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

The "Spectrum of Spirit" blog features insightful articles, essays, and reflections penned by the founder, Paul, and diverse guest contributors. Focusing on contemporary spirituality, the blog offers regular updates with weekly themes and seasonal reflections, fostering ongoing engagement and a deeper understanding of spiritual practices and trends.

Imagine Love Wasn’t the Goal at All?

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Solstice

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9–13 minutes

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In my childhood, a lot of the children’s movies I remember were closed with the main character and his love interest beginning their relationship, a new season of life. “And they went happily-ever-after”. As I’ve matured and been introduced to films made for more adult ages, this cliche appeared less and less. Living life and hearing the experiences of others, I’ve come to find lots of people express that heartbreak was when they found a new version of themselves, moving into a new season of life, beginning their version of “happily-ever-after”. I believe culture has manipulated minds, especially young minds, into pushing the desire of the “Disney Princess” ending. The man in shining armor comes to the rescue to save the girl from danger, giving her a healthy relationship that leads to her ultimate fulfillment. First of all, I think this promise most of the time ends up falling short, both on the man’s behalf and the women’s behalf, harming both in the process. Secondly, I would like to question what this tells us about humanity, that we’re selling youth the idea that this is the life they should desire, these are the heroes they should look up to, and this is the beauty and elegance standards we want children to have in our society. I believe the mirror from the film lens reveals the manipulative and misleading nature authority can have on youth and possibly the greed in humanity to make what sells.

This blog, I will be asking you to flip the script. To see love as the same level of passion as hate, good the same desire as evil, right as the same control as wrong. I ask you to look at your relationships: friends, family, coworkers; spirituality: personality and strengths; and cultural experiences through different perspectives; and to question the motives you have invested in each area, if any. Are my relationships, spirituality, and lifestyle ways I identify and affirm my existence? I would challenge you to wonder about the fears imposed by the media, the transformation influenced by tradition, and to eventually break the illusions of a “happily-ever-after”.

Unmasking Love

“Love is fulfilling”. I took a course my senior winter focused on Plato’s Symposium and the Greek understandings of love. One myth we explored was a play written by Aristophanes, a comic playwright during Ancient Greece. In the play, humans once had two heads, four arms, four legs, and two sets of genital organs. Due to human’s power and pride, Zeus split each human in half, one head, two arms, two legs, and one set of genitals, and each human was left to search for their other half to become one again, a modern concept of a soulmate. I have heard many different theories in regards to their soulmates. On one side there are those who believe there is no such thing, on the other side, people believe they have multiple, 10+, soulmates. No matter where one falls on the spectrum, these perspectives are outwardly focused, looking outside of oneself to complete the parts of themselves they feel are missing. I believe this is where film productions, like Disney’s children movies, crutch on the soulmate mythology, the man being the protection the woman wants, and the woman being the support the man doesn’t know he wants. I would like to challenge us to not look outwardly at our past relationships, blaming the partner for being “bad”, blaming it on the idea they are not our soulmate.

In the Highest Self Podcast, Sahara Rose is accompanied by Adeyemi Adeyosoye as they discuss having healthy romantic relationships between the masculine and the feminine1. Adeyemi shares how he began his work, in his youth, realizing to exist under god, god of the universe, life and death exist, light and dark exist2. For Adeyemi, this means holding his darkness with his lightness, to him, being the only path to activate his dark masculine3. Adeyemi believes this means working on his sexuality, working on his shame and coming to a place where he can look in the mirror and state, he loves all of himself4. Later on in the podcast, Adeyemi evaluates what he has seen in life, stating humans tend to go through life extremely selfishly5. Adeyemi continues, everyone is about me, me, me, and Adeyemi suggests for others to stop and slow down6. Adeyemi wants others to realize every being is evolving as well as struggling and to witness the evolution and struggle of the life around them7. Sahara buts in, stating she believes its important to not over involve ourselves in another’s healing process, seeing the challenge of relationship as the co creation of two people8. Sahara adds more to what Adeyemi previously stated, claiming she loved the idea of signing up to witness one’s partner though the ebbs and flows of life9. Sahara’s curiosity is sparked, wondering what role does the feminine have as a space holder for the masculine counterpart and when does the feminine let other masculine step in to aid the evolution and struggle of the masculine10.

Patterns. I believe patterns are very surface level, recognizable when one connects dots from a distance. However, the deeper or closer one examines a perceived pattern, the nuances begin to take shape, the judgments are removed, and the light of what something is rises out of its label. Sahara and Adeyemi discuss the conflict between the light and dark, the acceptance of the dark feminine and dark masculine, and the complexities of stepping in and giving space for evolution and struggle for their partner. Patterns of dislike with oneself, beliefs that the darkness is bad, and stagnation in struggle are symptoms of some ideals that I believe are ingrained from youth media. Though I don’t believe Aristophanes captured everyone’s experience with his play, I do believe there are some key takeaways we can move forward with. I believe the search for a better version of ourselves is an endless journey, a never-ending search to be whole one might say. I believe the closer we get to self-mastery the more pride and power we have as an individual in who we were created to be. I believe the more we unmask and unveil the desires of our heart, the darkness overcome by the light, and the Disney practice idealism, the more we can love who we are, and love one another fluidly.

