Hello beautiful friends! Excited to be sharing the latest addition to my website - this fun and sexy new blog! Yay! There are so many thoughts and musings that I look forward to sharing with you. I have tons of sensuous and inspiring ideas swirling around in my mind. I hope this is the start of something lovely and brings even greater connection between us.
Many of you know of my beloved book collection - well, a few days ago, after having a conversation with a favorite gentleman about Way of the Superior Man by David Deida (highly recommended!) that he discovered on my reading recommendation list (see my Beyond page), I got to wondering about other books in the same vein, then started perusing my book shelf. You know how some books are just sitting there waiting for the right moment to make themselves known to you? Well this was one of those moments. I bought Sacred Pleasures: Sex,Myth, and the Politics of the Body ~ New Paths to Power and Love by Riane Eisler some years back but never finished reading it. I pulled it off the shelf and a cursory skim told me it was precisely what I needed to be reading right now. The back of the book highlights: Reclaiming sex, love, pleasure, and the sacred. YES!
I've only gotten through the Introduction and Chapter One at this point, but am already so motivated and inspired. The discussion thus far has been diving into the history of sex and how it has become vilified and how the human body, especially a woman's, has become corrupt - a thing to dominate and control rather than celebrate and enjoy. Saint Augustine declared that The Fall From Paradise, caused by a woman of course, "made both sex and the human body both irreversibly corrupt" and that "all human beings born on this Earth through sexual intercourse [that is you - and me!] bear the curse of Eve and Adam's sin of disobedience." The Church accepted this crap and now you and I bear the brunt of this twisted idea of human sexuality and our very existence. Even though I do not consider myself a Christian (though I am very in alignment with Christ's original teachings before The Church got a hold of them and manipulated them over the centuries), I still grew up in a Christian society and attended church often enough as a child - it is nearly impossible not to have taken in and embodied this sick view and the inherent shame that comes along with it.
Once I understood that I was brain-washed and manipulated into this mindset, I started the long, arduous task of trying to claw my way out of it - the journey towards liberation and sexual freedom. And not just sexual freedom, freedom to simply enjoy this human body I am inhabiting. The damage has been extensive, subtle, oppressive, painful, not-at-all-subtle, isolating, horribly shameful, and confusing. There is a deep shame around sexuality that comes with growing up in our society - I hear it and see it with the people I share time with. It makes me sad how we hide ourselves from each other and feel this fear of being seen - for expressing our sensuality, our desire, our lust, and our love. I have continuously placed myself in situations that might allow me to explore and embody my sensuality and sexuality as it is such an integral part of my existence, but still shame and fear keep me from fully expressing that side of myself. I share this here because one might think, based on how I've chosen to spend my time with you all, that I am totally comfortable with my sexuality and have fully embraced this area of my self-expression. The truth however is that though I've stepped much more fully into this aspect of myself, I still have a ways to go before I will feel that I am showing up in my fullest authenticity and expressing myself with total freedom and confidence. It ebbs and flows you know. I suppose that is the journey though and I am grateful for it - and grateful to be able to grow and share with you. And it is all so worth it. Those precious moments of deep connection - when I am able to get out of my own way and just feel you. I think sharing this is part of the healing process - healing from this demented idea that our bodies are shameful, that our sexuality is evil, and that domination and pain is preferable to love and pleasure.
"The view that sex has a spiritual dimension is so alien to everything we have been taught that it takes most people completely aback." ~ Riane Eisler
I have always felt that sex was so much more than simply a physical experience. The deep connection that I would feel sometimes while experiencing acts of intimacy would open me up to something much greater than myself - something that felt very cosmic and mystical - timeless. Like communing with God. I wondered if my partner felt this too but was too scared to ask - I didn't want to sound too out there. It was this experience with my sensuality that started me on my spiritual path however and still inspires me today. Hence my having this Sacred Pleasures book on my shelf. And I am so happy to be reunited with it right now.
So - I highly recommend this book for a very in-depth exploration on this topic. I am so inspired and empowered. And I am only through Chapter One! I invite you to journey with me - let's embrace each other and our sexuality - let's celebrate these human bodies - let's explore a new way of being!
Thank you so much for reading! So grateful for you. Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. I would LOVE to hear what this has stirred up for you.
Love and light to you ~ Star
Thank you both for your comments! Vulnerability - that's what it is all about - what creates true intimacy. Being seen. A life project to be sure. Grateful to be journeying with you!
Xoxo!
Such an amazing woman full of amazing thoughts and ideas. I have found myself on a similar journey. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Sorry, I mis-spoke. Exploring is great, and I'm all for it. What I actually meant though, when I said "exploring ", was jumping into the middle of the bonfire and tearing off all the band-aids, because there is nothing of value to lose. And that is the best way to find anything worth keeping.
That's what I meant.
Thanks!
Thanks for your vulnerable honesty here. The same is true for me as well. The physical, while delightful, is a gateway to the spirit world, more than an end unto itself.
Shame has no rightful place in our psyche, though our culture would not agree.
That is the work, as you well know , to live truly in alignment with one's own values, and to allow the echoes adopted from unreliable sources to fall away. Looking forward to exploring more through this latest book recommendation.
Thanks Star, you are a gift.