A group of people from various religious backgrounds have created a framework for teaching what they call "soulful practices" to one another in the pursuit of wellbeing and resilience. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
This Friday and Saturday, a collective called "Our Own Deep Wells" will gather with students and young adults at Eastern Mennonite University to share soulful practices – rituals that may come from ancient traditions or the participants' own invention.
DORI BAKER: My baseline definition is anything that slows us down and helps us remember our common humanity, and that we are connected to something larger than ourselves. And we always have time within our gatherings to allow people to define for themselves, "what is a soulful practice?"
Co-founder Dori Baker started building this curriculum in 2022, as she reflected on the mental health crises affecting a lot of college campuses. She gave an example of a practice she employs in her own life.
BAKER: So when I get out of bed in the morning, I'm lucky, I have a door right next to my bed that leads outside. And I go outside and I 'earth.' I connect my feet to the ground. … There's neuroscientific evidence that connecting to the energy of the earth calms us.
This gathering will be the second pilot of the program, and the group is planning more events around the Commonwealth next year. To learn more or get in touch about hosting a gathering, visit ourowndeepwells.com.
