Masculine Sexuality, Numinous Sexuality
In order to best stay true to what I got from this metaphor I will be following the sections of the chapter and use those headings. One distinction is very important for this metaphor – the distinction between spirituality and religion in regards to sexuality. Long before the religions of today, people treated sex as a spiritual experience. Many current religions treat sex as a sin.
“Our Western institutional religious tradition has essentially repressed and distorted the sexual instinct and thereby created a variety of personal and social pathologies. In doing so it has also effectively removed sexuality from its religious foundations.”
Also keep in mind that
“…for most people the experience of sex is more powerful than their experience of religion.”
This must be because during sex we are making a strong connection to the sacred and during religious ceremonies we may be holding some of the spiritual energies back.
Ancient Sacred Metaphors of Sexuality
There are ancient temples that still exist that obviously worship the male phallus. Because they still exist people get a sense of the awe. In this space of awe one has the ability to experience joy and pleasure through intercourse and other forms of sex. What must it be like to worship masculine sexual energy without shame?
Sexuality and Shame:A Western Inheritance
I’ve written before how much of being a man can be summed up in one word, shame. When it comes to sex it is felt by the truckload. I’ve grown up in the Western world where sex is considered dirty ( and that being dirty is a bad thing ). While it is generally considered okay for men to want sex, only the hunt is really accepted. The act itself, the connection to ones partner and to the universe are not given their due. As such men’s stories about sex are about quantity and/or domination rather than quality and connectedness. If a man does talk about the spirituality of sex people often don’t listen or if they do they believe the man to be boasting about prowess.
Yes, having fun with sex, enjoying it is even worse in Western culture. Which brings up another issue, roleplaying. In western culture there is some of this that occurs, but even it gets perverted to the point that the roleplaying is not used for connectedness but to create more separation. A separation between the people involved and a separation from the full experience of it. Roleplaying isn’t just about wearing costumes, though that can be part of it. Its about having fun with your partner and looking for new experiences together. Its important to switch roles occasionally. Switch who’s on top and who’s on bottom ( both physically and metaphorically ) to make sure both people get the full experience. Passion equals play, so to keep the spark going have some fun together.
Tags: Gender Studies, Masculinity, Men's Studies, Sexuality
[...] path of the sacred masculine comes from asking questions about being a father. In my first post on numinous masculine sexuality I discussed how sexuality and questioning how to raise 2 boys to not be ashamed of sex like I was [...]