Spiritual Biographies — Thrive Network

Our Spiritual Biographies

Bethsaida Luz Sulochana Ruiz Natal - “A Journey Across Spiritual Currents”

Born into a single-parent household steeped in the layered rhythms of Catholicism, Santería, and open exploration, my spiritual foundation was one of paradox and possibility. My mother—a devoted yet unorthodox Catholic—ensured that I fulfilled the sacraments and rituals of the Church, from confirmation to confession, while granting me the freedom to roam beyond its boundaries. Her guidance wasn’t bound by dogma but by a deep reverence for the sacred in all forms.

As a child, I stood at the crossroads of spiritual traditions. Sundays might find me absorbing the fervent hymns of Black Baptist congregations or the solemnity of a Jewish Shabbat service. My curiosity even led me to the doorsteps of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Simultaneously, Santería thrummed through my everyday life—not as an alternative but as an integral, grounding force. My mother, deeply rooted in its rituals, passed down an intuitive relationship with the orishas, teaching me to honor them in ways that bridged the tangible and the mystical. She prayed twice daily—a quiet, steadfast devotion that carried her through life and into the beyond. Among the orishas, Yemayá—mother of the seas and nurturer of life—stood as a profound source of guidance and comfort.

In my 30s, I stood on another precipice: the reckoning of substance use and alcoholism. That chapter of turbulence catalyzed a deeper yearning—a hunger not for escape but for transcendence. The teachings of Buddhism found me, or perhaps I found them, in my quest for clarity and liberation. Drawn particularly to the introspection and discipline of Buddhist practice, I began weaving its wisdom into my life. Angel Kyodo Williams, my Zen root teacher, offered a grounding presence and profound insights that continue to shape my journey.

In 1995, a pilgrimage to Burma became the fulcrum of my spiritual rebirth. Immersed in the meditative intensity of the journey, I encountered the profound stillness that would come to shape my path. Buddhism, with its many forms, became not just a practice but a lens through which I view existence—a daily return to the breath, to awareness, to the interconnectedness of all things. Tibetan pulsing yoga and block therapy became essential body practices, reconnecting me to the sacred vessel of my physical form and its deep wisdom.

My spiritual tapestry also holds the interwoven threads of devotion to Catholic figures such as La Virgen del Cobre and San Martín de Porres, whose compassion and humility inspire my daily walk. The writings of bell hooks remind me to ground spirituality in justice and love, to honor the sacred in the collective and the transformative power of community care.

Today, my spiritual journey is a living, evolving mosaic. It bears the echoes of Catholic hymns, the ancestral whispers of Santería, the grounding chants of Buddhist meditation, and the exploratory threads of countless traditions I’ve encountered along the way. I remain committed to the complexity of the sacred, honoring both the rituals I inherited and the practices I’ve chosen. My journey is one of integration, curiosity, and an unwavering devotion to the unseen threads that bind us all.

Course details: https://www.thrivenetwork.org/sacred

Joshua Gorman - “Waking Up in the Great Mystery”

I grew up in a deeply religious home, though most of my life I have felt religiously homeless. My devout and steadfast mother raised our family in the Protestant Christian tradition, where church was a central part of our lives. Every Sunday, we attended services, and I immersed myself in the life of the church—participating in Sunday School, acting in church plays, singing worship songs, serving as an acolyte, and taking an active role in youth groups. During years of family turmoil, including my parents’ divorce, our church community became a vital source of care and support.

At age 15, when the time of Confirmation came in the Lutheran tradition, I experienced a growing crisis of faith. My nights were spent contemplating the nature of death and struggling to reconcile the Christian narrative with my expanding sense of reality. My closest friend was Muslim, and while our respective faith traditions held different views of salvation, we recognized that we were kindred spirits asking the same universal questions about existence. We realized that there must be something wrong with our faith stories and not with our souls. It was in this chapter of my life that I lost my faith, entering a dark night of the soul and an extended existential crisis. Though I did not know it then, this was the beginning of my spiritual awakening and journey.

At the age of eighteen, I began to wander and travel. I read books by Herman Hesse and Jack Kerouac with archetypal characters who were searching for meaning and purpose in a world that seemed to lack any. In community college, I began to study world religions and philosophy, and I was fortunate to discover the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh on mindfulness practice and the works of Joseph Campbell exploring mythology, psychology and the spiritual dimensions of human experience. My seeking led me to a wide array of alternative forms of spirituality - meditation, yoga, mysticism and shamanism - each a thread in my tapestry of awakening.

In my early twenties, I found myself living on the Big Island of Hawai’i where I had a number of profound spiritual experiences. Living close to nature on a wild and beautiful island, I developed a deep ecological awareness and reverence for the sacredness of our spinning planet. During this time, I participated in a syncretic spiritual community called Santa Daime, an ayahuasca tradition from Brazil that is a fusion of Portuguese Catholicism, African Umbanda, and Indigenous Amazonian traditions. These experiences, alongside longer periods of meditation and extensive reading in philosophy, transpersonal psychology, and evolutionary science, deepened my understanding of spirituality.

As the years unfolded, I became ever more committed to my personal healing and the transformative power of daily practice. Without a clear religious home, I gravitated toward the spaces in between - interfaith gatherings, science and spirituality conversations, and followers of the perennial philosophy that recognize the universal truths shared across spiritual traditions. I considered enrolling in a Masters of Divinity course, but I struggled to find a program aligned with my passions and holistic orientation. While I continued to learn from a variety of spiritual traditions and practices, I also became a student of Tibetan Buddhism, attending Vipassana retreats and beginning the Ngondro (the Preliminary Practices). This ancient tradition provided me with the gift of studying meditation and wisdom rigorously in a specific lineage, while I continued to forge an eclectic spiritual life that is an expression of our modern, interconnected world.

Today, I identify as a member of the growing religious demographic known as "the Nones" - those who are religiously unaffiliated and do not fit into a clear category. My ongoing research explores innovative spiritual expressions both within and outside established faith traditions. I am an active member of the Thrive Network, an experiment in nonreligious, spiritual community focused on personal growth, community building, and social change. Over time, I have come to realize that grounding my life in spirituality is essential for my well-being. It is the source of my deepest feelings of being alive, connected, on purpose, and part of this sacred mystery called Life.