As a kid, I used to see colorful auras around people. I was never fully sure if I was asleep or awake because both worlds were so vivid and real to me. I earnestly predicted my little friends’ futures with tarot cards.
As a teenager, I was quick to abandon my spiritual interests when I realized that what I was doing wasn’t cool (I stopped playing the clarinet for the same reason - what is it with teenagers and their need to fit in?).
And now, almost three decades later, I find myself longing to have spirituality be a natural part of my life again, and at the same time unable to even define what spirituality means to me.
I realize I do quite a few things that could be considered spiritual (meditating semi-regularly, making business decisions based on intuition, feeling/seeing people’s thoughts and emotions when I am coaching them), but I am not very clear or purposeful about it yet - and the biggest challenge of all: I feel ashamed to even admit how important these spiritual things are to me.
Because how can someone who is trained as an engineer be interested in something so esoteric as the unity of all things? Why on earth do I find myself always choosing my intuition over a conventional business strategy, when I hold a MSc degree in strategic product design?
And because I am not only a spiritual seeker, I am also a nerd, I am going to do what I always do when I am confused, and started a little research project together with the wonderful Tanja Lau.
In the next few months, we will be recording a podcast series with the working title “Urban Spirituality” in which we want to deepen our own spiritual journey by learning about the spiritual experiences of others. Here’s the premise of what we want to create:
From silence retreats to tarot readings for companies, from Ayahuasca to Wicca traditions - Where and how does a spiritual journey begin? Which forms can it take? How do we break the taboo and start talking about it to others?
Arjanna and Tanja are on a quest to explore spirituality from different angles and learn how others started to integrate it into their day-to-day lives - on their own, in their families or even at work. In each episode, we bring you insightful conversations, new ideas and thought-provoking discussions that bridge the gap between the urban hustle and the quest for inner peace.
Whether you're already on your personal spiritual journey or just curious about the topic, "Urban Spirituality" offers a fresh perspective on incorporating ancient wisdom into the contemporary urban grind.
What comes up for you when you read that? Are you curious to hear the episodes, or maybe even interested in being a podcast guest? Or are you rolling your eyes at this cliche midlife crisis topic (research shows there is indeed a correlation).
I’d love to hear about your relation to spirituality. What spiritual things do you do in your day-to-day life? Do you feel comfortable talking about them, or not? Let me know!
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