Sanctuary of Resistance: Week Two-Thinking for Yourself in a Noisy World

A reflection on the quiet power of discernment in uncertain times

Sanctuary of Resistance: A Guidepost

Lately, I’ve been reflecting about the power of discernment and the questions that have come up for me around this concept, discernment, not in search of a quick answer, but as a practice. A pause. A quiet way of returning to myself.

In a world overflowing with negativity, fact-less truths, noise, and opinions condensed into 2-minute soundbites and scrollable taglines, thinking for yourself can feel both taxing and overwhelming. It’s not about being oppositional or “contrarian”, it’s about learning how to listen inwardly before reacting outwardly.

For me…especially of late, it begins with asking:
Is this thought really mine?
Do I understand it, or do I just know it?
And where did I pick it up in the first place?

How Propaganda Thrives on the Laziness of Thought

Propaganda doesn’t just tell us what to think…it creates the conditions in which we stop thinking altogether. It feeds on exhaustion, distraction, and our very human longing to belong. It loves our shortcuts. It thrives in negativity, in fact-less truths, in noise, and in opinions condensed into two-minute soundbites and scrollable taglines.

I’ve been thinking and reflecting on author, Hannah Arendt lately. She warned of the dangers of thoughtlessness, how totalitarian regimes don’t only rely on violence, but on our unwillingness to reflect. When people grow numb, passive, or afraid to question what they’re being fed, even the unimaginable becomes possible.

History has shown us this, not through monsters, but through ordinary people.
People who were tired. Overwhelmed. Afraid to ask questions.
People who wanted to belong more than they wanted to understand.
People who were fed an ideology of blame and discrimination, and who accepted it, perhaps quietly, without ever stopping to ask: Is this true? Is this right? How do I feel about this in my heart, body and soul?

And maybe that’s part of what resistance looks like now:
Simply being willing to think and feel again.

Discernment in Yoga and in Life

In yoga, this practice of clear inner seeing is called viveka—discernment.
Not judgment. Not ego-driven analysis.
But the quiet clarity that arises when we slow down long enough to feel what is true.

Discernment is a kind of spiritual listening.
It’s the pause before belief.
The breath before agreement.

It’s that moment when something stirs in my body and I ask:
Is this mine?
Is this aligned with who I am becoming?

It’s not always comfortable.
Discernment asks us to step out of certainty and into sincerity.
But it is honest. And that’s something I want to keep close.

Discernment is the quiet art of listening to your own moral compass.
Not the one handed to you by society.
Not the one shaped by fear or the need to belong.
But the one you tend from within, slowly, honestly…like a fire you keep lit at the altar of your heart.
It doesn’t always shout.
But it knows…

Personal Reflection / Journal Prompts

Where in my life do I feel the urge to react instead of reflect?
What helps me return to my own clarity?
How can I practice discernment?

Discernment is the intellectual gift that allows us to recognize the difference between right and wrong, love and hate, protection and violence. It is an innate human faculty—the compass that helps us stand up for the voiceless, defend the underdog, and act on what is just.
Guard it well.
Do not let your discernment be dulled by distraction, distorted by propaganda, or buried beneath inherited and unquestioned beliefs.”
~ Leora

Sanctuary of Resistance

Sanctuary of Resistance: A Guidepost

Week One: Thinking for Yourself in a Noisy World: A reflection on the quiet power of understanding

March 12, 2025

LOA: What is Totalitarianism? Understanding Hannah Arendt Now?

SPOTIFY: What Is Totalitarianism? Understanding Hannah Arendt Now