In this brief but potent performance collaboration, Sam Garrett and Kibir La Amlak unveil "One Way," an unreleased song that embodies the principle of mystical unity across spiritual traditions. The piece, performed at a gathering in Alentejo, Portugal, centers on the recognition that beneath the doctrinal differences of organized religion lies a shared spirit—a fellowship of humanity grounded in the wisdom teachings that have existed across ages. Drawing on the vision articulated by Haile Selassie I, the work explores how mystics of different faiths have always recognized their kinship, transcending the tribalism of institutional religion to embrace a universal spiritual community.
What Is the Core Message of "One Way"?
"One Way" is fundamentally a song about spiritual convergence. The title itself suggests unity—a singular path beneath the surface diversity of human spirituality. The piece centers the idea that while religions in their historical, institutional forms often divide people into separate groups and limit loyalty to particular communities, the mystical dimension of those same traditions has always pointed toward something larger: a shared recognition of the sacred that transcends boundary and doctrine.
This distinction between exoteric religion (the outer, institutional form) and esoteric spirituality (the inner, mystical core) is central to understanding the song's philosophy. The mystics—whether Christian contemplatives, Sufi devotees, Hindu advaita teachers, or Buddhist meditators—recognize in each other a deeper truth that their respective religions nominally profess but often fail to embody at the communal level. The "one way" is not the exclusive claim of any single tradition, but the recognition that all genuine spiritual paths lead toward the same ultimate reality, experienced through the lens of different cultures and contexts.
How Does Mystical Kinship Challenge Religious Tribalism?
The song draws explicitly on the teachings of Haile Selassie I, whose words appear in the video description: "In the mystic traditions of the different religions we have a remarkable unity of spirit. Whatever religion they may profess, they are spiritual kinsmen." This statement cuts directly at the problem of religious identity that has caused centuries of conflict and division.
When religion becomes primarily about institutional membership—which group you belong to, which text you follow, which rituals define your community—it necessarily creates an inside and an outside. Those within the tradition are the saved, the correct, the chosen; those outside are other. This logic has fueled crusades, inquisitions, sectarian violence, and the fragmentation of the global community into competing spiritual factions.
But the mystics have always worked differently. They recognize that the direct experience of the sacred—through prayer, meditation, love, service, or devotion—transcends these boundaries. A Sufi saint and a Christian mystic, though living in different centuries and different lands, speak the same language of ecstatic union. A Hindu sage and a Buddhist monk, though using different terminology, describe the same experience of non-dual awareness. The "unity of spirit" that Haile Selassie references is not abstract theology but lived experience—the actual recognition that occurs when mystics encounter each other across traditions.
What Does "One Way" Teach About Universal Spirituality?
The song's title and central message propose that beneath the multiplicity of paths lies a single way—but not the way of any particular institution. Rather, it is the way of direct spiritual experience, of the mystic's encounter with ultimate reality, which remains fundamentally the same whether it is called God, Brahman, the Void, Buddha-nature, or the Godhead.
This is not to say that the differences between traditions are unimportant or that doctrine has no value. Rather, it is to recognize what the Transcendentalist philosophers and perennial philosophers have long argued: that beneath the cultural and linguistic clothing of each tradition lies a common core of wisdom about the nature of consciousness, reality, and the human being's relationship to the ultimate. The form varies; the content is remarkably consistent.
Haile Selassie's statement continues: "While the different religions in their historic forms bind us to limited groups and militate against the development of loyalty to the world community, the mystics have already stood for the fellowship of humanity in harmony with the spirit of the mystics of ages gone by." This articulates a clear historical fact: the mystics have always been ahead of institutional religion in their embrace of universal humanity. The Sufi poets wrote of divine love for all beings. The Christian contemplatives in monastic communities preserved teachings about apophatic prayer that were preserved in parallel in the Orthodox tradition and in contemplative Buddhism. The Hindu rishis taught the unity of all consciousness.
Why Does This Collaboration Happen in Portugal?
The decision to premiere "One Way" at a gathering in Alentejo, Portugal, hosted by Livity Ground, is not incidental. Alentejo has a rich history of cultural and spiritual exchange; Portugal itself has historically been a crossroads of African, European, and Middle Eastern traditions. The choice to bring together Sam Garrett and Kibir La Amlak—artists rooted in different spiritual and cultural lineages—in this setting embodies the very principle the song articulates: that spiritual communion transcends geography and cultural background.
The performance, though brief, represents a kind of lived testimony. Two artists, two voices, two traditions perhaps, singing together about unity. The repetition of "one way" and "praises to the most"—phrases drawn from across religious vocabulary—creates a sonic field in which the boundaries between traditions become permeable. The music itself becomes the message: this is what it sounds like when we recognize our kinship.
What Is the Invitation in "One Way"?
The song extends an invitation: to move beyond loyalty to institutional religious forms and toward recognition of the universal spiritual fellowship that has always existed. This is not a call to abandon one's tradition, but to understand it in light of its deepest esoteric teachings—to become, in effect, a mystic within one's own religion rather than merely a member of its institutional structure.
The phrase "praises to the most" echoes across many traditions: the Psalms praise the Most High; Islamic invocation praises the Most Great; Rastafarian traditions honor the Most High. The song does not ask which praise is correct, but invites all of them together, recognizing that they are ultimately directed toward the same source, experienced and named differently but recognized by the heart that has tasted the sweetness of direct spiritual encounter.
Where to Go From Here
For those interested in deepening this understanding, explore the writings of comparative religion scholars like Aldous Huxley and Huston Smith, who have documented the perennial philosophy across traditions. Read the actual mystical texts themselves—the poetry of Hafiz and Rumi, the cloud of unknowing by medieval Christian contemplatives, the Upanishads, the teachings of Zen masters—and notice the recurring themes and recognitions. Seek out teachers and communities that honor both the particular beauty of their own tradition and the universal spiritual wisdom that runs through all traditions. Most importantly, practice. The unity of spirit that "One Way" articulates is not merely intellectual understanding but the fruit of sustained spiritual practice that opens the heart to recognize the sacred in all beings and all paths.
