Do You Believe In Miracles?
For the last month or so, I've been meeting weekly with a small group of girlfriends for a spiritual study group.
Every week we gather at someone's house. Everyone brings food, and for an hour and a half we talk about the text we're reading, A Course in Miracles.
We bring our questions, our highlighted sections and my favorite part is when we go around and share what "miracles" happened for us that week.
According to the text, "Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle."
Of course, this isn't referring to only certain types of love.
It means love in its true essence. Divine Love.
Think about that for a moment: What if a miracle wasn’t some huge impossible task? What if miracles were happening all around us, all the time?
We just need to notice them.
At UCSF they did a study where they sent older adults out on a 15-minute walk and had them notice and be in awe of the world around them.
It’s no surprise that distress lowered significantly in this group compared to the control group.
Researchers have found that awe works on us through five different pathways:
It calms your body's stress response
It quiets your self-focus
It boosts compassion
It strengthens community
It deepens meaning.
The truth is, you can be in awe of almost anything!
A redwood growing from a seed the size of your fingernail. A plant turning water and light into food. The fact that most of the elements in your body were forged inside a star.
This spiritual instinct to connect with something greater than ourselves is universal, too. Anthropologists studying over a hundred societies found spiritual belief in nearly all of them.
But here's the thing: It's not about religion or faith by default. Sure, it can include that, but that's not why we do it.
At its core, it's about belonging. Meaning and connection.
As we know, the world is inherently scary. And for those of us who grew up in chaos, that breeds disconnection.
It teaches distrust and that can make it hard for you to open up to other people, new ideas, sometimes even to yourself.
But when you feel genuine connection, either with yourself, others or something greater than you, that does the opposite.
It brings awe. Wonder. And all those bullet points I listed earlier. 😁
Another fun fact I love is that the word "spirit" predates Christianity.
It was a secular word that came from the Latin word “spiritus” which means breath.
Spiritus refers to the animating force that creates life within a body.
Spirit also simply meant morale. As in "being in good spirits," or someone who's had their "spirit broken." That's it.
We don't need to call something God to make it sacred or spiritual.
Whatever breathes life into your body and soul is spiritual.
There's actual research on this too (can you tell I’ve been researching for a new project 🤓)
Sanctification is what it’s called when you treat something as sacred. Like your marriage, your body, or nature. All these things can be sacred without being connected to God.
And what happens when you define something as sacred?
You protect it more. You invest in it more. You respect it and give reverence to it more.
What you make sacred is entirely yours. God. The Universe. Crystals. Astrology. Nature. Ritual. Love. Art. Creation. Whatever it is.
So ya. That's what Wednesday nights look like for me now.
A circle, a text, some snacks, and an hour and a half of feeling genuinely connected to something bigger than myself.
So, I'm curious, what's sacred right now in your life? 💜