On Sexuality

Lots to reflect on, in this piece  sent in by Radha.

Sexuality is such a taboo subject. Yet we are in it, with it all the
time. It is all pervasive. In our movies, in our advertisements, in
our interactions and actions, in our thoughts and feelings … it is
like an unseen force that swirls around us and inside us all the time.
Yet we pretend it is not there, or at least pretend and play with it
like a little kitten when we actually know it is a tiger waiting to be
discovered. Perhaps we know somewhere that it is the nature of this
tiger we find difficult to engage with.

Sexuality is one of the primordial urges – survival and procreation. A
primordial force generated from the union of the male and female
principles, and thus the best and worst of both. Being the union of
these two principles it is a sum total of all the energies that exist,
a sum much larger than the totality of all.

It also is a container of the collective conscious and unconscious – a
container for all that can lead us to the highest or the lowest within
us. It is a force within us that can take us to transcendence and reveal
the joy of Unity with the Divine and at the same time it is a force
that can take us to the depths of our beings into the dark underbelly
of depravation. We probably ‘remember’ from the collective
un/conscious of what this power has unleashed or the ways in which
this energy has been used and misused. The pain and fear that it has
generated over the millennia within humanity. And the bliss and joy it
has gifted to us too. So we all feel a frisson down
our spine when we engage with these memories. Somewhere we really, really
understand the capacity of this force, and that is why our wariness to
engage with this.

It is taboo, perhaps, because it has been recognized by humanity as
that which cannot be treated lightly or with levity. Perhaps there is
an unspoken recognition that this kitten can turn into a raging,
mauling tiger in an instant. It is like we warn children – ‘don’t play
with fire’. That warning does not mean stay away from fire, but a
reminder to treat it with respect and honor that it deserves. It is
the same with sexuality – society has tabooed it as a warning to us
collectively to be careful with it, to be protective of it and to be
protected from it at the same time. It is a warning from experience of
how this force can become twisted and monstrous if not engaged with in
honour. Neither its divinity nor its depravity can be treated with
levity. It can be treated so, only after we ourselves have gone
through the rigours of understanding its nature within us.

Maybe this distinction of itself, within itself doesn’t exist. But its
manifestation in our evolution has seen two separate, distinct routes
that it can take, its light and its dark sides… perhaps that is the
mistake we make … for we need to engage with it in its totality rather
than its varied manifestations.

It is important to engage with this force. One cannot turn away from
it. One cannot say one will never engage with it. That would be as
foolish as mis-treating it. It needs to be engaged with in complete
awareness, and with complete respect and reverence for it. And once we
mutually understand one another – the force and us, and we have
acknowledged it for what it is, it will allow us to ‘play’ joyfully,
and treat us to its sparkle and awesome splendour.