A Beginner’s Guide to Practicing Interconnectedness
Laia Forns
We can greatly improve our quality of life by acting based on a foundational understanding of interconnectedness. Science and spirituality present two lenses to understand this holistic idea of interrelation. With this in mind, what does examining the overlap between spirituality and science reveal to us about the nature of reality? Are there common processes we give different names to according to each perspective, the scientific and the spiritual?
In my book, A Beginner’s Guide to Practicing Interconnectedness, I explore spirituality to examine universal truths in the context of my own experience living in a complex modern world. We have all been separated from nature and our communities by systems that prioritize capitalistic growth over empathy and connection. I, too, am both a victim and a perpetrator, cursing the system and then purchasing products, like clothes, that require violence or exploitation. We were not always so separated from our food, our tools, and our neighbors. Advancements in quantum mechanics are teaching us that everything is undoubtedly interconnected, and spiritual practices can bring us closer to understanding this concept.
This book is my own personal reflection as well as a tool for the reader, encouraging them to give in to chance, respect the ridiculous, and reconsider their position in relation to this strange world.