Early in my career, I came across the concept of the triple bottom line, a term coined by John Elkington in 1994 that expanded the conventional success metrics of business beyond the financial bottom line to also include environmental health and social wellbeing. The three P’s of People, Planet and Profit as they became known, are a beautifully simple concept to help businesses think more holistically about their impact.
Thank you for sharing your insights; they truly resonate with me. Me as working in climate sector, my own understanding of the climate crisis is that our technological advances have outstripped our inner, spiritual growth as humans. Essentially, we've developed our external world, but neglected the inner one. This imbalance seems to be at the root of our struggles to build a truly sustainable and inclusive society. Without fully noticing, our inner thoughts and feelings drive our external actions, which in turn shape our world. This internal process could hold the key to new creative solutions for pressing challenges like climate change. While inner work may often be sidelined as intangible in our materialistic society, it actually offers very tangible benefits—such as greater clarity, enhanced empathy, as well as improved relations with both nature and humanity. It even has the power to fuel creativity and justice.
In my personal journey, I make it a point to journal, meditate, and reflect regularly. As you beautifully shared, I also take moments to imagine the societal impact if more of us were committed a little more to inner work. Such a cultural shift could elevate spiritual wisdom as much as technological advancements, thereby bridging the gap that exists today. I truly believe that inner work is more than self-improvement; it's a pathway to making more sustainable and inclusive decisions that resonate with our true selves and the world at large. This could well be the missing puzzle piece in the world we're striving to build.
Thanks for giving so much food for thoughts. Hope we can continue exchange!
Thanks for the great article Tom. I resonate strongly with your ideas and have actually written my PhD about the need of an inner transformation for outer transformation and how the two might relate to each other. Yet, the "inner" can have so many connotations: mindsets, values, worldviews... To me, the notion of worldviews - which includes our comprehension of the nature of the universe and our metaphysical assumptions - is key in the context of sustainability. If you are ever curious about diving into this deeper and would like some literature suggestions, let me know.
Dear Tom, I found your article wonderful. It resonates strongly with who I am and I have shared it further on my LinkedIn page. I’d very much enjoy meeting you in person. Kind regards, François Tasmowski
I think the focus on materiality is a key reason why we don't talk or ignore spiritual issues or don't think about philosophical issues that affect our life. There was a kind of a shift during the pandemic, when businesess started to care about employees' mental health at the lockdown stage. Both companies and employees became more open to discussing mental wellbeing and work-life balance, and this trend should be encouraged. Life isn't centred around work, and business is no longer only about making profit, but having a positive impact on the environment and society. When people don't suffer under pressure to earn all the money in world, they'll have more time to rethink the way they live and pay more attention to the spiritual part of their life.
Thank you for writing this. We’re all in denial in some way about the role spirituality can have in shifting the conversation about environmental stewardship and sustainability to new heights that could offer new solutions, this is to our detriment, unfortunately. Philosophers like vine deloria Jr and Winona laDuke explore versions of this and reading them changed how I think about sustainability and spirituality.
Like you said, spirituality (and religion as well) is not the enemy of science or progress, we should seek to explore the uncomfortable even if it feels ridiculous, because quite frankly all other system are failing to form a constructive and coherent path towards sustainability and spirituality could be the missing puzzle piece.
Thanks, Tom. Even in my own family talking about things spiritual gets me labelled as 'a bit weird' or selfish or self-indulgent. So there's a long way to go! But to veer away from self-destruction we need to make it OK to go inside and explore the non-material world and not have it equated with religion. IMHO, it all started in the West with the Enlightenment in the 17th century, which put all faith in reason and heralded the tyranny of the brain/mind in human affairs, at the expense of the heart/spirit. We need to activate both sides of the human being.
As a person who has been intensely interested in personal growth/consciousness expansion/spiritual development for half a century – alongside conducting a career in business – I have always been interested in finding effective ways to 'speak to the skeptics' about the reality of our spiritual lives and the immense value in recognizing and pursuing self-knowledge. This essay is one of the very best efforts that I've ever read to accomplish just that - speak to a wider audience about spirituality, especially people who tend to dismiss it as woo-woo or perhaps simply reject anything 'spiritual' because of their understandable distaste for a strict religious upbringing. So many great quotable lines. Great work, Tom. I just became a new subscriber. (BTW, I discovered your post from an excellent newsletter I get, Dense Discovery by Kai Brach.)
