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What If Spirituality is the Key to Bridging Love, Tradition, and Self-Expression?

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By

Paul Hudson

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7–11 minutes

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In the NIV translation of the Bible, I could not find one translation that uses the word “bridge”. Bridge is defined as “a structure carrying a pathway or roadway over a depression or obstacle”1. The first reference from Biblical literature I can think of is Jacob seeing a stairway connect earth to heaven when angels traveled up and down2. The pathway Jacob saw created a roadway between the sky/heaven and the earth. I believe Jacob’s spiritual vision was somewhat a guide in his understanding of the supernatural realm. The key forces that be, work all around us, unlocking avenues of choices, expression and practices for us to experience. My friend reminded me that art imitates life, and I would add culture, initiates life, like the way a key initiates a car into different gears. I believe embracing spirituality opens the gates to love, traditions, and art, weaving together allowing us to experience ancient life in our modern world. I believe through our experience we can come to the truth we need for our current circumstances, bridging communities to live in a more harmonious society.

Better Bridges

Bridges are seen as physical structures, but are also seen as metaphorical. One of the ways bridges are used as a metaphor is in the context of marriage. Marriage looks different in almost every culture and religious tradition. However, marriage was hoped to be a bridge, connecting two families to each other to hopefully bring prosperity to both groups for present and future generations. Today, I believe the bridge built through marriage have more nuances attached to it than previously existed in ancient civilization, ie. citizenship status, legal benefits, romantic love, etc. Additionally, today we have two distinctions of the reason for marriage, arranged marriage and love marriages.

The Sadhguru Podcast released an episode where Sadhguru responds to a question from the audience asking whether arranged marriages are relevant in today’s setting3. Jumping around the podcast, I believe Sadhguru makes some great points. At one point, Sadhguru states that all marriages are arranged by someone, which I never thought about before but seems obvious4. Sadhguru also believes that marriages should be arranged by responsible people and people who have your best interest at heart5. Sadhguru also believes the priorities of both people should be considered when two people are considering marriage6. Later on in the podcast, Sadhguru states he believes within three months of being with someone you will know if you want to marry someone, and there are laws put in place so a couple must “suffer” for two years before applying for divorce7. Sadhguru goes even further, stating some religious institutions have rules against divorce, that a married couple cannot get divorced at any point8. Sadhguru concludes that he believes marriages begin to crumble once one party believes the other side needs them9. Sadhguru adds if you are looking for someone to fix what you think you need, you and your partner will be miserable, but if you are wonderful, your marriage will be wonderful10.

Sadhguru raises a lot of points I agree with and some that I am not confident enough to say I do. Bridging values, beliefs and perspectives can be very difficult in a relationship between two people. However, I do agree with Sadhguru’s last point, being wonderful with yourself opens a world of possibilities. I believe it allows bridges to be made in many aspects in your life, including social, financial, and most importantly to this blog, spirituality. I believe when you take the time to understand your priorities, the bridges of life align to benefit us in every way. I believe wonderful bridges can bring wonderful relationships and even wonderful marriages. No matter if the bridge was arranged by you or by someone/something else, I believe a wonderful bridge is a better bridge and worth committing to.

Raising Bridges

To my knowledge, bridges are built but not all bridges are raised. I believe raising anything takes intention and understanding. I believe raising anything takes getting under the thing, diving under it, to push it up. I know there are at least a couple ancient practices relating to raising objects like pyramids, towers, and sculptures. Yet, in addition there are ancient practices that raise the body to new levels, including a practice called Kundalini yoga. Kundalini had been used to assist people in their spiritual journey and connect with themselves on a deeper level. Practicing Kundalini, brought some yogis new levels of spiritual energy to understand and express themselves in their world authentically.

In the Highest Self Podcast, Sahara Rose shares her experience practicing Kundalini yoga with Brett Larkin11. Sahara shares one of her first experiences in a group Kundalini yoga class, where her nervous system felt very overwhelmed12. In addition, in one of Sahara’s Kundalini classes, the girl next to her had a bad experience with a “Kundalini awakening” and didn’t want to return to that experience13. Later on in the episode, Brett responds to Sahara’s previous experience with Kundalini14. Brett tells the audience about her first class, everyone was wearing white, there was a lot of chanting and there were a lot of rules15. Brett continues, sharing the traditional Kundalini structure has tons of structure and rigidity, which she recognizes the value of, but says it doesn’t work for everyone16. Brett shared about the origin of the Kundalini practice, a practice made to raise energy17. Brett shared the Kundalini in Sanskrit is coil, in relation to a snake coiling up18. Brett explains that the practice was made to address “shakti”/dormant energy at the base of our spine, move the energy up through the seven chakras to the “shiva”/consciousness or bliss through the crown chakra19. Brett tells us this is one of the models of ascension seen by ancient civilizations in Southeast Asia20. Brett states most Kundalini practices are based on manipulating, pressure, tension, stress and friction within your seven chakras system to cause the Kundalini to uncoil and move up, to ascend to a new experience21.

