Sex and Spirit

Most of us learned that sex and spirit were supposed to be two different things. Spirit (which for many of us meant religion) was good, while sex was presented as something vile and sometimes evil. Spirituality was presented in the context of ‘proper behavior’ which usually meant not paying attention to your body at all. In fact, it often meant denying our sexual feelings.

I was raised Catholic and vividly remember a time when I realized that the Church has no place for me. I wasn’t ever a fervent practitioner of the religion, but coming to terms with my identity as a gay man in my early 20’s was the final piece of me severing my connection to the Church. For many years I had no spiritual identity or practice at all.

Unfortunately most religious traditions have a similar perspective on sex. At best, a religious belief is neutral on sex. I needed a spiritual practice that united body and spirit. I was looking for a practice that honored our energies, including our sexual energy.

As time marched on I started to ask myself questions that were indications of my limited spiritual development. Those big questions like “Why am I here”? What should I be doing with my life”? How do I connect to the larger universe”? I started looking at spiritual practices, but I still was looking at it through the lens of religion. I looked at various Eastern beliefs and I learned to appreciate all those beliefs have to offer, yet something just didn’t resonate with me. While these other beliefs have much to teach, they weren’t my background. For example, I see an image of Buddha and understand the significance and symbolism, but I wasn’t raised with this structure. I was raised Catholic. These were the stories that I was familiar with. I needed a way to integrate what I was familiar with into my life.

About this same time I discovered the power of erotic trance. This trance-like state is a way to truly experience being rather than thinking. My mind shuts off and my body just experiences pleasure and bliss through erotic energy. That’s when it hit me. Catholic teaching is that Jesus is God and became human. He, therefore, had all the experiences of being a man – including sexual experiences. So, yes, I found God while deep in an erotic trance! This experience brought me closer to my belief in God and connected spirit and body.

Of course, this is only my experience. There’s no right way; there are many ways to link spirit and body. I do believe that linking spirit and body is a key to deeper sexual fulfillment. Our sexual energies exist at multiple levels. There’s the physical level of the body sensations. There the connection level of the person we’re with (or connection with ourselves). There’s a deeper spiritual level that can be felt as a connection to our god, our higher power or any representation of something bigger than us. Sex and spirit offers us a way to integrate our expression of our god, our love, our connections and our humanity. It can be a path to how we express our true selves.

Explore Sex and Spirit!

This Monday June 1 is the next Mindful Self-Loving workshop at Heartwalker Studio in Oakland from 7:00 - 10:00 pm. Join us for conscious, open-hearted erotic education and practice, specifically focused on developing self-pleasuring skills for personal growth, self-awareness and spiritual evolution. The first half of the evening I'll lead the group through exercises to focus on linking spirit and body. The second half of the evening will be a self-pleasuring ritual. This is a hands on, clothing off event and we work to create a safe space where everyone is welcome and comfortable. There's more information here.

If you're looking for more information on erotic trance, be sure to check out Sacred Touch School!

Enjoy!

Ed

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