 |
 |
 |
| Quotes on the Divine Nature of Sexuality The Song of Songs praises our sexuality as part of the sacred gift of the Cosmic Christ whom lovers encounter in one another. All too many Christians have been led to believe that Christ is not present in lovemaking. That makes no sense. In fact, the Cosmic Christ is radically present to all sexuality in all dimensions and possibilities. ~ Matthew Fox ~ Both religion and sexuality heal the split between ourselves and the universe. We discover that we are indeed "part of everything" and one with the mystery of life. To talk about God in relation to our sexuality means to be aware of love moving in us, for "in God we live and move and have our being". ~ Dorothee Soelle ~ The creation of the world is not only a process which moves from God to humanity. God demands newness from humanity; God awaits the work of human freedom. ~ Russian Orthodox theologian Nicolas Berdyaev ~ |
| THE PRAYERFUL PARROTS |
| A lady parishioner goes to the priest and says, "Father, I have a problem. I have two parrots that know how to say only one thing." |
| "What do they say?" the priest inquired. "They only know how to say, 'Hi, we're prostitutes. Want to have some fun?'" "That's terrible!" the priest exclaimed, "but I have a solution to your problem. Bring your two female parrots over to my house and I will put them with my two male talking parrots whom I taught to pray and read the bible. My parrots will teach your parrots to stop saying that terrible phrase and your female parrots will learn to praise and worship." "Thank you!" the woman responded. The next day the woman brings her female parrots to the priest's house. His two male parrots are holding rosary beads and praying in their cage. The lady puts her two female parrots in with the male parrots. Immediately, the female parrots say, "Hi, we're prostitutes, want to have some fun?" One male parrot looks over at the other male parrot and exclaims, "Put the beads away. Our prayers have been answered!" From: Jokes4U |
 |
 |
| Tsinoy says : Oh, brother, they're heaven sent! (LOL) But come to think of it, are we not sometimes like the male parrots whose prayers are reduced to mere words because we have not internalized what we have asked for in prayer? (Is that why we sometimes call senseless talk parroting?) Is there a connection between our carnal desires and our attitude towards our personal and spiritual growth? Or, as Matthew Fox asks in his book "The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (1988)", is there a pattern that connects our earthiness with our divinity? Yes, there is a coherence in this duality. Sex can be a divine experience too. But we can only attain this unity if, as Fox suggests, we alter our thinking by expanding our outlook. He calls it paradigm shift. Or shift from parts-mentality to wholeness. The duality in the way we treat sexuality is often influenced by our religious tradition. We associate sex with guilt and utter seriousness. We moralize about it. We keep it out of family discussion. And in the process, we lose the playfulness and naivete that is intrinsic in sex. |
| This is where Fox calls for a new way of looking at sexuality. He says that we must recover a sense of the sacredness of lovemaking. How? By bringing about creativity, a sense of magic, of equality, a real experience, and a return to religious traditions that take sex as an integral part of the continuing progress of humanity. By creativity, Fox cites the role of a person's sexuality as a co-creator that made our marvelous planet possible. Remember the Creator's mandate in Genesis to "go forth and multiply and have dominion over the earth?" It is therefore a divine task, as we become equally responsible for the birth of a child, and for the world we bequeath to them. If the penis can bring forth life, it should be used in a responsible way. With magic, sex acquires the element of the personal gift, the capacity of the lover to offer himself or herself to the beloved. With equality, sex is no longer used as a tool of power. Your partner is not an object for your own personal needs and instant gratification. |
| Jaime T. Lichauco, author of the book "Soul Mates: Karma and Reincarnation" (1996) says that "when soul mates make love, the entire universe sings with them. The cosmic heaven brings forth a symphony until the climax is reached. The sensation felt is more than just the physical sense of gratification. More importantly, there is the realization of the utter oneness of the two. In fact, the physical becomes almost imperceptible, although the pleasure is heightened to an indescribable ecstasy encompassing one's whole being, stimulating even one's spiritual consciousness". |
| How do soul mates achieve this oneness in body and spirit? Through committed love relationships between two persons, Fox says. To do this well, one must enter deeply into the soul and the person of one's beloved. In this sense, one must be faithful, patient and committed to mutual exploration. One must not be rapacious and possessive, not demanding and controlling. One does not take anything for granted in the other person. To be in love is to take your partner as he or she is (whole person). That is, both loves exist not just in a personal relationship but in the world that we live in. Finally, Fox suggests that we need to re-introduce the element of reflection in lovemaking. It is about getting in touch with our deepest images. It is about expressing them by focusing our attention to the beloved. Perhaps, this is the most important thread that binds the healthy relationship of a married couple. Think of the deepest memories that you have of your beloved. The happy times that you spent together, even the sacrifices that your beloved have made to strengthen your relationship. Above all, think of the fruits of this bond: a greater understanding, love and respect for each other, and the children who are born out of this union. Taking this broader outlook on love and sexuality gives us a better appreciation of what it takes to enter into a soulful and committed relationship. At the end of the day, we, too, can be like the prayerful parrots. We can pray for a playful sexual relationship. But we can lift our prayers to a higher level. We can pray for a meaningful sexual and loving relationship that bonds both our body and soul with our beloved, and ultimately with our Creator. Cheers. Tsinoy |
| Still More Quotes . . . . . Sexuality was one of two essential factors which resulted in an extraordinary acceleration of evolution and the emergence of a variety of life forms. ~ Erich Jantch (The Self-Organizing Universe, 1980) ~ All flowers and blossoms, apparently without exception, are reproductive organs. ~ Guy Murchie ~ If life and the soul are sacred, the human body is sacred. ~ Walt Whitman ~ Erotic energy is the eternal source of creativity. . . The erotic shock is the way of revealing beauty in the world. ~ Nicolas Berdyaev ~ If you wish to discipline the flesh (lust), then put on it the bridle of love. Whoever has accepted this sweet burden of the bridle of love will attain more and come much further than all the penitential practices and mortifications that all the people acting together could carry out. ~ Meister Eckhart ~ |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|