Sexuality and Religion

Seen it, love it. Gene Wilder is one of my fav's, just really 'get' his sense of humor.
 
Muslimwoman said:
Life of Brian, I just watched it again a few day ago - so, so funny.
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After 15 years or so it gets old.....



greymare said:
also mw check out Young Frankenstein - gene wilder. The funniiest movie ever.

love grey
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I'll vouch for that.. *bows humbly as the words "Gene Wilder" are spoken... A god amongst men....*
 
Actually, Life of Brian is better than 25 years old. I saw it in the theater when it first came out. There were these old Catholic women kneeling on the sidewalk outside the theater saying Hail Mary's and begging people for the sake of their eternal soul not to see it.

Chris
 
Yes Chris, some people have a problem with looking at the funny side of faith but let's be honest there is little in life so worthy of a comedy sketch or two and surely G-d must have a sense of humor, as we are made in his image.
 
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Hehe. Sense of humor indeed. :D ;)
 
Re: Sexual Asceticism

Peace Friends,
In ancient times phallicism (also temple prostitution) was pretty much a universal religion- there are many examples which could be made. This was not just symbolic, as modern people think, but a direct connection to God was found through sex.

Solovyev says that when animals copulate they become one with their Group Spirit. With humans this experience was of Father God, and according to Barfield this is why we call it the "Father". (Leadbeater hinted at this- symbol of the Father being a circle with a dot in the middle- "uretha!" he says.)

[You might think on how the inner spheres of the Earth are connected with this- 9th sphere.]

This is also connected with the Kundalini (interesting that Kundalini Masters -such as the late Muktananda "Mukta", same as "Moksha" - in India were/are celibate.)

The Medusa is a symbol of the Kundalini entering the cranium and then appearing as snakes, also that this was becoming an unhealthy process- turning us to stone.

Anyway, you can read in Bock how the initiate Moses had to (for the future of the human race) overcome all this. It was not easy, there was a lot of backsliding as the OT recounts.

Dr. Steiner explains that our generative organs were destined to be a reflection of our higher nature. It is a microcosmic/macrocosmic thing. He bewailed the fact that folk were too facetious to talk about these things. Another reason is that they are too easily inflamed when discussing this topic.

I don't think Dr. Steiner advocated his students follow his lead in things. I don't think he ever announced he was celibate either. In fact he went out of his way to dissuade folk from slavishly following him. At one famous dinner, everyone was waiting to see what he would order. Instead of the vegetarian fare, he order wiener schnitzel!

Though he said the vegetarian diet was helpful for some, for others it would be a drag. Same thing with celibacy- for some it would be helpful for others, damaging. Now I want to quote one of his letters on this:

"The occult teacher is naturally obliged to admit that the course followed by someone who is ascetic in sexual life is different from the course of one who does not avoid being of service to humanity in this way. This is soon changed into the statement: Asceticism is a requisite of occult development. The truth is something completely different. Asceticism with regard to sexual matters makes it easier for the occult pupil, makes the task more comfortable, as it were. Whoever, therefore, wishes primarily to gain insight through the pure egoism of acquiring knowledge can be assured that a certain ambition will be achieved in this direction by practicing a kind of asceticism. There can, however, BE NO OBLIGATION REGARDING ASCETICISM, but only a right to it, which must be FIRST EARNED. One must acquire the possibility of rendering a valid recompense to humanity for the avoidance of a duty, which would otherwise provide souls with an opportunity to incarnate. You see, therefore, that asceticism cannot be a rule in this respect, but may be permitted to some occultists only under certain circumstances."​
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-Letter to Frau Langren 1907, History and Contents of the Esoteric Section
So you see egotism can appear in many forms, and the ambition of spiritual development can be one of these. This then becomes a stumbling block on the path of occult development, and prevents a person from getting very far.

The service to humanity, performed by parents in bearing and raising children, must be matched by the student in some other "valid" service (obviously freely given), before he or she has even the right to be celibate. Otherwise this form of asceticism is just another masked form of egotism.