Exposing Love

Counseling is a form of care. Whether from a respected figure or a licensed therapist, I believe counseling comes in all shapes and forms. I believe each culture has a different approach to counseling, a different perspective on the importance of counseling, and different modes of providing therapy. I believe counseling could be threatening to traditional systems of thinking, an outside perspective on the way one has been raised and is encouraged to grow. Both counseling and traditional upbringings can expose the other for the way one is told to experience love and reframing ways of receiving expressions of love.

In the Cultural Apothecary with Alex Clark podcast, Alex Clark and Jonny Ardavanis discuss their solution for anxiety, god, and the difference between Biblical counseling and Christian counseling11. Alex opens up the podcast quoting Jonny, his claim on how the mind and the brain are not the same, traditional psychology and therapy blur these lines12. Alex wants Jonny to clarify what he means by this claim, and Jonny responds stating the brain is an organ and the mind is immaterial13. Jonny continues by referencing the Bible, saying it commands one to set their mind on things above, not to place one’s brain on the table14. Jonny goes further, another reference to another part of scripture, quoting love you god with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and he doesn’t interpret the scripture to mean to love god by flexing your mind. Jonny believes this verse is to encourage those to contemplate, and he believes the mind in Biblical language is the seed of one’s emotions15. Jonny reiterates that the brain is an organ, and explains if someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, that is a test of the brain and proves something is happening in the brain16.

I believe love can be a solution, but is not the solution. Similar to how Jonny distinguishes the mind from the brain, I believe love doesn’t benefit English speakers when we apply it to multiple aspects of our life. “I love your hat”, “I love this color on the wall”, “I love you, my child” all these phrases use the same word and have different impacts on those who hear or receive these words. A similar concept applies to the ways we counsel those around us, labeling their expression to us under a certain condition that is deemed to require a specific solution. I believe this solution oriented, surface level expression society we live in could be a result of our microwave society, the desire for quick results, quick solutions, with no room for contemplation. I would encourage you the next time someone commands, tells, or suggests for you to do something or anything, question them on where they are coming from, allow them to expose the care they may have for you, allow them to expose their so-called “love”.

Provoking Love

Reflecting back when I was a child, I remember how easy it was for me to be provoked, either in an emotional setting or in a thoughtful engaging discussion. Certain words or ways of saying things would change my mood, sad, fearful, angry, tons of emotions that I wouldn’t be able to make sense of at the time. The feeling would come on like a rush; raw, unfiltered emotions that sometimes led to expressions and actions I wish I didn’t make. I believe this experience is not limited to my own life, but is something that is relatable to those who have been provoked or have provoked others. Over time, I believe the maturing process involves “perfecting” or understanding when others are trying to provoke us and how to express ourselves in the way that we believe is best for the time. Yes maturing is all fine and dandy, but I do believe some of the most powerful human expressions, performances, movements, are rooted in times where contemplation and pondering were thrown out the window. The bear was provoked, and the bear showed those around who they provoked.

In the Artistically Married Podcast, Jake Akkerman and Brianne Steinburg talk about their trip to Machu Picchu and everything they learned in Peru17. The couple relates the experience of going to Machu Picchu similarly to the train ride from Leonte Tambo to Machu Picchu18. They were blown away by the cliffs that were overhanging over the top of the train as they were driving underneath it19. It was a wild experience outside of the Incan culture stuff they did, the music that was playing, the little acting they did20. In the acting, the performers acted out their play and the love story behind the play21. They mention the name, Pachakuti, a legend referring to Pachakuti’s daughter, Cusi Coyllur, and a commoner warrior, Ollantay22.

The love story Jake and Brianne experienced in Machu Picchu was an unforgettable trip they wanted to share with others. They expressed their experience and more details were provoked from the vocal expression and shared memory the married couple has. Their travel to Peru was sandwiched between the love the couple shares and the love shown to them by the Peruvians, sprinkled with cultural songs and performances. The created experience for Jake and Brianne led to the two creating an episode of their podcast solely based on this created experience. Creation inspired transformed creation. Transformation inspired creative transformation. However you want to phrase it, I believe when love for someone, someplace, or something is created, it provokes one’s spirit to shift, and begins a subtle or obvious transformation process.

Call to the Goal

Invite imagination. Read love. Share your goals. Look at all of creation. Unmask your rituals. Reveal and expose. Turn to be provoked. Live within your understanding. Inhale the gallery of life. Personalize your expression. Call yourself to your own revolution.

Bibliography

  1. Highest Self Podcast, “619: This is What’s Holding 99% of People Back From Healthy Relationships With Adeyemi Adeyosoye,” podcast audio, September 10, 2025, accessed September 10, 2025, https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fi1Hmt8D3tKVD5rskafSF. ↩︎
  2. Highest Self Podcast, ↩︎
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  11. Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark, “God’s Solution For Anxiety & Biblical vs Christian Counseling I Jonny Ardavanis,” podcast audio, September 8, 2025, https://open.spotify.com/episode/3OaYHFkwl43qos6Qxjrld9. ↩︎
  12. Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark, ↩︎
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  17. Artistically Married, “44. Machu Picchu, the Incan Experience,” podcast audio, September 7, 2025, accessed September 10, 2025, https://open.spotify.com/episode/57Tx8BKA76mVJKczYVHhuP. ↩︎
  18. Artistically Married, ↩︎
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