Examining Your Faith (with author Cole Arthur Riley)
Feb 20, 2024
auto_awesome
Cole Arthur Riley joins Cleo Wade to discuss her new book, Black Liturgies, and her spiritual journey. They talk about embracing questioning in faith, using rituals like breath in prayer, and finding beauty in contemplation. The podcast explores themes of forgiveness, dignity, and the transformative power of language.
Initiating the spiritual journey with a belief in inherent dignity empowers individuals to pursue liberation and freedom.
Emphasizing breath as a tool for embodiment and mindfulness, the breath practice in the book offers a unique approach.
Deep dives
Importance of Dignity in Spiritual Exploration
Dignity plays a crucial role in spiritual exploration as it signifies the inherent value and worth of each individual. Starting the journey from a place of dignity allows for an approach based on fullness and beauty rather than self-loathing or deficiency. Believing in one's dignity affirms their value and contribution to the universe, fostering liberation and freedom in spiritual endeavors.
Revamping Confession and Forgiveness
The book reimagines the concepts of confession and forgiveness by infusing them with honesty, kindness, and dignity. Rather than imposing notions of sin and cosmic forgiveness, the practice emphasizes a truth-telling confession that leads to realizing inner beauty. The focus on daily forgiveness prayers enables individuals to release shame, practice self-forgiveness, and embody a sense of repair and healing.
Breath Practice for Embodiment and Mindfulness
Emphasizing breath as a tool for embodiment and mindfulness, the breath practice in the book offers a unique approach. By inhaling affirmations and exhaling on affirmations, the practice connects individuals to their inner selves, fostering tenderness, love, and a sense of okayness. This deliberate breathwork provides a pause amidst the fast-paced modern world, promoting conscious awareness and connection with the surroundings.
Empowering Spiritual Journey Through Inherent Belief
Initiating the spiritual journey with a belief in inherent dignity empowers individuals to pursue liberation and freedom. By affirming their worth and value, the journey transcends frameworks of self-loathing and deficiency, embracing fullness and beauty. This inherent belief serves as a foundation for exploring spirituality authentically and approaching others with respect and understanding.
Cleo Wade is joined today by Cole Arthur Riley to discuss her new book— Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human—and her personal journey through spirituality. Riley shares what led her to write a prayer book that embraces questioning as part of faith and what happened after she allowed herself to question her own spiritual beliefs. They talk about discovering spiritual communities among writers and artists, using breath and other rituals as a form of prayer, and finding the beauty and meaning in contemplation.