There is another letter which explains how our higher nature is connected with our "lower nature", but I can't find that right now.

Everyone can make their own free decision.

We can also understand our basic needs:
"Need= Hunger needing sup-placation, coldness needing warmth, muscular system needing exercise and commanding movement, genitalia needing accompaniment and stimulation - actually pairing according to the vital and specific inclinations."
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-The Brothers

By working with the upper chakras we retain our freedom in waking day consciousness. The forces of the lower chakras work in the subconscious, by emphasising these before we have mastered the upper three, we become a slave to all sorts of lower impulses.
"For every one step spiritually you must take three morally."

The "working with the chakras" does not imply that one just concentrates on points, but that one actually acquires the relevant virtues. Again, the direct concentration on the lower chakras is to be avoided. Of course, the Brothers of the Left would advise you to place your concentration on the lower lotus flowers.

These types are easily spotted by their pompous egotism and cold reptilian natures.


-Br.Bruce
 
Interesting post, Brother Bruce, and one that needs a couple of readings to fully digest its heady material. ;)

BruceMichael said:
In ancient times phallicism (also temple prostitution) was pretty much a universal religion- there are many examples which could be made. This was not just symbolic, as modern people think, but a direct connection to God was found through sex.
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Author and sex-positive activist Carol Queen writes about a modern resurgence of sacred sexuality in her essay "On Stage with Annie," for those of us interested in such things. :) ;)

Peace,
Pathless
 
Pathless said:
Interesting post, Brother Bruce, and one that needs a couple of readings to fully digest its heady material. ;)



Author and sex-positive activist Carol Queen writes about a modern resurgence of sacred sexuality in her essay "On Stage with Annie," for those of us interested in such things. :) ;)

Peace,
Pathless
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Greetings Pathless,
There are a few little hints in there that could be taken further.
Hargrave Jennings wrote some books on the subject from an historical perspective.

For information on how and why this is now decadent I always suggest "Moses" by Emil Bock. In ancient times the link between sex and religion was par for the course, but there came a time when its use in this way could only lead to error and illness -mental and bodily.

Rudolf Steiner always suggested working with the upper chakras only- the root of the nose, throat and heart. This is referred to as seizing the the snake by the head rather than the tail and leads to a free development.

It is not asceticism however, it is just that one doesn't access the spiritual by the use of bodily forces such as sex, breathing and narcotics. It is true that in the early days Dr.Steiner did recommend breathing exercises to some of his pupils, but he preferred that breathing altered itself naturally.
"Just as we cannot feed our physical existence purely by targeting spiritual causality, we can neither invoke the spiritual forces to coincide with us purely by physical means."
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All of the above however, does not discount the sacredness of sex.

Here Peter Koenig's explanation from his site:
Rudolf Steiner: Never a member of any Ordo Templi Orientis

"He repeatedly states [RS] that esoteric training should be based on thinking, and not bodily forces (as in the O.T.O.). In this, Steiner is most obviously referring to hypnotism, mediumship, and Yogic breathing, but also, presumably, to sexual energies.

The crucial point is whether consciousness is controlled by bodily forces or whether the body is controlled by the spirit-consciousness of the individual Ego. "Eurythmy" and "Speech-Formation" are later artistic applications of the initiation-knowledge gained by Steiner, as ways of bringing the spirit into the physical, not the physical into the spiritual.

Steiner considers the Misraim rituals building the bridge between the Invisible and the Visible: "downwards" and not "upwards" as with the libertine gnostics. Steiner's Chakra exercises operate from above downward. It is the heart which is vedantically considered as the main chakra and not, yogically, the solar plexus. "
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Development and empowerment are one thing, but health should not be overlooked.

Blavatsky also denounced these practices. It was rumoured that the learned Hindu FTS, Subba Row died as a result of tantric practices.

-Br. Bruce

 
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