*January 2018*

*Am I writing to be recognised, accepted and validated? If yes, by whom? my community, my academic peers or both? PAUSE. Neither, I write for me and by that simple intention I write for anyone else who is willing to be curious with me. What does that look like? A willingness to let go of everything, especially who I have told myself I am, and* ... *to start listening–deep listening to the music of the spheres.*

The result of working with integrity and applying autoethnography diligently is a collaborative output that is more than the sum of its parts. Yes, an academic paper or article published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal is a measurable achievement. Yet, the deliberate act of, for example, creating space for another, seeking their permission to tell a story, being self-reflexive on who has privilege to or the right to tell that story, acknowledging that the relationship is not neutral, working consciously toward an outcome that is nonhierarchical, etc., the undocumented moments and spontaneous conversations have the ability to changes hearts and experience the interconnectedness.

In the early 16th century Guru N¯ anak accompanied by (Bhai) Mardana, a Muslim rabab ¯ player, met diverse members of the Hindu, Muslim, and Nath religions during their udasis (travels) (Singh 2019). He carried the message of oneness (Ik), embarking on a journey to uncover the similarities and di fferences of how Ik was understood and experienced in the lives of the common person, across religious boundaries without claims of exclusivity to religious truth. Comparably, the Gur u¯ Granth Sahib contains the compositions of six Sikh Gurus and non-Sikh bhagats (saint-poets), not to ¯ meet diversity quotas or gain popularity through superficial displays of solidarity, rather as a recognition of Ik as the Sikh Guru's experienced the expression of the ¯ *other* as a song echoing pluriversal values, resonating and voicing the "complexity of the truth as a heterogenous but coherent sonic form" (Bhogal 2019). Autoethnographers, through a variety of forms such as poetry, journals, short stories, and other styles of writing, attempt to inspire the reader to reflect on their own experiences and recontextualize their understanding of those experiences from an encounter with someone else's shared narrative to discover coherence in the embodiment of realization.
