Is money really the root of all evil? Find out what the truth about money is. Discover why enlightenment is important to living a luxurious lifestyle.
Happiness versus money- the debate is on.
Is it an emerging trend that is here to stay, or is it a passing fad? Can luxury ever meet enlightenment and create a harmonious balance?
These are questions that many people are asking these days.
Spiritual health is an essential part of achieving a luxurious lifestyle. It helps us understand our purpose in life, and gives us a sense of peace and well-being.
Spiritual Health and Luxury Lifestyle
The title and the question may appear as impossible contraries. In the popular conception, luxury is associated with sensuous indulgence and enjoyment and enlightenment with renunciation and asceticism. If we take the terms in this popular sense they can not meet.
But when we examine the terms from a deeper, wider and more integral perspective, we may perhaps arrive at some connection and synthesis. This article is an attempt toward a synthesis between luxury and enlightenment and its implications for the luxury industry in the corporate world.
The Dimensions of Luxury
What is Luxury?
Oxford dictionary defines luxury and related words as :
- Comfortable and expensive living. examples are fine clothes, houses, food. Indulgence in expensive and enjoyable things that are not necessary.
- An item that is expensive and enjoyable but not essential: Something that is a material object, that is expensive or valuable because it is rare, or made of expensive materials. Pleasure and comfort are obtained from having money to spend on extravagant things.
- The state of great comfort and extravagant living which is Very comfortable, elegant and expensive
- LUXURY IS ALSO something that gives pleasure to the senses
We accept this dictionary meaning as a valid and important part of the meaning and aim of luxury. But there can be a broader conception of luxury which includes the dictionary meaning but also other higher dimension.
When the basic needs of the body are satisfied, there arises progressively or simultaneously higher needs of the vital, mind, heart and soul. Cladia Roth, a top executive in the luxury industry calls these higher needs as “soul luxury”.
We understand this in theoretical terms also because most of us have studied Maslow’s heirarchy theory. Yet, when someone speaks about Luxury Spirituality today, it seems like an unachievable endeavour.
Why spiritual health is important to attaining a luxury lifestyle
According to Maslow’s hierarchy theory, Luxury can be a means to Self Actualization.
I’ll explain how:
In the broader concept of luxury, we may conceive it in six dimensions.
First is the vital need for a better enjoyment of life at the physical , vital and sensational level.
Second is the need for a better health and wellbeing of the body and mind.
Third is the heart’s need to love and to be loved and for harmonious relationship or for an emotionally satisfying experience, product or service at the level of feelings.
Fourth is the need for knowledge and understanding of our own self and the world at the mental level.
Fifth is the need to give, serve, or contribute to the wellbeing of the larger whole and care for others at the ethical level. Environment concerns belong to this category.
Sixth is the need to know the highest meaning and purpose of life at the spiritual level.
Generally, these six needs awaken progressively in an individual over the course of her development.
However more than one need can be present simultaneously or awaken at the same time in an individual. According to Cladia Roth, the majority of the new, young, wealthy customers in luxury are looking for increasingly sophisticated requirements that go beyond simple sensuous pleasure.
More than ever, the desire for emotional fulfilment is becoming more important in the consumption of experience. Increasingly, affluent consumers are looking to define themselves by their experiences rather by the goods they own.
They are eyeing more for a holistic experience that satiates the mind, body and soul rather than ‘touch that’ and ‘own that’ experience.
It seems as if there is this new kid on the block: the soul-seeking luxurian, riding an experiential wave of a lifestyle that is aimed at psychological and physical betterment along with spiritual growth and ultimate happiness. There is this craving for a transformational experience within the holistic substate of wellness.
Self-actualization is the highest stage in human development where a person realizes his full potential and strives to continually grow and develop. A self-actualized person is someone who has reached their full potential as a human being.
How Does Wealth Create Happiness?
A luxury lifestyle is one where we enjoy the things we love, without having to worry about money. We spend more time with family and friends, and less time worrying about bills. In addition, we have enough money to live comfortably, while still giving back to others.
So how can Luxury lead to self-actualization or enlightenment lead to luxury? Listen to this Podcast and find out:
The first step towards creating a luxurious lifestyle is understanding what wealth really means.
In order to achieve true wealth, we must be able to live comfortably without having to worry about material things. We should be able to enjoy life without worrying about bills, or if we will have enough money to pay for groceries next month. When we are truly wealthy, we are free from financial worries. We are happy because we know that we have everything we need to live a comfortable life.
In the traditional sense, Luxury was something that was rare and expensive. But Luxury today is not just about rarity and expense. Luxury is also about quality, design, craftsmanship, innovation, sustainability etc. All these factors contribute to making a product or an experience luxurious.
