Spectrum of Spirit: A Digital Sanctuary for Spiritual Discourse and Community

From a biblical perspective, work was a gift god gave humans. Adam was told by god to take care of the garden and name the animals, and to me it seems Adam had no problem with it. However, after Adam and Eve ate from the tree, god lays out a bunch of curses on the world he created. God curses Adam, “through painful toil you will eat food from [the ground] all the days of your life… by the sweat of your brow”¹. From this moment forward in the biblical account, I believe work became something that was not as enjoyable as it was intended. From a biblical perspective, I believe this is when work loses its fulfilling value. I believe once work lost its internal fulfilling value in humans, the patriarchy influenced work to become an achievement seen by those outside ourselves. I don’t believe humans going after external achievements is what god intended, however, I do believe work can help someone align better with themselves. I believe integrity is a subjective concept. Integrity has been required from others to show up and work on a consistent basis, and I believe your integrity can be the alignment needed for someone to be the best version of themselves.

I believe aligning with your integrity, with your body, understanding your insecurities, finding belonging, and expressing yourself authentically in unexpected and expected opportunities and commitments, can transform someone for the better. I believe working with your integrity can manifest new feelings that someone may have never experienced before. I believe letting our physicality guide us can remove any insecurities we have about who we have become. I believe building deeper connections with ourselves and with those you trust, can give you the confidence needed to move forward with striking commitments, leaving endless doors of possibility at your footsteps.

The Body’s Path

Listening to my body is something I have ignored in the past, maybe because of toxic masculinity, maybe because of my athletic background, but that’s besides the point. I have been taking steps to listen to my body, dancing in rhythm with my living energy, to shed light on what aligns or doesn’t align with my personality and strengths. One of the definitions of integrity is “the quality or state of being complete or undivided”². I believe being succinct with your body, your integrity, your strengths, and your personality can help you work with the internal fulfillment it was originally meant to bring. I believe understanding the duality of humans can facilitate a full expression of ourselves. Personally, trying to understand the feminine has created new paths of expressing new intuition and creativity. I believe bodily-led intuition, cultivated through dancing with your living energy, can become an inner compass for an individual, guiding them to make impactful decisions based on one’s own integrity.

In the Highest Self Podcast, Sahara Rose is joined by Lizzy Jeff as they discuss the renaissance Lizzy is trying to introduce³. In the podcast, Lizzy talks about the ways her and her girlfriends take care of their bodies, through hikes, nature, yoga, fresh juices, books, etc⁴. Later on in the podcast, Lizzy touches a little on the Renaissance she is working to introduce⁵. A Renaissance where women are free to express themselves, fully with their mind, but especially with their bodies they’ve been gifted with⁶. Since ancient civilization, human civilization’s patriarchy has removed women’s freedom over their own bodies, and Lizzy is reclaiming that power for herself and women around the world⁷. Moving along Lizzy expresses, she likes to be a flower through the way she dresses, loving and celebrating her body because of the long time it took for her to love her body⁸. Sahara jumps in sharing a story about an experience she had about a man’s interest in women⁹. This guy was attracted to what he called, the “belly pooch” of a woman, or as Sahara explains, the curve on the bottom of women’s stomachs because they carry uterus’¹⁰. Sahara continues telling the story, as the man thought it was weird that he likes something like that¹¹. Sahara shares with Lizzy that she was fascinated by our society’s omission of real diverse bodies¹². Through society’s exclusion of diverse bodies, our world has been plagued by self-loathing produced by magazines and media that showcase one version of beauty. Sahara tells Lizzy she starts her day telling herself how lovable she is, admiring her stomach and recognizing her abdomen houses all of her organs that keep her alive¹³.

Sahara and Lizzy have a liberating conversation, encouraging me to embrace my body even though I am a man. I will never be able to fully understand the female experience, but I resonated with their inherited shame. Through physical activities, nature, food, and books, Lizzy found her own ways to connect with her body and gained trusted friends to enjoy some of these activities with. I would encourage you to find your passions, things that bring life and energy to your body, to connect with your own body. I recommend being intentional while enjoying your passions to grow in clarity of what you like and what you want. I believe the wisdom that comes from being in alignment with your body, can bring you to the most authentic version of yourself, building your own integrity, opening pathways for experience and professionalism to guide your decision making.

The Belonging Path

I don’t remember a time where I ever felt fully secure in who I am. With my current understanding, I don’t believe it’s normal to be fully secure in who you are, as I believe there are always ways in which I can grow in understanding and expression. I believe I live with constant imposter syndrome in almost every aspect of my life. I believe feelings of insecurity are signals from our subconscious that can illuminate where our mind doesn’t align with our body. In the internal division, I believe our own integrity can be cultivated, bringing us closer to the fully actualized version of ourselves.

I believe being out of place could be the right place if you are intentional with the process. Existing in an environment where you don’t feel like you fit in could be seen as an opportunity to connect with your personality and your strength and further distinguish what makes you different from every other spirit that has ever existed. The journey of finding your values can bring a new discovery to the unique voice you have in the world, in your community, and in your workplace.

The Sadhguru Podcast, released a though provoking podcast about insecurity¹⁴. Sadhguru starts off hot, claiming the only thing that’s insecure in whoever he’s talking to is their personality¹⁵. Sadhguru then asks if one’s personality should fit within the situation someone is in¹⁶. Sadhguru believes that one’s personality should not create friction within the situation someone is in¹⁷. Sadhguru states removing friction and fitting in is the reason why humans create personalities¹⁸. However, Sadhguru counters his arguments saying that if you carry that personality into every situation you are in, that will lead to discomfort and insecurity¹⁹. Sadhguru asserts in one place one will feel secure and in another place one will feel insecure and rhetorically asks why this is²⁰. Sadhguru declares it is because one’s personality is not fitting in and Sadhguru recommends making your personality flexible and fluid, then you could adapt your personality for any situation you are in²¹. Sadhguru raised a hypothetical: if you can maintain intense energy constantly, personality will not be a problem and there will be no more insecurity²².

