Anime Lectio: ZENSHU

                                                            1. Why do Anime Lectio? 

Anime Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I watching this anime? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Anime

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the anime.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me. 

Working on any kind of project is difficult, especially if it's a project that has to do with something you don't know much, if anything, about.  You may be skilled at working on projects, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy.  It takes certain experiences to help you with these projects, especially the ones that involve something you don't know much, if anything, about.  An example of this can be seen in the series ZENSHU.

6. Brief and written explanation of the anime

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the anime seen on this blog, or seeing the anime for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

An animator known for her skill ends up being the main animator for a movie about romance, which she doesn't know much, if anything, about.  Despite not knowing much, if anything, about romance, she still tries to do everything to animate it herself without listening to the people around her trying to help her.  This lack of listening also leads to her eating something she shouldn't have eaten, which causes her to end up in the world of her favorite animated movie where she ends up helping the heroes fight with her animation skills (considered magic) and learning about herself in the process.  After spending some time doing these things, as well as others that involve a romantic relationship between her and one of the characters, she ends up back in her own world and due to this experience, is able to help make the romance movie.

7.  Reflect on the anime

Has this brief and written explanation of the anime shed any light on what's been on your minds?  The following is an example of a reflection on the anime from me.

While I do know what I want to do in working on the project of my anime book, I do find it to be difficult for me now. I usually don't find it difficult to write, no matter how I do it, like in the style of these posts, but an anime book is different from one of these posts. It also takes other things, like time to devote to working on the book, which I don't feel like doing now compared to about a month or two ago and talking with people about it (I need to do that more). While ending up in the world of your favorite animated movie isn't something that can really happen now, such an experience is important in helping you with your work. Making it relatable, as well as praying about that, is important.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this anime.  The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray that the experiences that we go through, whatever they may be, can help us with what we try to do.