Why Profanely Sacred?

After years of coaching corporate leaders, it’s clear to me that the invisible, subconscious stuff going on inside of all of us (values, beliefs, etc.) is far more powerful than our everyday outward “game faces” or any learned skills we acquire. Now, I want to take my interest in this unseen world of the subconscious to a new level to explore the truth, meaning, and purpose we all create from both the “unseen” and the “seen”. To that end, I have created this blog, Profanely Sacred.

At its core, Profanely Sacred is about making the choice between whether to live in a mechanistic, linear, Newtonian world where matter is characterized as acting like inanimate cogs in a machine, or to live in the world of quantum physics where matter can appear to be connected in surprising ways and seemingly with meaning and purpose.

Or both.

For me, I choose to live my everyday, ordinary life (the “seen”) with meaning and purpose and to expect meaning and purpose through synchronicities (the “unseen”). In short, I choose to see the sacred within the profane.

Our English word “profane” traces its roots to the Latin phrase pro fanum, which means “outside a temple”: pro meaning “in front of” or “outside”, and fanum referring to a “shrine, temple, sanctuary, or place dedicated to a deity". Thus, the space or courtyard in front of, or outside, a temple was pro fanum, or profane.

The profane area wasn’t seen as special or holy (like the temple interior), so it was a place where ordinary citizens were allowed to gather on specific days, but these unwashed masses were prohibited from entering the sacred space of a temple itself. You may remember a Bible reference to money changers who were outside the temple. They were in the “profane” area, where, for a fee, they exchanged currency for temple taxes into the accepted currency. It’s also where vendors sold grains and small animals for sacrifices to the temple deity. Over the centuries up to the present day, the meaning of “profane” broadened to its current meaning that refers to secular and unsanctified places and to people who are wicked or unholy.

In contrast to ordinary citizens, only high priests and the ruler were allowed to enter a temple beyond the profane space. This was because inside the temple was holy or sacred -- a place where the deity was believed to reside. The English word “sacred” is from the Latin sancer or sancire, meaning to sanctify, confirm, ratify, or ordain. Thus, "sacred" denotes something or someone as legitimate and holy.

I chose the phrase “profanely sacred” to describe how you can arrive at the truth and the meaning and purpose of your life -- by recognizing what is ordinary as an expression of the sacred. Where the everyday, Newtonian world we see and experience is informed by the invisible quantum principles and truths of the sacred.

Experiencing the “profanely sacred” is not a destination, but a lifelong expedition to discover yourself and to reflect on where you’ve been in order to see more clearly where your life is going. It’s about discovering and living your truth with meaning and purpose. It’s about moving your view of life from simply a sterile, linear and mechanistic Newtonian way of being to envisioning an intelligent, surprising quantum world, imbued with meaning, purpose, and connection that animates your everyday existence.

“Profanely sacred” is not about religion. Rather, my intent is to create a place where you can go in search of yourself – to find your own truth. It’s a place to explore the extraordinary world that brings out your curiosity and wonder as you find meaning and purpose in all aspects of your ordinary, everyday life.

This blog is for you if you are:

• a seeker;

• curious about your life;

• wanting more or wanting change, or;

• fascinated by how the long arc of your life becomes apparent, even as the most difficult life events always work out for the best.

I invite you to join me on this adventure.