Who we are is spirit. Who we are is also matter. In fact, these are two words to describe the same thing. But for most of us, these describe two different realities in which we live.

Talking about these as two different aspects can help us in understanding them with precision. But talking about these as two different realms can be a pitfall.

When I say who we are is spirit, most identify this as the realm of wisdom, of aliveness, of love, of freedom.

When I say who we are is matter, most identify this as the realm of material things and practical realities of everyday social and professional life.

When leaders come to me starved for the qualities of the spirit, it is often necessary to temporarily withdraw their attention from the material noise and anchor them deeply into those abstract qualities of stillness and freedom. But lingering in the abstract need not, in itself, resolve the practical mechanics of their daily life.

Conversely, when they come seeking to conquer a material problem, we can architect the exact strategic steps required. But executing on strategy and actions need not automatically generate the profound peace and aliveness they are actually looking for.

It seems almost paradoxical, because we often hope that solving for one realm automatically allows us the benefits of the other. Somewhere, it feels as if that should be the case. After all, so many of us chase material success hoping it will give us a feeling of contentment and aliveness – which are spiritual qualities, only to eventually find out otherwise.

This internal intuition is not entirely wrong; it just needs to be understood in the light of Awakened leadership.

If we understand the material and spiritual as aspects of ourselves rather than realms, we can perceive what our inner sense is pointing to even more accurately.

When we have a desire to solve for practical aspects of ourselves, the underlying desire is to create space for the spiritual aspect of us to shine forth even more. For example, when there is a financial situation blocking us from having what we desire, what is being blocked is the flow of our aliveness and our sense of freedom.

When we have a desire to understand the spiritual aspect of ourselves more deeply, the underlying desire is also to simultaneously experience and express ourselves as we know ourselves to be. For example, when we tap into a sense of freedom, we want to experience ourselves as expressing that freedom in how we are being and what we are doing.

In this way, the spiritual aspect of us and the material aspect of us are like water and ice respectively.

Ice is water in an apparently different form. If we look closely, we find in ice only what we find in water. But they both have a distinct feeling to them.

We all are like water wanting to be ice. And we are also like ice wanting to know water.

We are spirit wanting to be matter. And we are matter wanting to know spirit.

Ultimately we will know that this ‘matter’ is not any different from ‘spirit’ in essence. And ultimately we will know that this ‘spirit’ is the same as ‘matter’ in its substance.

The journey of Awakened Leadership is not about finding a fleeting so-called balance between two different worlds. It is about developing the capacity to understand and appreciate this phenomenon, and freely knowing and being spirit in all its material forms. So that we can enjoy all the spiritual aspects of ourselves while leading a fulfilling material life as we desire.