But more importantly, Luxury today is also about exclusivity, personalization and customization. Luxury is about creating an experience that is unique and special for each individual.
It is this aspect of Luxury that can lead to self-actualization. When Luxury is personalized and customized, it becomes an experience that is unique and fulfilling for each individual. This uniqueness leads to a sense of self-actualization.
It is this aspect of Luxury that can lead to enlightenment. When Luxury is personalized and customized, it becomes an experience that is unique and fulfilling for each individual. This uniqueness leads to a sense of spiritual fulfilment.
The ideas on enlightenment that are coming to the fore are moving away from traditional notions of world denial and renunciation and toward a more life-affirming and integrated perspective.
But what does it mean to be spiritual?
Spirituality is about a sense of connection with something greater than oneself. It is about a sense of peace, fulfillment and purpose. Spirituality is not about religion or beliefs. It is about a sense of connection with the universe and all that exists in it.
Spirituality is about an awareness of the interconnectedness of all things. It is about a sense of oneness with all that exists.
Spirituality is about transcending the ego and the material world. It is about moving beyond the individual self and connecting with something greater.
In this view, enlightenment may be interpreted as the full fulfillment of our human organization at all levels – physical, vital, mental , moral, aesthetic and spiritual – through a sequential development or unfolding of our potential at these levels.
It’s about bringing them all together in a harmonious integration around our most spiritual self as the objective and aim of this transformation. This evolution entails the progressive awakening of people’s higher needs at the mental, moral, and spiritual levels.
I’ll explain it in simpler terms
We all want to live a good life, a life that is fully enjoyable in all aspects.
This is a legitimate need of the vital being.
The affluents expect TV, car, microwave ovens, washing machines, travelling, tasty food and all kinds of amusement and enjoyments as the basic lifestyle.
SO what is luxury for them?
Perhaps staying five –star, seven star hotels, luxury cars, expensive scents, jewels, and fashion products are considered luxury goods.
When we enjoy a brand or a travel stay for the experience it provides rather than its quality, quantity and material aspects, we venture into the higher aesthetic enjoyment of life.
Because then we are enjoying that brand for the values of beauty and harmony, and much more…we are loving the refinement and sensations, but also it is touching the heart and the mind.
This aesthetic refinement and enjoyment of life is perhaps the higher aim of luxury.
I’ll give you an example. Many people associate owning a Louis Vuitton Bag with a sense of self worth. Or Diamond studs…like Baby I’m worth it.
So when you buy a luxury product or a service?
Do you feel worth it?
How do you feel when money is spent on you?
How do you feel when you spend money on yourself?
What do you spend money on and why?
Do you have difficulty receiving?
And the big question….What makes you feel valuable?
And all these questions sort of plop around you when you are thinking about buying a luxury product or visiting a luxury brand store…
So whether intentional or unintentional, these luxury brands are causing introspection.
We are thinking on self worth, money, materialism and importance of a luxury lifestyle in our day to day life in a totally different setting.
And as we toy with the idea of buying a luxury experience or a brand, we are coming in alignment with our true values and our spiritual self. And this is where Luxury meets enlightenment
While this is just one teeny weeny example of Spiritual Luxury, through Luxury Unplugged Podcast we intend to bring out the aesthetic values of what you are looking in a brand or a service and provide you with meaningful tips and steps to move towards a spiritual mind whilst enjoying luxury.
“Luxury Spirituality is about creating an experience that is unique and fulfilling for each individual. It is about creating an experience that is spiritual and fulfilling. It is about moving beyond the material world and connecting with something greater.”
Luxury Spirituality is an emerging trend that is here to stay. Luxury Spirituality is about creating experiences that are unique, spiritual and fulfilling. Luxury Spirituality is about moving beyond the material world and connecting with something greater.
More and more people are realizing that they need to make time for themselves if they want to lead happy and fulfilling lives. And what better way to do that than by indulging in some luxury enlightenment?
In the meantime, we can all benefit from taking some time to slow down, connect with our enlightenment, and appreciate the good things in life.
Luxury enlightenment is a growing trend that is here to stay. It allows us to slow down, connect with our true selves, and appreciate the beauty in life.
Luxury enlightenment is all about embracing the best of both worlds – enjoying the finer things in life while also connecting with your spiritual side.
Whether you believe in God, the universe, or something else entirely, there is no denying that wellness and peace of mind are important factors in our lives.
Unfortunately, our fast-paced society often leaves us feeling stressed out and disconnected.
Luxury enlightenment is a way to bring balance back into our lives. It allows us to slow down, connect with our true selves, and appreciate the beauty in life. Luxury enlightenment can take many different forms, but it typically includes elements of mindfulness, meditation, and self-care.
On this note, signing off this is Neeti Keswani, for Luxury Unplugged Podcast where luxury meets enlightenment.
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