Pages with Purpose: Why Our Online Spiritual Book Club Refuses to Bypass Reality
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I spent thirty years working at the Manchester post office, stamping and sorting packages that carried everything from birthday cards to protest flyers. Retired now, I finally have time to actually read the books I used to ship. That’s how I found DreamSanctum, our online spiritual book club. But let’s be clear: this isn’t a retreat into incense and affirmations. It’s a space where we read, debate, and tie spiritual growth directly to social justice.
Too many spiritual communities treat personal awakening like a VIP pass to ignore systemic problems. That’s classic spiritual bypassing, and frankly, it’s just confirmation bias dressed up as enlightenment. When you only read books that validate your existing worldview, you’re stuck in cognitive dissonance. Real growth requires friction.
Take the Tarot card The Tower. It doesn’t promise comfort; it shows sudden collapse of false structures. In our club discussions, we use that imagery to remind ourselves that true spiritual practice should challenge, not cushion. Pair that with Justice, which isn’t about cosmic karma, but about actual equity. We read, we cross-reference psychology—like Jung’s concept of the Shadow, which teaches that ignoring our darker impulses or societal inequalities just pushes them underground where they fester.
I go by they/them pronouns, and I’ve found that embracing fluidity isn’t just personal preference; it’s a direct challenge to rigid binaries that underpin so much oppression. Our book club isn't a cozy reading nook for people who want to pretend the world isn't burning. It's a workshop for dismantling the very systems that tell you to just 'manifest' your way out of poverty or injustice. We meet weekly, argue over tea, and actually apply these texts to real-world organizing. If you're looking for a place to quietly meditate while ignoring the news, you'll be bored stiff. But if you want your reading list to actually change how you show up in the world, pull up a chair. The next session starts Tuesday. Bring your highlighters and your healthy skepticism.
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