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| 7. Sacred Spirit, Sacred World Posted: June 29, 2004 |
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[This lesson builds on teachings in Origin of Sacred Sex and Meet Your Sacred Sex Family, which explain male/female essence at the source of life, and presence in human life.]
Sacred sex embodies the universal truth 'as above, so below'.
As it is in the material world, so is it in the spiritual realm. As it is on the surface of life, so is it at the source of life. As it is in the microcosm, so is it in the macrocosm.
The idea of commonality in nature is nothing new. It is true due to a very simple fact: the laws of nature that structure creation are universal. They apply everywhere. Even at their source, which science knows little about, they must be related to the expressed laws of nature we see around us.
The following images show the striking similarity between life on the macroscopic (large) and microscopic (small) scales:
|  |  | | | atom | solar system |
|  |  | | | brain neuron | crab nebula |
Greek philosophers as early as the 6th century BCE appreciated the commonality of nature. Pythagoras, widely known for his contributions to math, conceived what has become known as the 'Golden Ratio' or 'Golden Mean'. Simply stated, it says that two things are in natural proportion if the smaller is to the larger as the larger is to both. Mathematically, it's expressed as:
The Golden Ratio expresses the harmony between large scale and small. It and other relations between macrocosm and microcosm were common in Greek thought from Socrates to Plato, and held sway up through the Renaissance. Today, as scientific instruments probe deeper into space (macrocosm) and quantum matter (microcosm), evidence of its truth grows. The Golden Ratio is recognized in many modern fields, from art to science, including biology, mineralogy (crystalline forms), mathematics, art, music, aesthetics (proportion), and architecture.
One sacred sex scripture expresses the idea simply and elegantly:
| Quote: |
What is here is elsewhere; what is not here is nowhere.
[yadihasti tadanyatra yannehasti natatkvachit]-- Vishvasara Tantra |
|  | | | Yin & Yang |
As relates to sacred sex, perhaps the clearest expression of the commonality of creation comes from Oriental Taoism. Taoists hold that everything in creation is comprised of yin & yang -- female & male essence. The two pervade nature, and their balance and harmony uphold that of nature. The yin and yang we see on the surface of life express the yin & yang principles that underlie life.
Indian philosophy has a similar belief, that all creation is comprised of male 'Purusha' (consciousness) and female 'Prakriti' (energy & matter). The sacred sex tradition of Tantra from India calls these 'Shiva' and 'Shakti', respectively.
Included in Greek thought, Taoism, and sacred sex teaching is the idea that not only is there commonality in nature, but also that creation reflects its uncreated source. All that we see in creation is a reflection of our Creator.
Western scripture conveys a similar idea:
| Quote: |
| For the invisible things of [God] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; that [man] may have no excuse. -- Romans 1.20 |
Sacred sex teaches that the male/female pairing we see in creation - whether it be physical gender or gender traits - reflects the essential gendered nature of our Creator. Indeed, sacred sex holds that creation is born of the 'sexual' union of male & female life principles (see the Origin of Sacred Sex for a full explanation of this). Being born of that, all creation and everything in it express those life principles. The material world embodies the life principles that create it.
Our male-female world reflects, and is a mirror for, our God-dess Creator.
One especially vital part of our relation to our Creator is that human desire is a reflection of Cosmic Desire. God & Goddess desire and act through us to carry out the evolutionary plan. We are instruments of Cosmic Will on earth. We are agents of Nature.
Having free will, it is our spiritual journey to rise in awareness of what Nature's Desire is, as it applies to us. We must find our place - our role - in the Cosmic Plan. When we do that, we are perfect instruments of Nature, and we reflect Cosmic Will & Desire in our hearts. Not only does Nature support our actions, but also we awaken to our Cosmic Nature within. We directly experience ourselves as living embodiments of God & Goddess. We live, breathe, and act as mirrors of the Sacred Union of God & Goddess on earth. We call this Sexual Enlightenment.
The following lessons offer wisdom and practical guidance for rising to this state:
Much of the mystery and purpose of this reflection we call life is solved by understanding the Circle of Life. The Circle of Life teaches that God/Goddess create the world so that they may realize themselves in it. God & Goddess take physical form so that they may awaken to themselves in physical form. In terms of manifest creation and our Unmanifest Source, the Circle of Life goes like this:
The Unmanifest Infinite manifests in order to realize the Unmanifest in a manifest body.
That may sound like a brain teaser, but read it slowly and think about it. It creates an evolutionary circle: Life starts unmanifest; God & Goddess exist in their uncreated state. They manifest, creating the physical world. That world grows into more and more evolved life forms. Ultimately, humans evolve, with the capacity to realize God & Goddess in themselves. We reawaken to our Unmanifest Source within. We come home full circle, completing our evolution.
 THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
Spirit evolves into Matter | START:
Unmanifest Spirit
__________________
END:
Spirit Realized
in the flesh |  | Material Life:
reflection of spirit | | Flesh awakens to Spirit |
The Jewish Kabbalah tradition (which includes many sacred sex ideas) states it this way:
| Quote: |
| God wished to behold God, so God created the mirror we call the universe. |
We are the mirror through which God looks back and beholds Himself. Patriarchal spiritual traditions call this 'God Realization'. Sacred sex acknowledges the Goddess too, and so calls it Sexual Enlightenment.
Before realization, matter & flesh hide spirit -- like muddy water not revealing its bed. When we are a clear instrument, we reveal our depths and reflect our spirit.
For more on our spiritual journey, see Sacred Sex Journey of the Soul - Completing the Circle of Life.
The evolutionary circle of life, as reflected in the physical world, plays out on the big screen every night in the lunar cycle. New moon evolves into full moon, then back again, over and over. New moon is unseen, unmanifest life. Full moon is the visible physical world. Most of us are here -- halfway through the evolutionary circle of life. Now it is left for the full moon to return to its original state. Manifest reawakens to the unmanifest. Flesh reawakens to spirit within, from whence it came. That completes our 'lunar' evolution.
Then material life truly reflects its spiritual source.
The greatest and purest reflection of spirit in the world is human life. Man and woman are made in the Image of God & Goddess because we are capable of reflecting spirit in material live. We are able to live spirit in the material world, and therefore reflect it in everything we do.
Gender itself aside, the male and female form reflect the gender traits of their respective essence. The man is hard, strong, and stable, like a rock. His essence is like that of God, the eternally stable Rock of Existence. Woman is soft, flowing, and changing, like the ever-changing Goddess (Nature).
That the human form embodies and reflects spirit is expressed in the following verse from a sacred sex scripture:
| Quote: |
| He who realizes the truth of the body comes to know the truth of the universe. -- Ratnasara |
Some believe that western tradition teaches that only man is made in the Divine Image, and that woman is a 'mere' helpmate. But a close look at the Bible shows that, even while not acknowledging the Goddess, both man and woman are in the Divine Image:
| Quote: |
And God created the man in His own
image; in the image of God He created him.
He created them male and female.-- Genesis 1.27 |
The very fact that both man and woman are made in the Divine Image suggests that that Image includes a Feminine aspect. Indeed, the Divine Feminine is present in the Bible, though spoken of in male terms. For more on this, see the Divine Feminine.
It is not just that every man reflects God-essence and every woman reflects Goddess-essence. Every man and woman reflects the essence of both God and Goddess. Everyone has both male and female spirit within. This is because male & female essence is ultimately inseparable. God & Goddess are not two distinct Deities -- they are two aspects of One Supreme Deity. Male is Silent Being, Female is Dynamic Energy. Just as you have silent being and an active nature in you, so are these both contained in a single Deity.
To learn more about how all this is in you, read:Realizing the fullness of your Male-Female spirit awakens you to your innate gender wholeness. For more on this, read:
Sacred Union is a mirror of Spiritual Union, and a gateway to direct experience of it.
Sex is the single most reflective act of spiritual essence. Spiritual essence is God & Goddess. As mentioned above, these are not two Deities, but rather two aspects of One Deity. They are in Eternal Sacred Union. That fact of existence is most clearly embodied in the physical sex act.
Because sex is such a perfect mirror of spirit, it has a unique capacity to awaken human awareness to spirit. Sex has the innate potential and power to be sacred. Sacred sex teachings are all about realizing that potential.
This is why we say that sexual union is both a mirror of, and gateway to, Spiritual Union.
Even the sexual organs themselves reflect the infusion of spirit into the manifest world. In sex, the lingam (male organ) fills the void of the woman's yoni, symbolically representing the infusion of Male Spirit into the 'void' of Feminine Nature. Sacred sex makes this symbolism real by awakening you to that inner experience.
That's not all. Every man and every woman has both male and female sexual organs within them. This is true in a literal sense and in a subtler sexual sense. Literally, males and females both grow in the womb from an identical form, with all the bodily tissue for both sexual organs. For a complete explanation of this, read Male/Female Androgyny - the secret shared sexual anatomy of men & women.
These sex organs grow into two separate erogenous zones in every human adult. One is common and visible -- the male penis and female clitoris; the other is hidden and often missed -- the male prostate and female G-Spot. One is highly excitable and leads to quick, frantic, climax; the other builds like a wave, and leads to deep, long-lasting climax. These two reflect material and spiritual life, respectively. Material life is active, excitable joy. Spiritual life is deep, long-lasting ecstasy.
Sacred sex uses both of these to awaken you to spiritual life in the flesh. It uses the sexual organs that naturally reflect spirit and flesh to create a life that reflects spirit in the flesh.
