Pursuing Inner Peace: The Monatization of Anceint Religous Practices

It has become in vogue, especially in this way-too-busy and overstimulated world, to promote inner peace as a correction for our mental and spiritual well-being.  Mediation workshops and apps, self-help books, scented candles, skin care products, wellness spas, and spiritual retreats have commoditized the pursuit of "peacefulness" into a multi-billion-dollar global business.  Inner peace has become the centrepiece of the self-care industry. 

Like many things in today's society, the pursuit of inner peace has become increasingly individualistic, and its monetization has compounded this trend.  As someone who runs a service that offers a bit of that, I understand the value peacefulness plays in a more holistic approach to life.  This is part of the Abbey's appeal.  While I hope this service is much more than that, it does contain some of that philosophy. 

The question I  ask myself, and pose to all of you is…what benefit can the pursuit of one's own inner peace actually have?  From a purely economic standpoint, what is our time and money buying?  

From the various companies that market wellness, we repeatedly hear clichés like emotional balance, self-actualization, intentional living, and mindfulness.  By enrolling in their programs, participating in their workshops, and buying their products, we are promised a lot:  improved health, better focus, greater resilience to stress, better sleep, and more positive interpersonal relationships.    

For example, a company called the World Peace Initiative, Peace in and Peace out, offers online mediation training and lists over 100 benefits of inner peace.  These include:

Lower oxygen consumption

Reduction in premenstrual syndrome symptoms

Significant relief from asthma

Help in chronic diseases like allergies and arthritis

Normalizing to your ideal weight

Relaxing our nervous system

Producing lasting beneficial changes in brain electrical activity

Curing infertility

Slowing aging of the mind

Developing intuition

Increased brain wave coherence

Increased job satisfaction

Reduced road rage

Increased ability to solve complex problems

Less sleep to recover from sleep deprivation

Helping you discover your purpose

Deeper level of spiritual relaxation

Increased acceptance of oneself

Experiencing a sense of "Oneness"

Attaining enlightenment

Sign me up, right!   If I can lower my oxygen consumption and attain enlightenment at the same time, that is money well spent!  But it won't surprise you that I'm fairly skeptical of these claims.  I'm not, however, arguing that there is no societal benefit in working towards inner peace. The idea that healthier individuals contribute to healthier families, which in turn lead to healthier communities, and so on, makes sense.  

Some companies even highlight the impact this working on oneself can have on the world around you.  According to Arie's LUXURIOUS RITUALS, BODY MASSAGES & THERMAL BATHS webpage, they espouse the power of self-giving and forgiving that comes from the personal transformation they offer.

"Without a doubt, (their page states) inner peace simply makes you a better person overall, and when you enjoy peace within yourself, you automatically feel compelled to give back and help others feel good too.  Inner peace enables you to share your happiness and positive mindset with the people that surround you, especially your loved ones.”  The webpage goes talk about the power of forgiveness "Hate, regret, and grudges toward other people and yourself are useless and negative feelings that contribute to making you feel more stressed and unhappy.  Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give, mainly because it will help you get rid of unnecessary stress and anger from your life."

Barely hidden in the promotion of how one's burgeoning inner peace can benefit others is that it is still primarily centred on how it makes you feel.  Holding grudges is bad because it makes you stressed and unhappy.  Forgiveness is great because it gets rid of your unnecessary stress and anger.   

I'm not one to bemoan religious appropriation, but it is important to recognize that these companies have essentially borrowed ancient religious practices in order to make money.  And all of this is fine, I guess, as long as people know what they are buying and recognize that these companies are not advocating world-wellness but self-wellness.   The trouble is that by isolating these religious practice from the larger context of their historical traditions, they have emptied them of much of their meaning.

Mediation and silence are sold as ways to disconnect from daily stressors and promote deep relaxation.  But when practiced within a faith tradition, they are methods of sacred listening, a path to a more intimate connection with God, a God that not only cares about your well-being, but also the well-being of others.  It is our ancient stories of the divine that propel us to acts of kindness and justice, caring for the sick and the poor.

Candles, as a calming mechanism, do not carry the same gravity as when used as a powerful symbol of prayer, devotion, remembrance, and divine presence.  Using incense to give a room an aroma meant to reduce anxiety does not have the profound meaning of the religious symbolism of prayers rising to the heavens and purifying sacred spaces.  Taking a spa day to get away from your worries and recenter yourself isn't the same as observing the Sabbath, the communal practice of rest rooted in stories of divine grace.  

