Nick Kientsch
What does it mean to be spiritual?
Being spiritual is not about blindly following a belief or performing meaningless rituals. What it does mean is to become whole through practices that offer a way to integrate and heal ourselves, by embracing the shadow parts we are cut off from. It’s the response to the quiet question in our heart: “Why am I here, what is my purpose?” and living a life that supports this enquiry opening into a deeper realisation of how to be happy and at ease.
Can people be materialistic as well as spiritual?
It’s often thought you need to be poor to be spiritual. Greed and attachment to things is a hindrance but, equally, to attach to the idea that you have to be poor to be spiritual is just another self- identity which might give rise to pride and spiritual arrogance. Instead, we can live comfortably without making the accruing of possessions or money our sole motive, noticing if attachment to possessions causes pain through a greedy holding on rather than just welcoming things into our life before letting them go.
How does your spirituality inform your sexuality?
I set up the Gay Men’s Mindfulness Group as a response to seeing how growing up gay has led to real struggles for me and others: there are many wounds around shame, addictive behaviour, not feeling good enough, being excluded due to looks, age or body type. Every Monday, about 45 gay men come and meditate together, finding community and healing, and I share from my experience as a gay man addressing these issues.
Is it difficult to maintain your spirituality in a noisy world?
It’s not the noise that’s the problem, it’s the disconnection of the majority of people in the West from their roots in the land and from any spiritual beliefs. And the way that “the real world” is defined as anything that has no element of magic or belief.
How does your spirituality align with your sexuality?
There’s always been a strong connection between the two. My sexuality is deeply rooted in the earth and I share sexual energy with many beings, some of them human. My primary connection is to the earth so I could never agree to share sexual energy with only one human.
What is the meaning of life?
I think it varies. Right now, many of us have come back to help save the planet at this time of crisis. Each of our lifetimes has its own purpose and intent. In general, life is about honouring the cycles of birth/ death/ transformation, respecting all life and creating the future while honouring the past.
Do you believe in karma?
The concept of karma comes from a specific Eastern tradition and as such does not align with my Western pagan belief system. However, some of the ideas do cross over. I don’t believe in the simplistic version of one life being punishment or reward for the previous, but our lifetimes build on each other and our learning continues throughout them. We may choose to come back to learn a certain thing or to achieve a certain goal, for ourselves or, more likely, for the planet as a whole.