The parallels here are extraordinary. In life, our familiar sensory world - the outer zone - hides the inner spiritual realm. Spirit is concealed by matter. In the body, your outer erogenous zone is visible and familiar. Your inner zone is concealed by your own flesh. Like spirit, it is veiled; you must seek it out to awaken it. For a full explanation of this, see Sacred Sex Stimulation - your inner & outer erogenous zones.
The very fact that you have both male & female sexual organs and erogenous zones within you is further evidence that the human body reflects complete God-Goddess essence.
One fascinating aspect of life as reflection of spirit is that in many ways it is a literal mirror reflection -- life in the flesh is opposite that of the spirit. This is not meant in the sense of higher vs. lower, though that also applies. It is meant in a gender sense -- male becomes female, and female becomes male.
This is due to the way in which creation manifests and evolves. In order to create, Unmanifest God & Goddess must reverse roles, if you will. If each remains as they are, nothing changes -- the status quo prevails and Spirit remains unmanifest. To manifest - to become their own creation - they must change. And the only way in which they can change is to become the other. Each must become what it is not. God must become like Goddess, and vice versa.
(Remember, of course, that God & Goddess are not separate beings. They are two aspects of One Being. Their changing roles really refer to Spirit's Self-Interaction within Itself.)
So it is that God - Pure Silent Being - becomes active in the world as man. Goddess - Infinite Creative Energy - becomes, when she is furthest from spirit, silent and passive woman. These worldly expressions each have their negative side when not balanced by spirit. Men become aggressive and prone to conflict. Women fail to contribute their gifts to society, serving only the whims of man.
Awakening to spirit, both genders become whole, regaining the lost essence of their nature. Men regain their inner silence and stability, and so don't need to prove themselves in the world of men. Women regain their inner creative dynamism, contributing their unique gifts to the world.
For more insight into gender roles and how they evolve to complete the Circle of Life, see Gender Roles - the Rock & the Temptress.
Mirror reflection also applies in a fascinating way to which we consider to be the 'base' gender. Though both God & Goddess, and man & woman are equal in status in every way, there is a certain primacy associated with one or the other in both Spirit and flesh. One is born of the other. It turns out that the base gender is different for each.
In Spirit, we might say that God is more fundamental than Goddess. God is Pure Silent Existence -- Being. Goddess is Infinite Creative Energy -- Becoming. Though in truth they eternally co-exist, logically we think that Spirit first must Be in order to Become.
In flesh, though we tend to consider man the dominant gender, it is different at the most basic level of life. First, every man and woman is born of a woman. She is the 'base' from which life emerges. This is only part of the answer though, and not wholly convincing, since the man too plays a role in the emergence of life.
The full answer lies in our genetic make-up, specifically our sex chromosomes. Females are defined by two x-chromosomes, 'XX'. Males are defined by both a female and male chromosome, 'XY'. Female is the base underlying both genders. What's more, science tells us that every embryo in the womb - regardless of genetic makeup - will grow into a female unless some hormonal change acts on it (typically spurred by the y-chromosome). This is proven by the phenomenon of Intersex gender, where genetic males or females develop an opposite or unclearly defined gender anatomy and identity due to influences in the womb (see Gender Identity for more on this). We would all be women but for hormonal changes in the womb. Clearly, at the fundamental level of biological life, female is the base gender.
Consider all that the next time you look in the mirror.
The idea of commonality between microcosm and macrocosm is not new. Nor is that of material life reflecting Spirit. But if this truth of life is not lived, it is mere philosophy. It is of little practical use, and offers little spiritual comfort. That is why sacred sex emphasizes direct experience of this unity and harmony of nature in order to live and enjoy life in the flesh as a reflection of Spirit.
In Sexual Enlightenment, you see everything in life as an expression of Male & Female Spirit - God & Goddess - in union.
Love and sex are all about relationship. Sexual Enlightenment expands your relationship to include not just your gender partner, but also God & Goddess, your gender archetypes. This is a complete relationship that embraces not only male & female gender in the flesh, but also in Spirit.
For more on direct experience of God & Goddess within you, see:
Direct experience of worldly life as a reflection of Spirit doesn't just bring about personal awakening. It alters your worldview. No more do you see life in conflict and turmoil. In their place, you see harmony, balance, and purpose. This impacts everything you do, from personal life to professional.
This, in turn, impacts society. The direct experience and changed worldview of many spurs global awakening. New ideas rise to guide life in every area of society. Government enacts national laws that reflect natural law. Economics adopts market systems in which money truly reflects the value of what we buy. Education teaches lessons reflecting the truth of life. Health reflects healthy life values. Our physical environment reflects our spiritual one.
All these taken together create a glorious society in which life on earth truly is a reflection of spiritual life. It fulfills the Biblical injunction, 'Thy Will be done on earth, as in heaven.'
For more on making the world a reflection of Spirit, see the Sacred Sex Society Forum.
Copyright 2009, Society for Sacred Sexuality - all rights reserved.
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Sexual union is a mirror of Spiritual Union, and a gateway to direct experience of it. |
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