Sunny Saturday

I don't work on Saturdays. Actually, I don't work Friday evenings and Saturdays. I keep my version of Shabbat.

It started because of my ethno-cultural background, a connection I wanted to reinforce. The Shabbat is the time we ensure we remark upon, celebrate, empower the spiritual and divine in our lives. The idea (in a veeerryyyyy light overview) is not to engage in daily "non divine" activities. Thus, no work, no shopping, no mindless entertainment, ... and, in this modern world, a big key to this is the use of computers. 

Again, religious people won't even use electricity, cook, or any of hundreds of rules. From a secular person such as myself, however, I just choose to restrict certain activities rather than completely do away with standard comfort.

As I said, I don't work on the Shabbat. I don't use money either. I don't travel (unless I've promised to be there for someone else). I don't use Social Media. I don't watch films and/or series. I don't listen to the radio or podcasts. 

What are the side effects?

Well, it must come as no surprise that this practice has a wonderful impact on your emotional and psychological well-being. This is true of anyone who follows it, be they religious Jews, or secular Christians, or atheists. Feel free to try it out.

What do I do on Saturdays?

I begin on Friday, of course: I light candles to welcome Shabbat. The ritual connects me to my spirit, to my community across time and space. It reminds me of my will to dedicate the time to spirit, to enlightenment, to the highest self.

I read - a LOT! It can be fiction, but even in that case, it should be a book that triggers analysis. I try to do so on paper, since it has a more personal feel to it, as well as not being tempting to open a tab and scroll out of habit. Reading makes me be thoughtful, rather than absentminded. The turning of the pages make me take stock of what I've just read, makes me be more present in the activity.

I connect with friends and family. I mostly call and text, of course, but I also write paper letters. It is a time to think about our values, and out tribe are a giant portion of that element. It is all about really share about ourselves, not just share memes and jokes. My divine self is part of a group. Connection is the way to honour that communal divinity.

I walk, for hours weather permitting. I mostly walk on any given day, true, but, on Saturdays, I walk without listening to music. I walk without an objective at the end of the road. I walk to be part of the world, to experience the magnificence of life both within me, and around me. 

I meditate. Whether that be at home, or while out walking, I make sure to willfully and knowingly engage in the introspection of my highest self. I make sure to be informed by the truths I may have been avoiding in the stress, or the humdrum, of daily life.


Today has been a beautiful, sunny Saturday. 

How have you honoured the Divine in you, around you?

 ----

If you're interested in knowing more about the Shabbat tradition, you can start by checking out these sources:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/what-is-shabbat-jewish-sabbath

https://youtu.be/s01ZO13Jq5M?feature=shared

https://findinggodamongus.com/ways-to-keep-holy-the-sabbath-for-christians/ 

https://youtu.be/_WmNZhA46K0?feature=shared

There is also a solid amount of research on the psychological impact of Shabbat, here you have a few sources & articles:

https://www.thebanner.org/news/2019/02/the-science-of-sabbath-how-people-are-rediscovering-rest-and-claiming-its-benefits

https://thebluedovefoundation.org/mental-health-shabbat/

https://clergyreligionresearch.duke.edu/sites/default/files/Changes%20in%20Sabbath-Keeping%20and%20Mental%20Health%20Over%20Time_Evaluation%20Findings%20From%20the%20Sabbath%20Living%20Study.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271670349_Sabbath_Keeping_and_Its_Relationships_to_Health_and_Well-Being_A_Mediational_Analysis

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank you because I love you

I used to think that 'I love you' was the most powerful thing you could say. I amend that. I think 'I love you' may be the most beautiful thing you want to hear, but 'Thank you' is the strongest message you can give. In fact, I have come to understand the latter as an added-on form of the former. Please, let me explain. Telling someone you love them is a marvelous thing. It is marvelous because it gives to both the teller and the listener. The one who says it does so from a warm, constructive feeling of communion, care, affinity, and generosity. When you get to the point where it must be said, it is because all your realities (physical, psychological and spiritual) have recognised the Joy of that other one's presence in your Life - and the other can be a person, an animal, a plant, an entity... you name it. Saying it; actually forming the words in your mind, with any part of your body, grants you the Joy of becoming aware of that instinctual recognition. A...
Read more

What I did on a Sunday

I was hoping to spend a quiet day in bed, not for any reason (i.e. I'm healthy, no need to panic), just because I can since it was a Sunday. But no, I realised I actually wanted to go to Richmond Park (I have been in London for five years, but never there), and that I had to somehow explore. So I sloooowly got dressed, even put on some make up (!!), checked the bus map and decided which buses I needed (without checking the TfL website! I'm very proud of myself, as it's become a sort of permanent crutch, that site) and eventually did leave the house. I decided to try and find another way to get to the bus stop, and followed a footpath between the houses. The good news is, I did manage to get to the stop. The so-so news are, it had taken me longer than without the 'shortcut'. And the 'harrumph' news, I had just missed the bus and had to wait another 20 minutes. Thankfully, I had bought myself gloves and a hat the previous evening, so I did not freeze, you m...
Read more

Time to wake up from the anaesthesia

We live in a beautiful, bountiful Cosmos, We see its surprising creations daily, miraculously, all around us: the glory of dawns and sunsets; the fantastic changes in the seasons; the astonishingly logical economy of the ecosystems - where everything has a role and nothing goes to waste; the awesomeness of life-generation, two half-cells combining to create a unique, complex, independent, sentient multicellular organism (be it krill or whale, plant or animal, snail or human); the mystery of planets, starts, galaxies far and similar and unlike our own;... It should be so easy to be aware of all that munificence at every life-giving breath, at every passing cloud spotted, at every thought. Why don't we? Because we have been taught to shy away from it all, which has in turn become too much to handle, and thus appears hostile, oppressive, scary. Instead of relishing the World around us, glorifying human kindness and creativity, respectful of the Gift they truly are, we aim to contr...
Read more