Many people sort of believe that sex is sacred but they don't treat it that way. Sacred sexuality used to be the duty of temple women (priestesses). Now with modern translations of the ancient texts anyone can learn how to make their sexual relations sacred. This lens will look at all aspects of sacred sexuality, past and present.
How To Make Enlightened Love
- Consecrate the setting. Make it Holy.
- Wait for the perfect moment.
- Purify yourself in body and mind.
- Meditate.
- Dedicate the experience to your highest purpose.
- Invoke the Goddesses of Love.
- Begin motionless and in silence.
- Gaze into each other's eyes, long and deep.
- Breathe together.
- Fall in love. stay in love. die into love.
- Listen for Inner Guidance.
- Reside always at the beginning.
- Move in slow motion, with reverence.
- Worship your lover. Touch only in awe.
- Trust your body's deepest impulses.
- Give voice to your feelings.
- Make love with your whole being.
- Transpose taking and giving.
- Decelerate until time stands still.
- Abandon all gain and control.
- Die as a personality. Be born as pure Love in the Universe.
Excerpt from "Enlightenment In Our Time" by Lonny J. Brown.
Lonny Brown is the author of "Self-Actuated Healing" (Naturegraph, Publ.), and the online column, The Holistic Mystic. His writings on holistic health have appeared on AOL's Alternative Medicine Forum and in Alternative Health Practitioner, Yoga Journal, and many other progressive publications. Brown teaches holistic health, mind/body healing, and stress reduction courses at hospitals, schools and businesses throughout the US.
Religious prostitution
Religious prostitution, sacred prostitution, or temple prostitution is the practice of having sexual intercourse (with a person other than one's spouse) for a religious or sacred purpose. A person engaged in such practices is sometimes called a temple prostitute or hierodule, though modern connotations of the term prostitute may or may not be appropriate, given the religious and cultic signification of the activities.
Sacred Sex Books: General
A few books to get you thinking about the sacredness of sex.
Sacred Sex: A Spiritual Celebration of Oneness in Marriage by Tim Alan Gardner
"How can I mention holiness and sex in th more...0 points
Sacred Sexuality (Sacred Arts) by A. T. Mann
Not all history has been written on the battlefiel more...0 points
Sacred Sexuality in Ancient Egypt: The Erotic Secrets of the Forbidden Papyri by Ruth Schumann Antelme
Utilizing material sequestered away in museum and more...0 points
Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body--New Paths to Power and Love by Riane Eisler
Eisler calls for a new sexual revolution, centered more...0 points
Qedesha: Temple Sex
Many pre-Christian cultures had people in temples exchanging sex for blessings or money. This was in no way considered a bad thing. The people who served this way were treated with respect. They were, in effect, the stand ins for various gods and goddesses. They were a conduit to whatever deity was served by the temple.In some countries, the king would have sex with the High Priestess once a year to ensure the fertility of the land. In other countries, men would pay money to the temple and then have sex with a man or woman in the temple as a way to commune with the god or goddess.
Qedesha (also kedesha, kedeshah or qadishtu) were temple holy people found throughout the ancient Middle East. Qedesha, who often played an important part in official temple worship, could be either male or female. They were honoured and valued members of society. Money given to the temple before sex was used to support the qedesha while they lived in the temple.
Young women would sit in front of the temple of Ishtar and wait for a stranger to drop a coin in her lap. She would then follow him into the temple and have sex. Afterwards she returned home, usually to get married, after having honoured the goddess. She was still a "virgin" as the old meaning of the word was a woman who had not entered into a "contract" with a man -- a woman who was sovereign.
Pre-Christian societies did not have the same sexual hang-ups the Christians brought with them. A man could have sex with a temple priestess as a way of asking that his wives or land would be fertile. Some men would do this every year.
I have gone out of my way not to use the term "sacred prostitution." The concept itself would have been foreign to those who performed such duties. There were not so many taboos against sex. Sex was not considered dirty. Using sex in religious observances was natural.
Receiving money for being a conduit to the deities was not seen as wrong. The practice still continues today with priests and nuns. The only difference is the sex. I believe that many of the "sacred prostitutes" of old would see that as a very small difference.
Sacred Prostitute Books
The Sacred Prostitute: Eternal Aspect of the Feminine (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysts, Vol 32)
When the Goddess of Love was still honored, the sacred prostitute was virgin in the original sense of the word (one-in-herself), a person of deep integrity whose welcome for the stranger was radiant, self-confident and sensuous. Her purpose was to bring the goddess' love into direct contact with mankind. In antiquity, human sexuality and the religious attitude were inseparable. The Sacred Prostitute: Eternal Aspect Of The Feminine is solidly based on Jungian psychological principles and powerfully illustrates how our vitality and capacity for joy depend on restoring the soul of the sacred prostitute to its rightful place in our conscious understanding. The Sacred Prostitute is engaging reading that provides a great deal of thoughtful observations on the nature of human sexuality and its relationship to the well-balanced personality and the health and stability of human society.
Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 07/12/2009) 
Women of the Light: The New Sacred Prostitute
This fascinating and highly readable book makes the convincing case that sex work can be a source of sexual healing. These life stories are profound teachings and will confront and enlighten the reader
Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)
Sacred Prostitute DVDs
Magdalene Unveiled: The Ancient and Modern Sacred Prostitute
Who was Mary Magdalene? Was she a redeemed prostitute? Was she a high priestess from a different religious tradition embracing fertility rituals?
MAGDALENE UNVEILED takes us into the world of the ancient and modern sacred prostitute. This 2-DVD set explores the mystique of Mary Magdalene and other archetypal symbols of a primordial sacred-sexual role. Contemporary women and men known as sacred intimates, tantrikas, sexual healers, dakas/dakinis, and sexual shamans share their lives and their visions.
Presenters include followers of Mary Magdalene, Western Tantra teachers, a porn star, a Tibetan Buddhist lama, an African Nubian-Khamite priestess, a Native American shaman, and an Episcopal priest.
The contemporary sacred prostitute no longer has a public temple where she or he can share the ceremonies openly. There is little or no lineage to reveal the sacred mysteries from high priest/ess to initiate. Legally, socially, religiously, the sacred prostitute has been out in the cold - until now!
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
Devadasi : Married to God
Their music and dance repertoire, their extra-domestic sexuality, the lack of menstrual taboo in their community, and their own experiences during the anti-devadasi movement in the early part of the twentieth century figure prominently in these private journeys of recollection. -- Dr. Davesh Soneji, "Dancing Disjunctures: Memory, Identity, Performance and the Devadasis of Telugu-Speaking South India." 2005.Devadasi can be literally translated as 'a servant of god'. But colloquially, the word refers to women considered married to god. A devadasi is a nitya sumangali, eternally free from widowhood. They lived as independent women who could own property and didn't need a male relative to look after them.
Devadasis believe all men are incarnations of the male deities. Along with performing sacred temple ceremonies, Devadasis offered sexual services. In the act of making love, a man and a Devadasi enact the sacred marriage of god & goddess, which therefore allows them to become divine themselves.
Devadasis played and taught various musical instruments and kept the tradition of Bharatanatya alive. No stigma was attached for their profession. Their presence at marriage and other festive occasions was required. Sometimes the tali (auspicious thread of a bride) was tied by a Devadasi during wedding.
When the British gained control over India they were appalled by the sexual activities of the Devadasi. Eventually they enacted an anti-devadasi law driving the woman from the temples. Any Devadasi related activity including dancing was outlawed. The women who had held a high status were reduced to street prostitution to survive.
Today there is a renewed interest in Devadasi culture. One young woman, Kama of Kingston, works as a "Devadasi Escort." Academics like Dr. Davesh Soneji have been tracking down Devadasis from the 40s in order to record the stories of their lives both before and after British rule.
Tantra
Tantra (; "weave" denoting continuity), Norbu, p. 49 (anglicised tantricism or tantrism) or tantram () is a religious philosophy according to which Shakti is usually the main deity worshipped, and the universe is regarded as the divine play of shakti and shiva. The word Tantra also applies to any of the scriptures commonly identified with the worship of Shakti. Tantra deals primarily with spiritual practices and ritual forms of worship, which aim at liberation from ignorance and rebirth. The tantric movement has influenced the Hindu, Bön, Buddhist, and Jain religious traditions. Tantra in its various forms has existed in India, Nepal, China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia. Although he cautions against attempting a rigorous definition of tantra, David Gordon White offers the following definition:
Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the Godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy, within the human microcosm, in creative and emancipatory ways.
Tantric Sex For Beginners
Tantric Sex For Beginners: The YabYum Position
Get more information at http://www.sexyspiritualrelationships.com/ Learn to use breath and visualization to help you move and share your sexual energy in the Tantric YabYum position. Presented by Pala Copeland and Al Link of 4 Freedoms Relationship Tantra.
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Tantric DVDs
Love and Intimacy - The Tantric Way
Love and Intimacy, The Tantric Way is the amalgamation of Tantric Sex practice and popular Kamasutra sexual positions put together for the enjoyment and education of couples. Its universal concept and message is unique and has the ability to bring couples closer in their relationship. Tantra is a spiritual art form that aligns your mind, body and soul. The result is a mind and soul enriching experience that binds couples together. The objective of the practice is to bring about peace, love and harmony in your relationship through pleasurable tantric sex activity. For the first time, this video is produced and presented by Asian artistes to bring about the mystique nature of the culture and its practices. This video can be enjoyed by all above the age of 18.
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
Tantric Massage for Lovers
Touch is one of the essential keys to a lasting and intimately satisfying relationship. If you would like to learn how to touch your partner in a profoundly sacred and ecstatic way, this program offers you step-by-step guidance on how to create massages that arouse the senses, touch the heart and rekindle the flame of passion. Using tantric touch, communication, ritual and energy consciousness, your love connection deepens and giving and receiving a massage merge into one.
