Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Invitation to Sex Positive Spiritual Community

"Community, especially a community of like-minded souls, is a blessing like none other." Caroline Myss

I am finally following the call of my heart to create what I long for.

I have talked to several in the community in the last year or so about spiritual community and I have heard that there are many interested in connecting with others around spirituality and conscious evolution.


"One of the riches of the awakening path is that it becomes entirely possible to look beyond the accumulated baggage of the religions and philosophies, beyond notions of atheism, non-theism, pantheism...to feel and experience the presence of the sacred without getting tangled up in doctrine and belief."
Josey Moray

Most of us have only experienced spiritual community within churches, particular religions or traditions that we found confining or lacking in significant ways, especially regarding sexuality and kink. Most of us are also probably jaded about any leadership organization constructed around spirit. All of these are true for me.

However, I miss spiritual community. I miss the rituals of creating sacred space and time in which to share our in-love-ness with the Divine/Universe. I miss having conversations with other people about the spiritual journey -- what is god, the nature of reality, the reason for being, all the big questions, as well as the small ones. How do we make it through each day of work and family and friends and lovers and a world full of suffering with a deep sense of joy, love and connectedness?

What I am proposing is a circle - a gathering of people committed to working together and providing support for one another on the conscious or spiritual journey. Some of you may not resonate as deeply with concepts such as God and spirituality as others of us do, yet you still perceive the Sacred in life or strive to live consciously. I believe we can find enough common ground as well as learn from each other's diverse perspectives, just like we do with sexuality through the Imps community.

The truth is that I don't know exactly what this will look like. We have the wonderful and intimidating opportunity to do something new. We can use our amazing power to create spaces where energetic magic happens in a whole new way. We can create a community where we are not bound by dogma and conformity to an external standard, but are joined by our desire to evolve, to become more conscious, to experience more of the Sacred in our lives, to express our sexual nature, and to deepen relationship.

Relationship is part of my spiritual practice, not just romantic/sexual relationships, but friendships, family, etc. I experience my highest highs (Divine Union) and my lowest lows (the hell of perceived separation) in relationship. I need a spiritual community that recognizes that at every level, including the sexual. I am proposing the idea of sex positive spirituality - a space where sex and kink are part of the spiritual conversation and recognized as important tools on the path to awakening. I have a feeling that many of you would appreciate a space like this.

I have been considering what our gatherings might include and have had the following ideas, knowing that others may have inspirations of their own and the group should decide together what will flow best over the long term:

* Possible structure: an opening prayer/meditation/ritual to establish sacred space both externally and internally (so that we can hold sacred space for one another), a time for any personal sharings--joys or struggles or creative expressions that we may desire to be witnessed, a presentation and facilitated discussion and/or activity around a particular topic (readings distributed in advance), and a closing prayer or meditation to ground the energy.

* We could consider holding rituals around Sacred Holidays of our choosing. My intention is to start with a Winter Solstice gathering on Sunday, December 19th.

* Everyone is a teacher and student. We all have different tools that we use on our journey and different teachings that have transformed us. I envision each person who is willing leading a meeting, choosing the topic of exploration and arranging whatever materials are needed (with assistance if needed). It could also be possible for two or three people to present a topic together. I would like to lead the first couple meetings to give us some momentum and give time to build intimacy within which people are more willing to be bold in their sharing.

* At some point early on we should talk about our spiritual histories and what we are all looking for in spiritual community to discover where we resonate most strongly.

* Possible topics: spiritual and self-work practices (meditation, prayer, ritual, psychological approaches, archetypes, personal honor code, etc.); inspirational teachings from various traditions or modern teachers; intuitive or divination tools (Tarot, Runes, etc.); and creative practices (sharing mystical poetry, making sacred objects, etc.).

* We may find that there are some people interested in exploring Tantra and other sexual-spiritual practices in a group setting and facilitate other events beyond the biweekly meetings. This could be true for diving deeper into any particular topic.


* * *

I am going to open my home every other Sunday evening for the circle beginning December 19th at 6 p.m. If an earlier time ends up working better for the majority of interested people, I am open to adjusting for future meetings.

On the 19th I will be facilitating a Yule or Winter Solstice Ritual...a celebration of the promise of the Light's return in all it's power. I intend to incorporate a celebration of the light we shine for each other in relationship as individuals and community.

I am sending this out as an open invitation because I realized recently that I have no idea who might most be attracted to and benefit from sex positive spiritual community. I am trusting the Universe to bring the right group of people together for the most beautiful opportunities to evolve.

Please RSVP for the event by Facebook messaging me or emailing me at opheliared@yahoo.com, as well as to receive directions if you've never been to The Barn. I'd like to have an idea of how many people to expect.

* * *

Image Source: Mark Springle

2 comments:

Happy walker said...

blogwalking here and visiting.. have a view of my blog when free.. http://www.lonelyreload.blogspot.com .. do leave me some comment / guide if can.. if interested can follow my blog...

Anonymous said...

Another opportunity to have shivers down my spine in reading this (and thanks for the link/quote!) I love how you're not only daring to begin this, but that it starts with a Winter Solstice ritual. I wish you and all who join with you a powerful enriching sharing as you build community together.