On the spiritual side

Just writing the headline to this post made me think “is it okay to write about spirituality on LinkedIn?”, or even to talk about spirituality in the context of the corporate world. I wanted to talk about it because it has been a part of and continues to play a role in my life and personal development over the last couple of years, affecting my career choices.

In all truth, I would not say that I’m overly spiritual. If we have souls that live on after we die or if plants and trees also have souls, I have no idea, and to me, the question of if we do has never been that interesting. Would it change how I live my life if I knew I had an undying soul? Or the way I treat a plant or a tree? I don’t think it would. With my head in the game, I’m currently living this life and I try to focus on that.

But to give you a bit of background I was not brought up in a religious family. My mom for sure had some hippie tendencies, and still does, and I would say she is a spiritual person, but not a religious one. My dad was always pragmatic and had little interest in things outside our factual lives. So that, in combination with school, friends, and a busy city life, led to a life where I did not explore much of my own spirituality during the first 25 years of my life. There were some things that I was curious about, like yoga and meditation but I didn’t really have any outlet for this curiosity. I felt like I didn’t have friends or a community around me that encouraged exploring these avenues. But I did find my way to a yoga class at the gym next to the office I was working at in Malta. It just so happened that after going to this class for a couple of months, which usually consisted of me, my colleague, and 4 older ladies, the regular teacher sent a substitute teacher one week when she was away. I showed up to yoga without my colleague that week and no one else showed up to the class either, except the substitute teacher. Her name was Lisa and we have now been together for almost 10 years. It was for sure a sliding door moment that changed everything. Enough to make me believe in a god? Or destiny? I’m not sure, but I am sure that I’m very grateful for having shown up to that yoga class and everything it led to.

Meeting my wife gave me an outlet for the spiritual curiosity I had inside. All of the sudden going off to India for a mediation course did not sound like a crazy thing but rather something that was encouraged. Over the years that passed, I continued doing yoga and deepened my meditation practice. And I think the main thing it has given me is the opportunity to get to know myself more. I was never drawn to the idea of a guru or teacher (even though I think we can gain a lot of inspiration and guidance from others) but I always felt that the answers I was seeking were already inside of me. If I just slowed down and started to listen.

So what does this have to do with my career and the choices I have made? Exploring my spiritual side has put me more in contact with what is important to me and has also given me the confidence to make some tough decisions, like quitting my job. And not only that, it has maybe opened the door to a future “career”. Lisa and I are now hosting a retreat together (read more here ) which feels really exciting. Lisa will be doing most of the teaching and I will do more of the organisation, admin, and marketing, but who knows where this will lead? We are planning to host more retreats later on and ever since we used to Airbnb our guest room in Malta, I realised how much I liked hosting people and I have wanted to do something like this. And now I am.

So to end on a marketing note, if you want to give yourself a good start to 2023 and happiness ever after - sign up for our retreat: HERE

* Happiness ever after is sold separately. ;)?