This blog post was written by Viveka Hall-Holt, one of the Lutheran Center Interfaith Fellows. In her work as an Interfaith Fellow she hopes to encourage people in their spiritual lives, provide ways for people to learn about each other’s traditions, and ensure that all spiritual traditions are valued at St. Olaf.

My name is Viveka Hall-Holt and I am one of the three Interfaith Fellows at the Lutheran Center. This year I will be focusing on a project centered around collecting interspiritual practices and making them available to students and others in the St. Olaf community. In this context, I use the word “interspiritual” to express the invitation for people from many or no spiritual tradition(s) to learn about spiritual practices using all aspects of their being through a collaborative process where all traditions are honored.

In this context, I use the word “interspiritual” to express the invitation for people from many or no spiritual tradition(s) to learn about spiritual practices using all aspects of their being through a collaborative process where all traditions are honored.

This time of pandemic and civil strife is plagued with confusion, loss and disconnection where it is vital for students to have the resources to nurture their whole selves and continue to grow. One integral part of caring for our whole selves is being fed spiritually. However, I know that it can be hard to find nurturing spiritual practices. With that in mind, I started to collect spiritual practices over the summer during an interfaith internship at the Toledo Campus Ministry Fellowship in Toledo, Ohio with the help of my friend and co-student intern Terri Draper.

In hopes of filling this spiritual gap – at least in part – I plan to make a short spiritual practice available twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays on Instagram. Monday posts will focus on spiritual practices that are not specific to one spiritual tradition; Thursday posts will be rooted in one or more particular religious traditions. In addition to providing materials to support students’ spiritual selves, these practices will provide resources for students to learn about meaningful aspects of others’ traditions in an intellectual as well as embodied way. 

In hopes of filling this spiritual gap – at least in part – I plan to make a short spiritual practice available twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays on Instagram… In addition to providing materials to support students’ spiritual selves, these practices will provide resources for students to learn about meaningful aspects of others’ traditions in an intellectual as well as embodied way. 

In order to make sure that the traditions represented in the Thursday practices are honored and respected, we will ask people from a variety of traditions about their personal experiences and work with them to shape a description of their practices that they are willing to share with others. They will be involved in every step of the process so that their valuable perspectives are accurately represented.

Since some of the practices will come from specific religious traditions and will be rooted in a complex soil of belief systems, ways of understanding the world and the divine/Ultimate Reality, there will be more to these traditions than we can express in a single post. That is why we will provide resources for further learning that can aid in better understanding particular words and ideas linked to specific beliefs and cultural understandings that may be new to our followers. Our goal is not for you to embrace every belief but to learn from and deepen your respect for many traditions and practices. We hope that these practices will give support and strength during this harrowing time.

In order to make sure that the traditions represented in the Thursday practices are honored and respected, we will ask people from a variety of traditions about their personal experiences and work with them to shape a description of their practices that they are willing to share with others… Our goal is not for you to embrace every belief but to learn from and deepen your respect for many traditions and practices.

You can find the practices on Instagram by visiting this link or searching for @InterspiritualPractices starting on Monday, November 9th. During Winter Break, the practices will be reduced to one per week on Mondays.

Please reach out to me if you would like to share your practices or want to talk to me about anything else. My office hours are 9am-10am central time on Zoom or you can reach out to me at hallho1@stolaf.edu!

Examples of Monday posts:

Think of one of your favorite songs that you can come back to throughout the day. Then, when you think of the state of the world or anything that is weighing on you, sing this song to yourself and allow yourself to be embraced by it. This provides a new opportunity to transform moments that can easily result in being overwhelmed into moments where you are reminded that you are held.

We tend to get hyper-focused on all that we have to do instead of who we really are, especially in busy times. One way to break this cycle of tunnel vision and anxiety is to turn our attention to others who live alongside us. Today, choose to remember that you do not live alone and try to silently bless five or ten people throughout the day. To bless them, silently wish good to come to them or pray for their well-being. If you are brave, you can even say them out loud. These blessings will be a blessing to them and to you.

Examples of Thursday posts:

Prayer is a practice that is shared among many spiritual traditions, though the object of the prayer often varies across them. This is a practice that comes from the Hmong shaman/animist tradition. There are many ways to begin a prayer in this tradition, such as “Thov lub ntuj, lub teb, . . .” (I pray to the world . . .) or “Thov pog thiab yawg, . . .” (I pray to my ancestors/grandparents . . .). Protection and safety, good health and good luck, and help with being rid of bad spirits/luck are examples of common prayers. These prayers can be done anywhere, by anyone.

This post was created in consultation with Zoua Lor whose spiritual and religious background is Hmong Animism/Shamanism.⁠
Additional Resources: medium.com/maivmai/ua-nyub-dab-53a8f7582317⁠
Book: Folk Stories of the Hmong: Peoples of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam (1991) Norma J. Livo and Dia Cha⁠

Prayer is an essential element to many spiritual traditions. Though some may think of prayer as non-physical, most traditions have embodied prayer practices. One example from Islam is sujood (or prostration) prayer. This prayer is “quite literally grounding because there are more points of contact with the ground.” In addition, “when someone performs sujood, it demonstrates their submission to God,” a central value in Islam. To pray in this way, go on your hands and knees and then put your forehead down to face the ground so you are not focused on things around you. The traditional supplication while performing sujood is سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الأَعْلَى (Subhana Rabbi Al Ala or Glory is to my Lord, the Most High).

This post was created in consultation with a practitioner who chose to remain anonymous.⁠
Additional Resources: www.virtualmosque.com/personaldvlpt/worship-personaldvlpt/prayer/the-secret-of-prayer-sujood/