When the pursuit of inner peace is commodified and divorced from the faith traditions from which they arose, we can expect different results. 

People whose primary aim is inner peace as a means to being happier and healthier are not typically those seeking to change the world, but to change themselves.  

And again, that's fine.  Paying for workshops and mediation groups, apps and products that help individuals be more positive and well-adjusted is typically better for society than not.  And when individuals feel better about themselves, they often feel better about others.  But because it's ultimately about them, the world doesn't need to change; to feel at peace, only they need to change. 

Most people who walk down the path of self-help are not looking to be peacemakers, but peacefinders.  They are not focusing on bringing good into the world, but on recognizing the good that already exists here.  They are more apt to be at peace with the world as it is, while having little interest in transforming that world as it could be. 

The world's great wisdom traditions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, each in its unique way, offer a much more robust understanding of peace.  The great spiritual leaders of all these faiths taught the centrality of prayer and meditation when pursuing inner peace.  They spoke of emptying oneself of ego and pride, letting go of worldly desires for fame and wealth, grudges and revenge.   

For the Christian faith in particular, through this process of letting go we become more open to the presence of God, marking a transformation from self-centredness to divine-centredness.  As this process matures, the disciple begins to see the divine presence woven throughout all creation - they begin to see the world as God sees the world.   

The deeper we go into it, the more inner serenity co-mingles with outer restlessness.  Because to see as God sees is to see both the beauty and the pain, the joy and the sorrow, the hope and the injustice.  In this awakened understanding, peace can no longer be confined to a personal state of being that allows for disengagement from these troubles, but must lead to a radical re-engagement with the reality of a world desperate for peace. 

BRAIN CHEMICALS AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING, PART 1: DOPAMINE

The widespread use of digital technology, including smartphones, video games, and social media, has become a significant area of study for social scientists, neurologists, and many other researchers.  The questions most often asked usually centers around what this addiction is doing to us as a society.  How is it impacting our relationships, our emotional and spiritual well-being, our ability to complete tasks, and even our brain chemistry?  When these experts discuss the impact of this technology on society one theme recurs again and again: dopamine.

When it comes to our understanding of the brain, there are still a lot of unknowns.  People disagree and outdated information morphs into disinformation.  What we currently know about dopamine is no different.  But to the best of my ability, this is the consensus:

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical released within the brain, often described as the "this feels good and I want more of this" hormone.   While frequently called the pleasure or reward chemical, it is more accurately understood as the wanting chemical. When you anticipate something good—like a meal at a fancy restaurant, the possibilities of a first date, or validation for the work you have been doing—your brain releases dopamine.  Its core function is to focus and motivate one to seek rewards, anticipating the pleasure that may come rather than giving pleasure when it does.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Let me illustrate this out of my own experience.  

As some of you know, we have had the privilege of taking our family vacations at Disney World in Florida.  Planning a trip to Disney is a long process, usually spanning over the course of a full year.  I begin by nailing down a date.  This involves figuring out the girls' school calendar, Heather's work availability, researching historical patterns in weather and crowds, and putting together a budget.  

About ten months before the trip, I start tracking flight schedules and prices, regularly checking with various airlines, waiting for a price I can live with.  During this period, I also narrow down where we plan to stay.  Disney World has 22 hotels, each unique in theme, location, and price.

Six months out, I begin booking restaurant reservations.  In true American style, Disney World has over 400 dining options ranging from one of the world’s most renowned restaurants to kiosks that offer only pretzels and bottled water.  Both the hotels and restaurants are subject to availability, and the most popular choices fill up within minutes of the reservation window opening. 

It is impossible to book everything at once.  I continue to monitor the airfares, restaurant reservations, or the chance to stay at a different hotel because someone else has cancelled their reservation.  As the trip comes closer, and the hotel and restaurants I wanted have been found, the overall picture of the week comes into focus and I am able to spread sheet detailing a step-by-step, micromanaged plan broken down into 10-minute increments of when and where we'll be at any given time.   

I know this may seem absurd to many people, including Heather, but each step of this planning provides a steady supply of anticipation and dopamine reward throughout the year.  Other Disney planners say the same thing:  planning the trip is half the fun.  Every time I look for a flight, search for that hard-to-find reservation, and map out which ride we'll go on first, then second, and then third, I am thinking about all the wonderful experiences that come with a well-planned trip. 

