Perhaps you’ve never truly taken the time to consider what goes into making some of your favorite sex toys, or maybe the process doesn’t interest you enough to give it a real thought. Regardless, I’m willing to bet that you’ve never thought about the spirituality that goes into crafting some of your favorite bedroom props.

But such is the case when it’s Anjani Siddhartha who’s creating them.

The separation between sexuality and spirituality is a tale as old as time, and a fable at that. Although we don’t have nearly enough time (or energy, let’s be real) to deconstruct the root of that conditioning, we can focus on how the dance between the two can actually create a harmony that few allow themselves the pleasure to experience. Siddhartha wants to aid those who are on that journey.

The artist stumbled upon her job at Doc Johnson, the largest sex toy manufacturer in the U.S., after a friend asked if she’d like to replace him in a design job. Going into the job blind yet open, Siddhartha was shocked to realize she’d be sculpting sex toys—but it was a task she wasn’t going to back down from. She designs the sex toys either by making casts from adult performers or sculpting them vein by vein from her imagination. Painstakingly getting the shape of a penis head just right is simply part of her job.

“To me it is art,” Siddhartha tells me. “I liked the environment and having my own studio, so I started designing that day.”

Enter the Doc Johnson headquarters and you’ll find Siddhartha tucked away in her own erotic cave, handcrafting some of the brand’s most famous dildos and other adult toys while surrounded by art and objects that inspire her.

“I have been very sensual and spiritual all my life, so my inspiration has always been fine arts and the sensual paintings of India,” Siddhartha says.

“When I design a piece, it is just as if I am working on a sacred piece that will bring physical and emotional pleasure to thousands of people all over the world,” she says. “It is part of my way of life, creating and shaping an object that will bring pleasure to many. Also, it is part of my meditation of being in the moment when I am sculpting.”

From the devotional tattoos that decorate her arms to the intentional focus that is hard to ignore while watching her work, it’s clear Siddhartha is no stranger to spirituality.

Her primary goal is always to “be here and now and fully aware of the unity of myself as a consciousness using the body-mind vehicle to express myself in the physical universe with integrity. And to use this very moment to live to the fullest following my passion.”

Through her spirituality and deep connection to her own sensuality, Siddhartha has managed to design and craft unique bedroom toys for over two decades with the objective of providing consumers the chance to experience something greater than themselves.

“Through sensual experiences, we can transcend to a place where body and mind sensations can be refined to feel divine,” she says. “There’s unity in diversity.”

Nonetheless, Siddhartha is aware that much of her life is rooted in the intersection of two concepts that don’t usually mix. For many, sex toys are still considered taboo. Sprinkle that with some religious viewpoints and you might as well light a fire, because that conversation is going to get heated.

Still, Siddhartha says she’s hopeful that through her work, people can reconnect with the parts of themselves that have been silenced, either out of shame or judgement, because that duality is alive in all of us whether we acknowledge it or not.

“We live in the world of duality, so it is expected to always have opposite views on every subject,” she says. “But the world is ever-changing, and if people open their minds to other possibilities they can be more tolerant of the ways others live their lives.”

Although the jury is still out on that, Siddhartha can’t deny that the sex toy industry has changed tremendously during her time at Doc Johnson.

“The internet has become the biggest influence in the industry, as I am sure it is for most enterprises and life in general,” she says. “Now we can go to forums and see what customers are looking for, reactions to products, what others are doing in the same space. We do surveys, and also have many celebrities endorsing products. It has made the industry a bit more mainstream.”

The industry’s audience has also become more inclusive.

“Now it is not a male-dominated space, but also couples and women,” Siddhartha says, adding that it’s no longer seen as the “sleazy, dark store in a bad part of town, but the fancy boutique where ladies and couples buy their products to experiment with new sensual adventures.”

Not only that, but, as Siddhartha has proven for more than 20 years, there is actual artistry put into the creation of your favorite bedroom toys, with the intention of spiritually putting you back in touch with your sensuality—whether that’s done with yourself or with someone else.