🌍 What is ‘non-woo spirituality’ exactly?🔮

Plus the ultimate Busy Girl (or Guy) Dinner, a playlist to float to and Black Mirror-style robo-dogs

Exciting things are happening. Any day now we’ll be able to open up our waiting list for our limited founder membership slots and tell you ALL about what that includes. Until then, we’re bringing you our regular mix of links we love + musings on all things low-impact lifestyle. Oh – and this is your last LAST chance to send over a photo of you being you to feature on our launch site, to show that you were one of our original collective – our nearest and very dearest – because we are all about our collective, aka you, at heart.

This week’s theme is… ‘non-woo spirituality’ 🔮
We’ve really enjoyed saying and typing the words ‘woo-woo’, ‘non-woo’ and just ‘wooooooooo’ as a random rhyming-word replacement while we’ve been musing on this week’s topic. So it came as a surprise that for some, root adjective ‘woo-woo’ [also spelled "whoo-whoo"] can be considered something of an insult. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it’s “often used in a derogatory way to dismiss something as pseudoscience or irrational.” So apologies to anyone for whom ‘woo’ is triggering rather than childishly woop-worthy.

That said, it seems like a) we’re in the midst of a reclamation of the w-word – just look at ‘good feeling and fragrance makers’ Vyrao, who’ve even named one of their scents Witchy Woo – and b) there’s a new type of connectedness in town, but not yet any instantly recognisable way to describe it, other than calling it, yes, ‘non-woo spirituality’.

Increasingly detached from organised religion (see NYT op-ed ‘Are We in the Middle of a Spiritual Awakening?’ for a dip into that side of things) and reattached to the earth and everything that lives and breathes on it, getting in touch with your inner-self by truly appreciating that you are a speck of a spot in the bigger picture has never been more aspirational.

You’re probably sick to f*** of White Lotus by now, but there's plenty of it in there (*not really a spoiler* – it's actually key to season three’s climax). Arrive at Six Senses Ibiza and you’re immediately asked to perform an intention ceremony; luxey rental site Unique Homestays is now luring “urbanites with nature’s embrace”; and it’s completely normal for friends to invite you to do a floating sound bath on a lido on a casual weeknight.

Even AI is getting in on the act, according to this recent Wired deep dive, with ‘Generative AI Ushering in the Next Phase of Digital Spirituality’. We can say from long-time personal experience that the op_e___n app – created by the Venice Beach-born mindfulness studio that blends “ancient wisdom and modern science, guided by expert teachers and supported by technology” – is the G. As is others.co, highlighted below.

Though not to throw shade on orgs like the brilliant Offline Club or all those other awesome digital detoxes and hideaways out there. As travel writer Pico Iyer puts it in his book The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere, “In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.”

Whether you’re managing it by using a digital tool or not, this new breed of spirituality is simply all about stopping, standing/sitting/lying back, recentring, breathing, hearing, smelling, feeling your way through our by-now standard sense of overwhelm – be it due to our over-connectedness or resulting isolation; overwhelming climate fears or secretly disappointing numbness – through whatever means works. Maybe it’s a reviving planet-positive day cream devised by a psychic (yes, really, read on), or a sound meditation from a folk singer, or a festival in a sauna.

Because ‘taking a moment’ – and that’s all ‘non-woo spirituality’ really is: finding the time and space to speak to the real, relaxed you – helps us keep our very BRiMM-like optimism and energy up, while reminding us what all this greater-good, lower-impact living is for. And so – in short – there’s definitely no woo-woo judgement round here.

Team up, tune in and let’s turn the tide,

Team BRiMM x

p.s. what are your fave second-hand stores in the UK, or anywhere? Give them some love by sharing them so we can share your tips back with the collective.

p.p.s. do you like this email? Why not forward it to a friend?

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Renée Williams, co-founder of Dabba Drop

The BRiMM life questionnaire
Renée Williams, co-founder of Dabba Drop, the London-based zero-waste curry delivery service, shares her low-impact living reccos

Favourite walking route
“Along the canal in East London and through Hackney Marshes, early morning, when the mist is still hanging over the grass. It's peaceful and a bit magical, especially early morning when the water reflects everything so perfectly. A great spot to clear the head.”
Quote to live by
“‘There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in,’ by Leonard Cohen. It’s about embracing imperfection. It’s basically saying: You’re not broken. You’re human. And that’s where your power comes from. Pretty good mantra for life, no?”
What is love
“Shared meals, passed plates, full bellies and clean-up chats. The everyday magic.”