When the trip actually begins, I have a little bit of melancholy leaving the house and heading to Orlando, because, for me, the anticipation of the vacation is now over.  All year this activity has provided a regular release of dopamine, motivating me to put in the time and effort needed to plan a great vacation for my family  

Part of my struggle, and that of so many people today, is that we have become relatively desensitized to dopamine.  Platforms like TikTok and Facebook Reels have built-in algorithms specifically tailored to highjack our dopamine system, allowing its release with little effort and in rapid succession.

Another example can be seen in online gambling.  In 2025, almost half of all men aged 18 to 49 have an active online sports-book account.  These sites not only allow betting from the comfort of home, but in-game, real-time options to wager on everything from which basketball player will score the next basket to what pitch a baseball pitcher throws next.  Instead of placing a bet on the winner or loser of a game, with the outcome hours away, prop betting can be done over and over during a single game with the outcome coming just minutes or even seconds after the bet is placed

The smartphone addiction is akin to the needle that delivers heroin into the blood stream of a drug user.  The high experienced by algorithms that deliver individualized content in an endless quantity is hard to resist.  TikTok never runs out of videos and you never reach the end of a Facebook feed.  But like the crash after a drug wears off, we generally feel worse after extended use of social media.  The brain is plunged into a dopamine-deficient state as it attempts to adapt to the loss of high dopamine levels caused by social media engagement.  And repeated exposure to the same or similar stimuli ultimately creates a chronic dopamine-deficient state, wherein we're less able to experience pleasure.

Returning to Disney World travel, Heather and I have gone on several trips where she attends a medical conference for part of the day, leaving me to my own devices.  One of the things I used to love doing during this time was finding a space middle of a theme park and people-watching.  Every emotion you can imagine is happening all around you:  wide-eyed children unable to contain their excitement; couples in love; and elderly people on their scooters; parents melting down, overtired toddlers screaming, and frustrated people yelling at the staff.  Throw in 25-degree weather in February, this should be one of the best ways to spend a morning.  But on the last trip, I realized I had difficulty finding this stimulating enough to stay more than ten minutes.  And I ended up back in the hotel room, on my phone, waiting for Heather to get back from her meeting.

This isn't normal.  

A young man who can no longer enjoy sports without the extra stimuli of concurrent gambling, who would rather win their prop bet than have their beloved team win, is not normal.  Close friends sitting together, all staring at their phones instead of talking or even looking at each other, is not normal.  Scrolling through hours of short TikTok videos and yet being unable to sit through a full-length movie is not normal.  But it is commonplace.  And, as with all things in these conversations, it negatively impacts today's youth the most.  

I say all of this tonight because when we begin to understand the problem, we can start working towards solutions.  This insight into how dopamine works helps us to see how big corporations are leveraging that information for profit, despite being fully aware of the enormous damage to the well-being of our children and ourselves.  This should encourage us to be discerning in how we support tech companies such as Facebook, TikTok, and X, ultra-processed food companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Kraft, and programs that promote sports gambling sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings.  It is one of the reasons I’m moving the online presence of The Abbey away from Facebook and into its own webpage. 

Is there an antidote to our addiction to social media?  

Writing for the Stanford Medical Journal, researcher Bruce Goldman says this:

Yes, a timeout — at least for a day.  But a whole month is more typically the minimum amount of time we need away from our drug of choice, whether it's heroin or Instagram, to reset our dopamine reward pathways.

A month-long dopamine fast will decrease the anxiety and depression that social media can induce, and enhance our ability to enjoy other, more modest rewards again.

If and when we return to social media, we can consolidate our use to certain times of the day, avoid certain apps that suck us into the vortex and prioritize apps that connect us with real people in our real lives.

I believe this is an opportunity and a responsibility for religion to have an enormous positive impact on society.  The Church needs to be paying attention and turn its focus to what is actually destroying us.  Enough of the culture wars.  And in doing so, I can think of no institution better positioned to be part of the solution.  

It starts with the fundamental belief is that God wants us all to have life and live it in abundance.  This includes the sacred vision of interconnectedness, that the well-being of your life is intrinsically tied to the well-being of my life, and the lives of our neighbours, strangers, and enemies.  All lives matter to God.  

Any company, intentionally profiting from being anti-life, is what Jesus refers to as thieves, bandits, and wolves.  There is an organizing principle and vision within religious institutions that can empower it’s communities to fight back.

Religions have always met in person, in communal gatherings.  Such gatherings can be that mandatory break from societal-driven rapid dopamine releases.  It can also be that time to organize a coherent plan of resistance, both from within and outside these walls. Instead of one individual speaking out, it’s becomes multiple voices speaking as one.  And when other churches and other religions speak out, then you have a moment that government cannot ignore.  And that movement will join the multitude of voices coming parents and grandparent, educational and medical communieis. And that is when real tangible change will happen,  I’m getting a dopamine rush just thinking about it!

