritual practice of sound, music, or dance, we can feel incredibly blissful. Maybe we touch and heal a deep inner wounding - connect with the radiating power of the earth - form intense bonds of love with a community … there are a lot of possibilities.

The point is:

At Sacred Sound Circle, we believe that what we do next matters just as much as the gifts we receive from practice.

The organizers in Minneapolis have given us a powerful example of what “what comes next” can look like. Have you seen these videos of communities gathering in song to find courage, healing, and power?

So have the Buddhist Monks. Have you been following the Walk for Peace? This is what bridging our spiritual practice with peace, justice, and service looks like in action.

Our work building the Sacred Sound Circle Platform is guided by the faith that connecting communities is an incredibly powerful act. Finding each other and practicing together is a simple step towards building a radically transformed world.

Collective spiritual practice cultivates community - and spiritual communities hold power. In these communities, we are bound together by uniquely strong bonds of mutual support, non-judgement, love, and passion for creating a better world. When we engage our community in compassionate action, we offer unique ingredients to the soup of social action. We are a well spring of peace, courage, and truth - pillars of successful social change movements.

 

“If we feel our hearts ache, we must sing. If we feel our dreams are being strangled, we must sing for their survival. If we know in our bones that we need each other and deserve liberation, we must sing that truth together.” - Lu Aya, Peace Poets