I believe the ancient Kundalini practice was made to be a bridge, from one state of mind to a supposed higher state of mind. Kundalini was significant in ancient times, adapting to the region’s circumstances, prioritizing preparing the men of society to contribute to civilization. Sahara and Brett go over the practice of Kundalini and Brett’s adaptation of the patriarchal practice to meet the needs of the feminine side of people. The bridge Brett has made through 9 years of study and teaching, empowers men and women to embrace the duality of the individual, specifically the masculine and feminine. Raising the Kundalini bridge on her platform coincides with her ability to raise people’s spiritual energy out of the hot-mess feminine and over-aggressive masculine22. I encourage you to find a religious practice you enjoy and learn the origins of the practice. I encourage you to allow the origins to spark curiosity and mystery inside of you. I encourage you to let the mystery lead you to wrestle with how you could take an ancient practice to help you grow the way you would like. I would encourage you to discover yourself, your practices, your dormant energy and raise it to new heights, to bridge one version of yourself to the next.

Hidden Bridges

Though some bridges are raised, I think some bridges are hidden under other structures. Nevertheless, bridges that are hidden are just as important as bridges that are raised, as they both help people to get to their desired experience. I think these hidden bridges are comparable to newsletters, both being structures that create a pathway for new opportunities of exploration. The medium bridges and newsletter provide for people to connect from one place to another is important for those to share their creativity through their journey.

Newsletters are something I am trying to avoid lol. I don’t feel like I have the time. Nevertheless, The BoldBrush Show, released a podcast addressing newsletters as the “hidden gems” for artists23. One of the host’s guests tells the audience they have made a few sporadic sales through social media, but when they get people on their newsletters the audience has more of a choice to look at their work24. Later on the show, the guest talks about the fun projects he shares on his newsletter augment and stabilize the sales they make from the galleries his work is in25. Alongside the first guest, the second guest adds the newsletter, in addition to their website, have been their best marketing strategies to date26. They have done a newsletter once a month for eight years, happening at the beginning of the month27. In their newsletter, the group focuses on what’s going on now, like what workshops one of the guests is teaching, the trips they are going on, and what they have been painting lately28. Another guest, highly recommends starting a newsletter and continues stating it hasn’t been too much work. The guest tells their own experience of staying steady and seeing their following increase over eight years by itself29. A fourth guest includes his comments about our ever-changing social media landscape and the consistency an email list can bring to your audience when a newsletter is sent out at a steady pace30.

The episode goes on with more and more testimonies of how well a newsletter has worked for their business31. Newsletters create a steady road for the creators to connect with their fans. Bridges like newsletters can construct a sense of community even though there are some significant gaps of space between two parties. The intentionality behind what’s included in every newsletter can establish a meaningful and purposeful network within one’s audience to share their vision. Bridges, like newsletters, can be hidden works of art that facilitate our evolution in our global world.

Interconnected Bridges

Reflect on your spirituality. Find your key to interconnectedness within yourself and those you trust. Improve your understanding of cultural practices. Raise your levels of expression. Invite others into your hidden talents. Explore what you love. Dissect the dimensions of your traditions. Live with full self-expression. Enjoy the journey of duality. Try to honor your commitments. Celebrate those who came before you. Nurture your artistic, authentic gems. Build bridges.

Bibliography

  1. “Definition of BRIDGE,” Merriam-Webster: America’s Most Trusted Dictionary, last modified November 12, 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridge#h1. ↩︎
  2. “Bible Gateway Passage: Genesis 28:10-17 – New International Version,” Bible Gateway, accessed November 13, 2024, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2028%3A10-17&version=NIV. ↩︎
  3. The Sadhguru Podcast, “#1260 – Arranged Marriage Vs Love Marriage: Which Is Better?,” Spotify, last modified November 12, 2024, https://open.spotify.com/episode/2eKAKha6nLzhVwXVjylP1Q. ↩︎
  4. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
  5. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
  6. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
  7. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
  8. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
  9. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
  10. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
  11. Highest Self Podcast, “576: The Ancient Yoga Practice To Raise Your Kundalini + Divine Feminine with Brett Larkin,” Spotify, last modified November 12, 2024, https://open.spotify.com/episode/0nxXGSWwlCYQuetJoCbtXI. ↩︎
  12. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  13. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  14. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  15. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  16. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  17. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  18. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  19. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  20. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  21. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  22. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
  23. The BoldBrush Show, “108 A Hidden Gem — Why Artists Need a Newsletter,” Spotify, last modified November 12, 2024, https://open.spotify.com/episode/4mGfaqJOMCuMBu1zGKPOOA. ↩︎
  24. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
  25. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
  26. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
  27. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
  28. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
  29. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
  30. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
  31. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎

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