But it will always begin with me and you. Spiritual practices including prayer, meditation, sabbath observance, temperance, and accountability to God and each other are all formational tools at our disposal.  I believe there is an opportunity for the Church to have an enormously positive impact on society, and it can give what we do in places like this a greater purpose.

My Religion is Simple, My Religion is Kindness

 There is no question that love is at the very heart of Christianity, love for God and God’s love for us.  Throughout his ministry, Jesus instructed his disciples to love.  Indeed, love is central to all religious traditions.

In the book Mark, when Jesus was asked, "Of all the commandments, which are the most important?" He answered, “The most important one is this: …Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself."

A similar scene occurred in Matthew's gospel, only this time, Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan, expanding the parameters of who one’s neighbour is to include cultural adversaries.  

It is, however, in the Sermon on the Mount where what love demands exceeds all previous expectations.

You have heard it said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing that others aren't?  Do not even pagans do that?

Today, there is a significant misunderstanding of how Jesus used the term love, partly because it can mean so many different things.  When Jesus tells his disciples to love their enemies, it can feel impossible, because what does love even mean in this case.  We end up in this weird place where we say “I love my enemies,” but rarely ever engage with them in any meaningful or productive way!,

Loving our enemies while being disconnected from them becomes a dim reflection of what Jesus intended by the word 'love'; and certainly isn't the powerful emotion expressed in music we just heard.  It ends up being  more symbolic than transformative.  How do we as Christians love our enemies, where love is not a whim or an abstract statement, but a verb.

 "My religion is very simple.  My religion is kindness." When I first heard those words spoken by the Dalai Lama,  I began thinking what Christianity would look like if we talked less about love and acted more out of kindness.

In contrast to love, kindness is simple and accessible; it is tangible.  We all know what it looks like.  Most people already practice it in their everyday lives, and we have all benefited from the kindness of others.  

Suppose we taught our children about God's kindness before delving into the mysteries of divine love.  What if instead of trying to figure out how to love our enemies, we focused on being kind?  

Replace the word 'love' with 'kindness' in Jesus' commandments to his disciples, and we gain a more accurate understanding of what Jesus was actually asking of them.

You have heard it was said, 'show kindness to your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, show kindness to your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  If you do kindness to those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you show kindness only to your own people, what are you doing that others aren't?  Do not even pagans do that?

The scripture we read tonight does not include the words love or kindness, but is clearly in keeping with Jesus’ instructions on how to live as a disciple in the world:

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

If you read any book or watch any lecture on kindness, the consistent message repeated in all of them is that kindness begets kindness.  It's contagious!  The kinder we are to others, the kinder they become, and the kinder we become.  This is why it is so often said that one small act kindness is the impetus for multiple small acts of kindness, which, when aggregated, drives real change in the world.

Theologian Frederick Buechner puts it this way. 

Humanity is like an enormous spider web, so that if you touch it anywhere, you set the whole thing trembling… As we move around this world and as we act with kindness toward the people we meet, we too are setting the great spider web a-tremble.  The life that I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place and time my touch will be felt.  Our lives are linked together.  No one is an island.

Part of the limitation of love is that it is, by its nature, local.  While love can deepen an already established relationship, it has has to be experienced up close and personal.  Being kind to a stranger sends out ripples that can travel further into places love doesn't reach.

You don't have to be religious to practice kindness in this way.  As I began exploring this topic, it became apparent that most advocates promoting kindness as the highest virtue for social change are outside faith communities.  

This is unfortunate.  Religious practice fosters a spiritual discipline that empowers one to enter into uncomfortable situations, situations where kindness is needed the most!  Returning to Jesus' commandment to show kindness to our enemies, this is the demand that God places upon us.  And it might look something like this:

On a cold morning, you see someone on the street corner protesting against something you are passionate about.  You choose to go out of your way and bring that person a cup of tea and a pair of mittens.  You offer them a warm smile and wish them well.  And you go about the rest of your day.

You may never know the impact of that kindness on them.  But that little connection, the gratitude they offer back to you, can calm some of the anger in your heart.  These small acts of kindness not only benefit our enemies, but they help us to develop the compassion and empathy so desperately needed to bridge some of those divides in society!  And as bridges are built, enemies can become acquaintances, and those acquaintances can evolve into real relationships.  That is when love begins to enter in. 