Sadhguru took a different stance on insecurity than I thought going into the episode. I am all for flexibility and adaptability, however, in terms of my personality, I do not believe adapting our personality is the answer. I am still growing in my understanding of personality, but I believe our personality is something that makes each spirit unique. I believe our spirit adapts over time, but I don’t believe one’s personality should be changed due to our situations. I believe the opposite should occur, our personality changes our situations.

I recommend embracing insecurity and vulnerability, and using your strengths to make yourself belong in the spaces you want to belong. Applying your strengths and personality to build your own authenticity can facilitate connection within yourself and bridges with others in places of work. I believe deep connection with yourself can help you find your own integrity, supporting your journey of belonging in a world full of division. Honesty with yourself and finding the purpose you want for yourself forges a path to understanding yourself and finding belonging with those you trust in the workplace.

The Bold Path

In work environments, some level of commitment is expected from the employees. Not just for them to do their job, but to believe in the values and goals of the organization, and to live them out. I believe reflecting on whether your values and goals align and can be fulfilled in the professional setting may generate opportunities for growth within yourself and collaboration with others.

Observing spirituality, inhaling cultural diversity, and expressing artistic vision is what Spectrum of Spirit is about. I believe discovering your artistic vision begins with understanding the visions of others before you. I believe uncovering what resonates with your vision and applying that to your own, will allow you to truly express yourself authentically and with your own integrity. Challenges will obstruct one’s expression, yet I believe if you stay on the path you are forging, eventually the wall will come down. From there, the light at the end of the tunnel becomes multiple streams of light, liberating you to choose the vision you want for yourself.

The BoldBrush Show produced a podcast with the host interviewing an artist named Robert Johnson²³. A little before the halfway point of the episode, Robert shares his story and believes that if anyone is thinking about making a decision requiring full commitment, you might be surprised to see how life moves with you²⁴. The host responds by recollecting on her past interview and pointing out how once the artists made a decision, the universe seemed to conspire with them to make it happen²⁵. Robert tells another story that followed his commitment to full-time art where he got an opportunity to paint in France for a month²⁶. In Robert’s reflection, he questions if anyone could have anticipated this would come from his commitment to full-time art²⁷. The host finds it amazing that things start to fall into place, once you start saying yes to the thing that you really want to do²⁸. She continues stating it’s important to live your life in a way that aligns with your joy and the things that you love²⁹. Robert replies to the host’s question about what advice he would give to someone who is thinking of making a switch to full time art³⁰. Robert recommends for the person to have a strong motivation to make the switch and not to just get away from something³¹. Robert continues saying to be prepared for the negative aspects of full-time artistry, like the income, if you feel like art is what you were born to do.

Robert Johnson adds some nuance to integrity in the workplace that I did not expect. Robert was a collegiate football player who started his own law firm, and now has been practicing art for the last twenty years. I believe even though Robert made a bold switch from a successful law firm to an up and coming art career, he had integrity throughout the whole process. I believe Robert followed the purpose he aligned most with during each season of his life. Robert committed himself to his craft and memorable experiences sprouted from his integrity to produce his work. Bold Commitment + Integrity = Unexpected Opportunities.

I recommend looking back at the times you felt bold in life. Consider the physical, mental, emotional, etc. states you were in when you made commitments in the past. Meditate on the paths you have taken in life. Ponder the opportunities that have presented themselves, both expected and unexpected opportunities. I recommend being present with your current circumstances and your current personality. Take the time to understand your long-term goals and the short-term goals needed to complete your puzzle. I believe this will allow you to boldly align with your integrity and devise out the path you want in your life and the workforce.

The Tying Path

Cultivate your Integrity. Find fulfilling work. Listen to your body. Transform at your own pace. Hold on to insecurities. Let belonging come to you. Embrace spirituality. Boldly plunge into different cultures. Commit to your artistic vision. Understand integrity. Inhale and align with yourself. Express deeply. Make your groundwork matter. Out with accomplishment, in with fulfillment. Work the path for the path to work.

Bibliography

1. “Bible Gateway Passage: Genesis 3 – New International Version,” Bible Gateway, accessed November 27, 2024, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203&version=NIV. ↩︎
2. “Definition of INTEGRITY,” Merriam-Webster: America’s Most Trusted Dictionary, last modified September 29, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity. ↩︎
3. Highest Self Podcast, “578: The Feminine Is Rising, The Body is The Path with Lizzy Jeff,” podcast audio, November 26, 2024, https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tBYEjgv3MwlvichMKK5xT. ↩︎
4. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
5. Highest Self Podcast ↩︎
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14. The Sadhguru Podcast, “Why You’re Feeling Insecure or Out of Place,” podcast audio, November 26, 2024, https://open.spotify.com/episode/1YqnwpnpxoSgY6H3p9hTdU. ↩︎
15. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
16. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
17. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
18. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
19. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
20. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
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22. The Sadhguru Podcast ↩︎
23. The BoldBrush Show, “110 Robert Johnson – Commitment and Unexpected Opportunities,” podcast audio, November 26, 2024, https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fB54zFXVPte8zxA79SG91. ↩︎
24. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
25. The BoldBrush Show ↩︎
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