By Ohad Ezrahi, senior faculty with the International School of Temple Arts
As many of us were brought up, our sexuality was deeply embedded with ‘Sexually Transmitted Dysfunctions’ of guilt, shame and fear. Religion encourages these three STDs for its own reasons, having nothing to do with getting closer to God. On the contrary; it’s only to the degree one sheds off that skin that one can start to heal and experience sexuality as a sacred portal to the Divine realm.
In my twenties, I felt that my sexual desires and my deep longing for God were in conflict with each other. One seemed like it was pulling me up, the other pulling me down. I found much advice in the holy books for how to fight my sexual desires so they would not become an obstacle on my spiritual path. It was only later, after years of search and inner work that I realised that I had been experiencing sexuality in a very limited way, actually belittling God. In fact, there actually is no conflict between these two deep human desires.
An ancient Kabbalistic book says: “Ein b’Tov Lema’ala m’Oneg” meaning, “There is nothing higher than Pleasure”. I now know that sex can be experienced in a totally different way, a way that elevates our spirit and opens doors into the most sacred realisations.
When old, negative patterns are released, and we begin to learn the Energetic-Shamanic way of sexuality that is our birthright. Sexual pleasures can be experienced as deep devotion with utter surrender to the Divine force that is living through us all.