And if Jesus did actually mean to love our enemies, whatever iteration of love that may be, to make that happen begins with kindness regardless!  

So just be kind.

LIGHTING UP THE DARKNESS PART III: WHEN DARKNESS OVERWHELMS

 As with most people, I have lost those who are dear to me.  More often than not, these losses happened as part of the natural rhythm of life.  As we grow older, that rhythm inevitably speeds up.  We all come from dust and to dust we all return.  Eventually, if we live long enough, it can feel like there isn't anything but dust blowing all around us.  But we take comfort in the memories of those who are no longer with us, and rejoice in the vibrancy of life we see in our children and grandchildren. 

It is the losses that occur outside the natural rhythm of life that stop us cold.  The kind that brings darkness so overwhelming it becomes the stuff of poetry and song.  

 The Rolling Stones song “Paint It Black”:

I look inside myself and see my heart is black

I see my red door, I must have it painted black

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts

It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black

Or Metallica's “One”:

I can't remember anything

Can’t tell if this is true or a dream

Deep down inside I feel the scream

This terrible silence stops me

Now that the war is through with me

I'm waking up, I cannot see

That there's not much left of me

Nothing is real but pain now

Hold my breath as I wish for death

Oh please, God, wake me

While I have witnessed unimaginable circumstance in those around me, it has always been just far enough removed that I wasn’t swept into that vortex of darkness.  When people talk about having more than their fair share of grief or tragedy, I can’t help but feel some of that should have been mine.  I live with this sense of dread hanging over me.  Is my time coming?  What if one of my children is taken away?  Can I be as strong as others I've seen? 

As many of you know, my theological home is in process theology.  What captivated me, and what draws most people to process thought, is the belief that divine power is not manifested in the world in ways that allow God to override the laws of nature and supernaturally intervene in creation.   Unlike the God in the book of Job, process theology does not view divinity as something which causes or willingly allows evil to happen in the world.  Instead, God suffers with us, grieves with us, and our pain is divinely shared.

When my time comes and I'm facing down some of the worst life has to offer, my battle won't be with God.  I won't be shouting at the sky asking, "Why, God, did you allow this to happen?  What could possibly be the reason for this?"  Nor will I have the unsavoury temptation to defend God honour during these times or to protect God by thinking, "This is all part of a greater design, some mysterious plan to bring more goodness into the world.”   And I won’t feel the need verbalize those same words to try and comfort someone else.

We read tonight the passage in Job that sets the stage for the rest of the story.  The book of Job spans over a thousand verses across forty-two chapters, yet the majority of time in this account is relegated to a mere three verses.

When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.  When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.  They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. 

For seven days and seven nights, his friends sat in silence with Job.  Their empathy for his suffering surpasses all expectations.  

This vigil is finally broken by the intrusion of theology.   After a week sitting in the dirt with his friends, Job finally speaks, and in his suffering, he challenges the unquestioned belief that God blesses the righteous and curses those who are not.

When Job puts God's honour on trial, the friends who sat and mourned with Job immediately assume the role of God's defenders.  In their urgency to protect their preconceived understanding of God's justice, they could no longer remain silent.  The need to respond to Job’s questioning took precedence over their continued willingness to be comforters.  

There is a time for theology, a time to reflect on why there is unimaginable evil in the world, but it has no place in the deep darkness.  Theologians and ministers who repeatedly defend God are an unwelcome intrusion into these moments.

Jesus' approach is different.  When he speaks about grief and suffering, such as in the beatitudes, he offers no defence of God's goodness, but rather instructions to his disciples on how to live in such times. 

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  These are not only words meant to bring mourners hope, but it is a command to the disciples to be comforters to others, not defenders of God.  

One of the greatest gifts we have to offer is to be there for those whose whole world has been painted black!  In the midst of profound grief it ceases to matter who you voted for, what your religion is, or any other manner of ideology that can cause division.  It is in these times that our humanity, that essential part of ourselves we all share, becomes most important.

So often, it is those who carry with them the memories of unspeakable tragedies who take up the task of being comforters.  Those guardian angels who have been through the overwhelming darkness and have come out the other side, bruised and scarred, but still with light left to share.  Those who willingly re-enter the darkness, to risk having their hearts broken again, who can be that gentle wisdom and empathy so needed in those times.  And sometimes without even knowing it, their unassuming presence lights up a little bit of that darkness, just enough so others might glimpse the path out. 

When the dark night of the soul comes for me, as it does for all of us, I expect the light I see will be God's gentle light shining through those who have walked that path before.  What a gift they are to are to the world.