Rainbow Basking: A soulful practice that celebrates LGBTQ+ dignity

by Dori Grinenko Baker

Practice written by: Dori Grinenko Baker 

Sourced by: LGBTQ+ spirituality, Jewish, Christian

”Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Gen. 9:16

Prisms dangle in eight windows of my home, welcoming rainbows as the sun makes its daily journey across the sky.  One morning, my five-year-old godson caught a rainbow on his forehead. His big sister noticed, and gently held him there a moment longer, enjoying the colors dancing on his alabaster skin. Now we do it all the time. We love this practice! We call it rainbow basking. A few months later a friend and I rainbow basked in the dazzling reflection of the stained glass window of a college chapel. A queer woman pregnant with her first child, my friend used the practice to give thanks for the child in her womb, developing in the image of their creator. 

Rainbow basking took on new meaning for me in 2022, shortly after the shooting of five young people at ClubQ, an LGBTQ+ gathering spot in Colorado Springs. I began sharing this practice as a way to honor and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, centering the rainbow as a symbol that represents promise and hope after tragedy in my progressive, inclusive flavor of Christianity. 

I share it today in the aftermath of a city council meeting in my hometown of Lynchburg VA, where the forces of Christian Nationalism are organizing to erode the barrier between church and state with their violent interpretation of scripture. A non-local group called City Elders brought their hate to town this week as they are doing in towns across the US. 

Rainbow Basking is a practice of solace and healing, a way to elder with love and inclusivity  amid ongoing violence against LGBTQ+ people.

it calls us to pause, take a deep breath, send forth a gratitude for our own enfleshment, and focus loving energy to LGBTQ+ friends and loved ones. I imagine them on the school bus, walking across college campuses, in nightclubs, and yet to be born.

Below are instructions on how I lead Rainbow Basking, but free to adapt to your context: 

1.Find a rainbow – in a college chapel, a local church, a sanctuary repurposed as a pub, or create a rainbow of your own with a prism and free sunlight.

2. Invite participants to situate themselves within the rainbow — or imagine themselves within a rainbow of space does not allow. 

3. Invite a few deep centering breaths before slowly reading the following: 

Let the rainbow dance on one part of your body. 

If you wish, imagine a rainbow large enough to shine on your whole body.

Take seven deep breaths, eyes closed or open, one for each day of creation.

Take another deep breath, remembering that you are made in the image of a loving Creator, Source, or Higher Power. 

Co time welcoming deep belly breaths as you hear these suggestions. 

Feel the power of the rainbow dancing on you.

Give thanks for your body, just as it is or as it is becoming.

Give thanks for your sensuality, how you delight in touch, smell, taste, sound.

Imagine the rainbow affirming and blessing each part of you from head to toe. 

Lift up in your imagination loved ones or friends who struggle to find safety, affirmation, or self-acceptance because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Imagine the rainbow affirming and blessing them, from head to toe. 

Lift up those who have died because of gender oppression.

Lift up those who struggle from depression or anxiety because of gender oppression.

Welcome any feelings that arise, knowing they will ebb and flow.

If you are alone, hug yourself. If you are not alone, hug yourself, and offer a hug to someone else.

Bask in this rainbow as long as you wish.

When you are ready, go on with your day. 

If you are hurting, find a safe person to reach out to.

About the author:

Rev. Dr. Dori Baker is the co-founder of Our Own Deep Wells: Awakening Soulful Practice for Wellbeing, an immersive learning journey and online community that integrates soulful practices into leadership development. She is an author and consultant working at the intersection of faith communities, young adult mental health, and emerging ritual that heals the wounds of patriarchy and white supremacy. You can find her Here.