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
Loving Sex - Modern Tantra Workshop DVD & CD
Modern Tantra is a spiritual and sexual pathway for 21st century lovers. Learn the essential elements for expressing divine energy in and between lovers. Explore this journey as sacred lovers.
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
Sacred Sex Books: Tantra
Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 07/12/2009)
Introduction to Tantra : The Transformation of Desire
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 07/12/2009)
Tantra for Erotic Empowerment: The Key to Enriching Your Sexual Life
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/12/2009)
Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 07/12/2009)
Kundalini Tantra
Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 07/12/2009)
Sacred Sex Links
- Society for Sacred Sex
- From the SSS website: The Society for Sacred Sexuality offers sacred sex lessons, professional services and training, plus news, advocacy, and resources for the general public and the global sacred sex community. Our mission is to promote sacred sex learning, create a physical environment for sacred sex gathering and practice, and to usher in a global awakening founded on sacred sex wisdom and genuine enlightened experience.
- Sacred Sex Texts
- The dominant world religions treat sexuality as (at best) a distraction from the spiritual path. On the other hand, some spiritual traditions integrate sexuality into their spiritual practice. Some regard sexuality as an integral part of life, a gift to be honored and enjoyed. This section contains classic texts which discuss the sacred nature of sexuality and affirm the postive aspects of sex. Some of these texts (the Tantric) are esoteric and touch on the intersection of the spiritual and the physical. Others (such as the Kama Sutra material) are more rooted in the physical world.
- The Cheeky Changeling
- A regular online column about sacred sexuality from Changeling Press.
- Sex Magic
- A lens all about another aspect of sacred sexuality called sex magic.
Kama Sutra DVDs
Dance of the Kama Sutra with Hemalayaa (+ Free Workout Sampler DVD)
Learn to live in and love every inch of your glorious body!
The Kama Sutra, an ancient Indian text, promotes the cultivation of sensuality as a sacred duty. The need to cultivate and reconnect with our sensual selves -- the goddess at the core of every woman -- remains as strong as ever, but the din and rush of modern life make the opportunities all too rare. Through playful movements and heart-centered meditation, yogini and Indian Dance expert Hemalayaa takes you on a journey of discovery. Find the freedom and fullness of expression that come from embracing yourself and your body. Join Hemalayaa in a dance of love and laughter that instills confidence, joy, and poise. The steps are sassy, suggestive, coquettish, and enormously fun. Gesture by gesture, swish by swish, you will remember that you are -- and have always been -- a divine dancer.
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 07/12/2009)
Kama Sutra: The Sensual Art of Lovemaking - Positions of the Perfumed Garden & Positions of the Tao
This DVD is excellent if you want to learn something new to spice up your love life. It is a real pleasure to watch and although not all of it is practicle, unless you are an acrobat, most of it is very useful. It is done by people with a great taste, true professionals.
Amazon Price: $26.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
Loving Sex - Modern Kama Sutra 3 DVD & 3 CD GIFT SET
A nicely done DVD that does a good job of exploring Sacred Sex. This 3 DVD gift set is quite good in many ways. It explains the basic concept of the Kama Sutra and addresses a crucial topic, the inherent spirituality of Making Love. When two people join in Union, be it a man and a womon, two men or two womyn, the act of Divine Creation is being mirrored.
Amazon Price: $35.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
Kama Sutra Products
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Little Bit Naughty Book of Kama Sutra Positions (Little Bit Naughty Book Of...)
Amazon Price: $4.00 (as of 07/12/2009)
Kama Sutra The Gift Tin, Earthly Delights, 1 Tin
Amazon Price: $54.40 (as of 07/12/2009)
Loving Sex - Modern Kama Sutra 3 DVD & 3 CD GIFT SET
Amazon Price: $35.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
The Complete Illustrated Kama Sutra
Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 07/12/2009)
Misc. DVDs
Magdalene Unveiled: The Ancient and Modern Sacred Prostitute
Who was Mary Magdalene? Was she a redeemed prostitute? Was she a high priestess from a different religious tradition embracing fertility rituals?
MAGDALENE UNVEILED takes us into the world of the ancient and modern sacred prostitute. This 2-DVD set explores the mystique of Mary Magdalene and other archetypal symbols of a primordial sacred-sexual role. Contemporary women and men known as sacred intimates, tantrikas, sexual healers, dakas/dakinis, and sexual shamans share their lives and their visions.
Presenters include followers of Mary Magdalene, Western Tantra teachers, a porn star, a Tibetan Buddhist lama, an African Nubian-Khamite priestess, a Native American shaman, and an Episcopal priest.
The contemporary sacred prostitute no longer has a public temple where she or he can share the ceremonies openly. There is little or no lineage to reveal the sacred mysteries from high priest/ess to initiate. Legally, socially, religiously, the sacred prostitute has been out in the cold - until now
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 07/12/2009)
