From Secret to Sacred:  Aligning with the Naturalness of our Sexuality
by Kristin Viken

What is your first memory of sex?  How did you come to know yourself as a sexual being?  What do you associate with the feelings of pleasure, passion, and desire that course through our human bodies?

Far too many of us find the answers to these questions cloaked in secrecy, shame and awkwardness.  Too often, our families, culture, and religions cast sex as something dangerous and disgraceful, providing warnings and threats instead of information about this important aspect of our beings.

Take a moment now to consider your own sexual education.  Did you learn…
…about the health benefits of orgasm? 
…about sexuality as a way to connect more deeply to yourself, others, and Spirit?
…about the power of sexuality to fuel your dreams and actualize your intentions? 
…about the grand diversity in the human body, or the many different kinds of orgasm?
…about the different levels of orgasmic expression?
…about how our sexual needs and desires are constantly evolving?

These topics and more are part of the naturalness of our sexual nature, and yet far too few of us have access to this knowledge or the opportunity to talk about and explore these truths with others.  To truly align with the naturalness of sexuality, we need to give ourselves the gift of this knowledge and honor the sacred role sexuality has in our lives.

There are a variety of books, practitioners, and spiritual traditions (most notably Tantra) devoted to providing a more comprehensive spiritual sexual education. I have gained the most through my 16 years of study within the Twisted Hair Sweet Medicine SunDance path, an ancient matriarchal lineage tradition that weaves together native teachings from North, Central, and South America.  Here's just a little bit of what I've learned from this path regarding each of the topics listed above.

The Health Benefits of Orgasm:  The Sweet Medicine SunDance path understands the primary purpose of orgasm to be our health.  This perspective is increasingly being documented by scientific study.  It's easy to see how sexual activity increases blood circulation and aids the body's detoxification processes.  And scientists are identifying an increasing number of positive long-term implications as well.  People who experience more frequent orgasms live longer, take fewer sick leaves, experience fewer headaches, have stronger immune systems, and look younger.

Connecting to Self, Others, and Spirit through our Sexuality:  Because our genitals are in our root chakra, many spiritual traditions recognize that sexual energy opens up the channels for lifeforce energy to flow. In the Sweet Medicine SunDance tradition, sex is also known as a teacher that shows us how pleasure is a natural energy within our spiritual nature. Additionally, this path teaches that orgasm balances and cleanses our emotions, rejuvenates and regenerates our physical body, opens up the flexibility and clarity of our mind, and hones the determination of our spirit.

The Power of Sexuality to Fuel our Dreams:  We all know about the capacity of sex to create a baby, but have you considered how you can devote this energy to other kinds of birthing in your life?  The more we feed our sexual passion and desire, the more energy we have available to pursue all the goals we have.  More specifically, it's also possible to commit the energy of our orgasms to the full actualization of our dreams and intentions.

The Diversity of Human Bodies and Types of Orgasms:  Our genitals come in various shapes and sizes.  Do you know the special features of your body and how to give and receive pleasure effectively through the unique features of your genital type?  Have you ever talked with a friend about how some orgasms are like earthquakes and others like wildfire?  Do you notice how some make you howl, and others bring forth a whoosh of tears?  In addition to a lack of familiarity with these variations in anatomy and orgasmic response, too few people realize that ejaculation and orgasm are not the same, or that it's possible for a man to have an orgasm without ejaculating, or that women ejaculate, too.  All this and more are part of the varied and wondrous expression of human sexuality.

The different Levels of Orgasmic Expression:  Some orgasms are little more than a dump of the energy that has accumulated within our first chakra.  Others raise our vibrational frequency, shifting our metabolism and other physiological processes.  At higher levels, orgasm can transform blocks in our body and discharge negative energies.  At the highest levels, orgasm can change our perception of reality and allow us to access higher states of consciousness.  Each of these levels serves a purpose, and we can learn to cultivate our capacity to attain higher levels of orgasm at will.

The Evolution of our Sexual Tastes and Desires:  There are an infinite number of ways to arouse our bodies and engage with sexual energy--doing the same thing over and over gets old quick!  Because of this, it's important to view sexuality as an exploration rather than an act.  We must create an environment of continuous openness, on-going spontaneity, and willing intimacy.  We must experiment, be flexible, and be truthful with ourselves and with others.

How much of this did you learn in your sexual education?  How much of it have you discovered for yourself?  And how much of this is new, and yet strikes a chord of resonance deep within you?

Aligning with the naturalness of our sexuality is an investment in our health, our spirit, our evolution, and our freedom.  For most of us, the first step of this process is to gain greater access to the vast array of ancient knowledge about our bodies and sexual energy.  An important subsequent step involves a healing process of clearing and cleansing ourselves of old memories, blocks and habits so that we can fully apply this knowledge in our lives.

There are many ways to pursue these teachings and transformations.  Look for a source that provides you with knowledge on the many topics listed here and tools for applying these teachings in your life.  The Grandmother Elders of the Twisted Hairs send out this call: "I imagine that sex is natural, sacred, and beautiful."  What does this imagining open up in you?

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