Love this Tom, I’m currently reading Rosalind Savage’s The Ocean in a Drop, which talks about these very same ideas. I believe we must have spirituality in business and in our lives if we have any hope of altering the disastrous course we are currently on.
Loved your article! It gave me hope as I realize that more and more people are becoming aware of the wonderfulness of spirituality. Thank you for that.
Does the modern world really cringe at the idea of spirituality? Or has someone/something simply told us this is true? Gallup says over 80% of people from the U.S. believe in God. Perhaps we can talk about this without all the hedging.
Btw: Magick (yes, with a k ) , is real, becuz it is done with intention. This craft is one form of spirituality. It is about using one's own power in connection with the divine ( Nature).
Earth based spirituality, such as Indigenous peoples is similar.
It will take all 'races' : white, black, yellow & red.....to heal the Earth.
There are prophecies NOT in the Bible (religion) that tell of our 'free will' being used to choose one way or another to go forward with meaning or NOT. It is up to us, now.
This is a fascinating point of view that I'd never heard before. It makes a lot of sense to me, perhaps as I've recently been discovering my own spirituality... But I'm surprised it's not more commonly talked about, as it's also grounded in rational thought. Thank you for widening my awareness!
Met plezier gedeeld op linked in zodat het nog veel mensen mag raken. Dank je om voorbij jouw ongemakkelijkheid toch op te dagen via onder andere deze nieuwsbrief. Vergeef me dat ik dit in het Nederlands schrijf, het zelf vertalen zou ertoe zorgen dat ik niet schrijf, wat ik oprecht wil delen. De technologie van deze tijd laat het gelukkig toe om gemakkelijk een vertaling op de tekst te vinden :-).
Dear Tom,
Thank you for sharing your insights; they truly resonate with me. Me as working in climate sector, my own understanding of the climate crisis is that our technological advances have outstripped our inner, spiritual growth as humans. Essentially, we've developed our external world, but neglected the inner one. This imbalance seems to be at the root of our struggles to build a truly sustainable and inclusive society. Without fully noticing, our inner thoughts and feelings drive our external actions, which in turn shape our world. This internal process could hold the key to new creative solutions for pressing challenges like climate change. While inner work may often be sidelined as intangible in our materialistic society, it actually offers very tangible benefits—such as greater clarity, enhanced empathy, as well as improved relations with both nature and humanity. It even has the power to fuel creativity and justice.
In my personal journey, I make it a point to journal, meditate, and reflect regularly. As you beautifully shared, I also take moments to imagine the societal impact if more of us were committed a little more to inner work. Such a cultural shift could elevate spiritual wisdom as much as technological advancements, thereby bridging the gap that exists today. I truly believe that inner work is more than self-improvement; it's a pathway to making more sustainable and inclusive decisions that resonate with our true selves and the world at large. This could well be the missing puzzle piece in the world we're striving to build.
Thanks for giving so much food for thoughts. Hope we can continue exchange!
Thanks for the great article Tom. I resonate strongly with your ideas and have actually written my PhD about the need of an inner transformation for outer transformation and how the two might relate to each other. Yet, the "inner" can have so many connotations: mindsets, values, worldviews... To me, the notion of worldviews - which includes our comprehension of the nature of the universe and our metaphysical assumptions - is key in the context of sustainability. If you are ever curious about diving into this deeper and would like some literature suggestions, let me know.
Dear Tom, I found your article wonderful. It resonates strongly with who I am and I have shared it further on my LinkedIn page. I’d very much enjoy meeting you in person. Kind regards, François Tasmowski
I think the focus on materiality is a key reason why we don't talk or ignore spiritual issues or don't think about philosophical issues that affect our life. There was a kind of a shift during the pandemic, when businesess started to care about employees' mental health at the lockdown stage. Both companies and employees became more open to discussing mental wellbeing and work-life balance, and this trend should be encouraged. Life isn't centred around work, and business is no longer only about making profit, but having a positive impact on the environment and society. When people don't suffer under pressure to earn all the money in world, they'll have more time to rethink the way they live and pay more attention to the spiritual part of their life.
