Do Sex and Spirituality Go Together?
I have been asked to share my thoughts on the topic of whether sex and spirituality go together, and I have taken the request to prayer. The spiritual journey is voluntary if it is authentic. Everything that is real is experienced through acceptance, and everything that temporarily appears to be real is experienced through desire and belief, until Awakening. The Spirit is Eternal, a State of desireless Being. The linear time-space cosmos spins with desire. The aim of spirituality is to experience the Changeless Being of Spirit. This aim involves dissolving the belief in sacrifice. It cannot be a real sacrifice to accept Reality, but the process of Awakening seems to reflect the belief in sacrifice until Awakening.
Sexuality is one among many experiences on the linear continuum of illusion. It is no better or worse than any other experience on the continuum, though it can seem to be lifted up and glorified, or put down and regarded as shameful by the ego. The desire for receiving and giving sexual love to a partner is a sign that ego beliefs and desires are still active. Yet it is possible and helpful to allow a committed relationship to be used by the Spirit to raise these beliefs and desires to the Light within; with willingness, these beliefs and desires will vanish and leave the mind at peace.
Trials and struggles in relationships expose falsity in the mind and this will help in making the ultimate decision which opens the heart to the remembrance of God’s Love. The mind will naturally outgrow body thoughts, yet as long as the body seems to be part of the self, its renunciation would be an inappropriate use of denial. When struggles arise, expose and release the beliefs and thoughts by not protecting them. Give them to the Holy Spirit. Multiple desires will fall away, yet this cannot be forced. The mind must be ready.
Express love and affection as Guided and allow the mind to receive it. Be willing to hand over to the Holy Spirit anything in the mind that does not feel loving. Every relationship is about recognizing the One Mind. This is discovered as it becomes apparent that there are no thoughts that can be kept private. Keep no secrets and it becomes apparent that only love can be shared. This Divine Love is beyond the body entirely, but one must start with how one currently perceives oneself. All are worthy of God’s Love; through the lesson of forgiveness, all will experience what they seek deep within.
Excerpt from David Hoffmeister’s book Unwind Your Mind Back to God Experiencing A Course in Miracles