Watch out for the rest of Renée’s answers on our site, launching soon
Fancy doing our BRiMM life questionnaire yourself? Get in touch

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FROM THE COLLECTIVE

Charlotte recommends Monsterland: A Journey Around the World’s Dark Imagination – out this week and even scarier than it looks

Dan’s reading about the futuristic four-legged vehicle that Kawasaki just revealed at Expo 2025 Osaka (it’s very Black Mirror season 4 ep 5)

Christabel’s raving about Kasbah Tamadot in the Atlas Mountains and how closely it works with the local Berber artisans

We love to hear what our collective is finding. Share your links with Becky

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A BETTER PLACE (SANS DYING)
The Guardian column, ‘Making Sense of It’, by Australian award-winning novelist Jackie Bailey, is all about spirituality and ‘how it can be used to navigate everyday life’ – and it couldn’t be a better fit for today’s newsletter. Fave line of this particular piece? “Australians are lucky to benefit from the wisdom of First Nations spiritualities, which frequently place the wellbeing of the Earth on an equal or higher footing than human progress.” Jackie is also an independent funeral celebrant – so there is a death connection in this post, we lied, but we imagine this work informs her clarity on spiritual themes – and is currently writing a nonfiction book on ‘how to live a spiritual but non-religious life’, which we’ll be pre-ordering.

→ READ MORE

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SKIN IN THE GAME
Do you know any skincare brand founders who are also psychic mediums? Well, now you know one (and it’s not that likely you’ll meet another, tbh). As she says in this excellent explainer Insta video, Brighton-based Danielle Close was born a psychic medium, which was pretty scary at first. She then studied for seven years under some of the best tutors in the world, and now sees clients in her practice twice a week. My Skin Feels, her vegan, planet-positive skincare line made using organic ingredients rescued from the food and drinks industry, was then inspired by her psychic skills, created to help users ‘tune into how their skin feels, as a tool to getting back home to yourself’, and your own authentic energy stream. They also all work wonderfully – and smell amazing.

→ WATCH MORE

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A SLOW BURN
What happens when you invite DJs, festival founders, actually likeable lifestyle gurus and all sorts of wellness practitioners who know their sh*t to converge in one of the UK’s officially most stunning spots? Slomo Wellbeing, a first-of-its-kind family wellness programme festival-within-a-festival, conceptualised by Josie and Rob da Bank and being held at Bestival at Lulworth Castle in Dorset this summer. Starring the likes of Jasmine Hemsley, the David Lynch Foundation and Goldierocks, it will offer breathwork, sound baths, chillout DJs, cacao and dance mornings and cooking demos, as well as Slomo’s Next Generation Wellbeing contrast therapies including the likes of ‘Nordic-inspired cold plunges, Dutch hot tubs and fire pits’. See you in the sauna.

→ FIND OUT MORE

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DIGITAL LOVE
Is it okay that some of the most exciting modern-day spiritual tools around right now are digital? Because, obviously it would be brilliant if we could, all of us, go sit under an ancient olive tree, hold hands and really connect with each other and the ground beneath us – but in reality, it’s difficult to get a dinner in the iCal, let alone an international in-person non-woo-athon. Modern-day authentic spirituality needs to smoothly fit into our modern-day lives, and so awesomely designed science-backed sites and apps like others.co are best in class right now, offering “practices and rituals to promote creativity, relaxation, inspiration, focus, insight and deeper self knowledge”, and including collabs with “practitioners, thinkers, artists and musicians” such as folker Alex Ebert.

→ BROWSE MORE

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THE ULTIMATE ‘BUSY GIRL (OR GUY) DINNER’

Beth Bisley, founder of conscious premium oral-care brand Laro, says her plant-based dish of dreams is “literally anything with miso and white beans” – but specifically this High Protein Creamy Miso Butter Beans with Kale, complete with secret ingredient, the umami-packed miso-cashew sauce.

→ MAKE THIS

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MUSIC IN TRIBUTE TO FLOATING

Dan pulled together this batch of ambient, instrumental, blissed-out vibes over a coffee on the first morning of his holiday – and, excellently, you can tell

Carbon maths

The carbon footprint of an email depends what device you use to open it, but sending you this one used about 3.5g of carbon.