Thank you for writing this. We’re all in denial in some way about the role spirituality can have in shifting the conversation about environmental stewardship and sustainability to new heights that could offer new solutions, this is to our detriment, unfortunately. Philosophers like vine deloria Jr and Winona laDuke explore versions of this and reading them changed how I think about sustainability and spirituality.
Like you said, spirituality (and religion as well) is not the enemy of science or progress, we should seek to explore the uncomfortable even if it feels ridiculous, because quite frankly all other system are failing to form a constructive and coherent path towards sustainability and spirituality could be the missing puzzle piece.
I wonder, in the title of this article, whether 'sustainability' is the best word to use.
What about the concept of not wanting to sustain the current state of affairs, how we are living is a terrible mess.
What if spirituality is the missing pillar of a regenerative and thriving world?
I also found your reference to Hermeticism and Mentalism thought-provoking.
Thanks, Tom. Even in my own family talking about things spiritual gets me labelled as 'a bit weird' or selfish or self-indulgent. So there's a long way to go! But to veer away from self-destruction we need to make it OK to go inside and explore the non-material world and not have it equated with religion. IMHO, it all started in the West with the Enlightenment in the 17th century, which put all faith in reason and heralded the tyranny of the brain/mind in human affairs, at the expense of the heart/spirit. We need to activate both sides of the human being.
As a person who has been intensely interested in personal growth/consciousness expansion/spiritual development for half a century – alongside conducting a career in business – I have always been interested in finding effective ways to 'speak to the skeptics' about the reality of our spiritual lives and the immense value in recognizing and pursuing self-knowledge. This essay is one of the very best efforts that I've ever read to accomplish just that - speak to a wider audience about spirituality, especially people who tend to dismiss it as woo-woo or perhaps simply reject anything 'spiritual' because of their understandable distaste for a strict religious upbringing. So many great quotable lines. Great work, Tom. I just became a new subscriber. (BTW, I discovered your post from an excellent newsletter I get, Dense Discovery by Kai Brach.)
Love this Tom, I’m currently reading Rosalind Savage’s The Ocean in a Drop, which talks about these very same ideas. I believe we must have spirituality in business and in our lives if we have any hope of altering the disastrous course we are currently on.
Loved your article! It gave me hope as I realize that more and more people are becoming aware of the wonderfulness of spirituality. Thank you for that.
This is absolutely on-point. Nice one Tom for waving the flag of spirituality within the world of business.
I wonder, do you feel you're bringing enough spirituality into your work at Wholegrain?
Does the modern world really cringe at the idea of spirituality? Or has someone/something simply told us this is true? Gallup says over 80% of people from the U.S. believe in God. Perhaps we can talk about this without all the hedging.
Btw: Magick (yes, with a k ) , is real, becuz it is done with intention. This craft is one form of spirituality. It is about using one's own power in connection with the divine ( Nature).
Earth based spirituality, such as Indigenous peoples is similar.
It will take all 'races' : white, black, yellow & red.....to heal the Earth.
There are prophecies NOT in the Bible (religion) that tell of our 'free will' being used to choose one way or another to go forward with meaning or NOT. It is up to us, now.
This is a fascinating point of view that I'd never heard before. It makes a lot of sense to me, perhaps as I've recently been discovering my own spirituality... But I'm surprised it's not more commonly talked about, as it's also grounded in rational thought. Thank you for widening my awareness!
Met plezier gedeeld op linked in zodat het nog veel mensen mag raken. Dank je om voorbij jouw ongemakkelijkheid toch op te dagen via onder andere deze nieuwsbrief. Vergeef me dat ik dit in het Nederlands schrijf, het zelf vertalen zou ertoe zorgen dat ik niet schrijf, wat ik oprecht wil delen. De technologie van deze tijd laat het gelukkig toe om gemakkelijk een vertaling op de tekst te vinden :-).