The artist can remain an artist, the thinker a thinker. It does mean that one's outer life becomes an extension of one's inner ideals. Individuals who are not at one with their ideals. Such has been the case of many great and influential people throughout history, whose works expressed noble themes, but whose lives were sordid and unethical. There is likewise a flaw with truly righteous souls whose outer lives do not reflect their inner sensitivities.
True spirituality means complete integration.
Returning from exile means finding one's heart, and revealing it in the world. There is no talk of enlightenment, no nirvana. And yet, the Kabbalah teaches that the entire purpose of the Torah is to bring the individual to G-d realization. Nonetheless, the Chumash does not mention these states of mind explicitly. This is because the Torah is concerned with actions and transformation on the physical plane.