A reflection on the quiet power of understanding

Sanctuary of Resistance: A Guidepost

Lately I’ve been reflecting on what it means to think for ourselves
in a world so quick to speak, react, and divide.

There’s a quiet but powerful difference between knowing and understanding.
Knowing is fast, it gathers facts and forms opinions.
Understanding takes time, it listens, feels, and questions.

I’ve learned I need space not only to think, but to understand, to feel.
Silence, solitude, and self-study allow me to sit with my own thoughts…
to understand what’s mine, what’s been inherited, and what needs to be released.

This kind of inner practice and “space” doesn’t just help me speak my truth,
it’s slowly (and sometimes painfully) teaching me to leave space for someone else’s truth too…
without interrupting, over-explaining, or dramatically disagreeing (at least not out loud, lol).

To think for yourself isn’t rebellion.
It’s a reverence for complexity, for feeling, for clarity and understanding.

This week, we begin with two simple questions:

What helps you recognize a thought or feeling that is truly your own?
What does thinking feel like in your body?

Let these question keep you company. Let them unfold thoughtfully, let them breathe with you this week

You may wish to journal with it, sit in silence with it, or simply hold it close as you move through your days.

Thank you for reflecting with me.

~Leora

Feelings are not good or bad. They are messengers, telling us something about our needs, values, or boundaries.”
~ Vivian Dittmar, The Emotional Backpack

The most radical political act may be the act of thinking, especially in solitude and silence ~ Inspired by Hannah Arendt

This is a paraphrased reflection inspired by the work of Hannah Arendt, particularly her exploration of thought, conscience, and political responsibility. In The Life of the Mind and The Origins of Totalitarianism, Arendt warns of the dangers of thoughtlessness and emphasizes that thinking, not as a means to knowledge, but as an interior dialogue, is a safeguard against blind obedience.

She believed that the private life of the mind, the ability to reflect in solitude, and the formation of genuine friendships and spontaneous communities are essential to resisting totalitarian forces.

In this spirit, Sanctuary of Resistance invites us to protect and practice DISCERNMENT, our inner freedom through critical thinking, thoughtful companionship, education, and personal spiritual practice not as institutional instruction, but as a lifelong unfolding of the heart and mind.

Sanctuary of Resistance

Sanctuary of Resistance: A Guidepost

Week Two: Thinking for Yourself in a Noisy World; A reflection on the quiet power of discernment in uncertain times

March 12, 2025

LOA: What is Totalitarianism? Understanding Hannah Arendt Now?

SPOTIFY: What Is Totalitarianism? Understanding Hannah Arendt Now