Sexuality and Spirituality


We tend to compartmentalize our lives, or perhaps more accurately our identities. Work you. Home you. Church you. School you. Compulsive you.  We do this internally as well.  We divide our  "self" into the physical domain, the intellectual, the emotional, the sexual, and the spiritual among others.  We view each domain as its own separate compartment and divide our time accordingly. "I really should work out today" (physical). "I'm going to set aside some time tonight to study" (intellectual). This practice helps us prioritize our time, make specific goals, and work towards "well-roundedness". 
Often people view spirituality in the same manner. As if there were a percentage of one's life, time, or self that constitutes his or her spirit.  I view it differently. Spirituality is bringing together all aspects of ourself into one. An at-one-ment. Not only is it an intensely meaningful feeling of atonement but it transcends our self. It's an inner connection as well as a connection with something bigger than ourselves, of which we are a part. It's an integration of self and the world around us. Spirituality is connection.
In a similar manner. Sexuality is not just an aspect of our self it runs parallel with the self. We are a sexual being at all times. I'm not saying that we are perpetually aroused rather our sexual identity is an indelible part of who we are. The essence of sexuality is also connection. Connection with our self. Connection with a partner, and to an existential extent; the universe. In fact some have described orgasm as the ultimate moment of at-one-ment with the universe. Sexuality and spirituality boil down to one and the same thing; connection. A healthy integrated person is the same at home, work, church, and play. An integrated person doesn't see their spirituality as religious activity only or their sexuality as sexual activity only. I have a lot of thoughts on connection which I could share another time but if you're feeling unsatisfied or overwhelmed by either your sexuality or your spirituality, perhaps what's needed is more connection with yourself, your loved ones, and the world around you.

Comments

  1. AuriaJuly 14, 2013 at 8:49 PM

    Hey Zac! I'm intrigued by your blog. Very interesting topic. I'd definitely love to hear more on your theories of connection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Zac RhodenizerJuly 16, 2013 at 1:31 PM

      Thanks Auria! I just wrote a bit more on connection in my last post. Thanks for the feedback.

      Delete
  2. JonathanJuly 15, 2013 at 12:34 PM

    Interesting thoughts :) that's for sure...

    ReplyDelete
  3. SusanaJuly 15, 2013 at 10:13 PM

    Hi, very interesting, could you explain how the perception of sexuality as something shameful can be a mayor factor to have an porn addiction. And how that affects the perception of one's self and others as well their spirituality.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Restoring the heart of Te Fiti

Image
Can you recall a time when you felt attacked? Maybe it was a physical attack if you were so unfortunate but I'm primarily thinking of an attack of a more emotional variety. Recall the visceral response of defense that was triggered in your body. Your desire to find safety through either running away and hiding or striking back with equal or greater force than what was originally thrust upon you. Were you able then to identify the limits of your humanity as you sought or at least fantasized about retribution? Are you able to recall those extremes today? When we are hurt, backed up against a wall, scared; we have a defense strategy that typically lies dormant underneath layers of personality and humanity that, when surfaced, is capable of remarkably terrible behaviour. Our fear can incite and invoke our fiercest monsters. The monsters of some lie closer to the surface that those of others but rest assured we all have them and they when they arise they are looking for conflict becau
Read more

What you SHOULD NOT learn from '13 Reasons Why'

Image
I heard a lot of buzz around this new show on Netflix called '13 Reasons Why' which was about a teenage girl who sent tapes to kids in her high school explaining why she had killed herself. My first impression was that this was going to be teenage drama trash and I had no interest in watching it. I was certain that the critics were bang on with their assessment that this was a terrible show for teens and that it could be a contributing factor to the glamorization and misunderstanding of suicide that I have seen, having worked in a high school with a history of such tragedy. The hub-bub was growing beyond your regular teen drama however, and as people started asking my take on the show, I began considering watching the series so that I could give an honest opinion. Throw in the fact that my wife was also curious and she and I rarely find a show that piques both our interests, and we had enough reasons to watch '13 Reasons' every night after our kids were in bed. So l
Read more

Political Psychology Lesson #1 - The Dunning-Kruger Effect

Image
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." - Alexander Pope Hello everyone, I'm Zac Rhodenizer, the Alberta Party candidate for Lethbridge West and I'm sharing some tips from the field of psychology that can help us make sense of the election on the horizon. I'm going to start with the Dunning-Kruger effect which states that the more knowledge and expertise a person has in a given subject, especially one as complex and nuanced as politics, economics, or human behaviour, the less certain that person is in their assertions. This is because as you start to understand how complex the issues are you start to "know what you don't know" and it induces a sort of intellectual humility. You may have a better idea about what is likely to be the case but you avoid black and white statements of absolute truth, because you know better. In contrast, when you know a little bit in a given field, you tend to overestimate your competence level. Nobody knows more
Read more