Celebrating Imbolc

Happy Imbolc, everyone!

Although not everyone who may read this is pagan, I wanted to share the following in celebration of this holiday that I celebrate. The ritual I describe is one that I designed, and does not adhere to any particular tradition within paganism. For the adepts, this is also fairly basic and may not meet your needs. Take what works for you and move on. If anyone else would like to share what works for them, I'd love to hear about it!

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Imbolc is the time of the quickening, when the earth begins to come back to life, in preparation for the blossoming of spring. This is the time of year in which we celebrate the Virgin or Maiden aspect of the Goddess, as she prepares for growth and renewal. In ancient times, the word "virgin" was used to denote a woman who was strong and independent, who was not tied to any man (neither father nor husband), a woman who could make her own decisions and direct her own life. She could have sexual relations when and with whom she desired, not when it was expected of her.

The lessons of the Virgin are appropriate for both men and women. During this time of the Virgin, you have an opportunity to stand up for yourself and your own needs, to ask for what you want and to take responsibility for your own stuff. You can clear out the old, to make way for the new, by doing some self-examination and being honest with yourself about what's holding you back from being the best that you can possibly be. Ask the Goddess in her Virgin aspect to assist you in becoming stronger about asserting your opinions, honoring your feelings, and doing the work it takes to live the life you want to live.

Masturbation Meditation:

This is a great opportunity to use masturbation as a sacred sexual tool to augment your spiritual practice. Remind yourself that your pleasure is your responsibility, and that there is nothing wrong with taking an opportunity to pleasure yourself. You'll want to make arrangements to ensure that you will not be disturbed. Also remember, in addition to your regular ritual supplies and tools, that you set aside, in your circle (whether on the altar or beside the bed), the supplies you'll need for your self-pleasuring ritual.

Sanctify your space and honor the elements or directions as you are comfortable and accustomed to. Then connect with the Goddess and state your intentions. ("Goddess, with this ritual, I desire to connect with myself more deeply, and to honor your gifts by pleasuring myself. I offer my pleasure, including whatever orgasms I may have, as an offering of love to you and to myself. Please guide me this day in feeling secure in the knowledge that I am a sacred being, that I am worthy of this pleasure.")

Sit or lie in a comfortable position, close your eyes, breathe deeply from your belly. Relax and begin to touch yourself lightly in non-sexual ways and places. Rub your arms, your legs, your back; scritch your head, massage your neck. Then gradually begin caressing yourself in loving ways, slowly allowing your hands to move to more erogenous areas. Allow the energy to become more erotic as you continue to touch yourself lovingly and sensually. When you are ready, begin to pleasure yourself in the manner you like best. Start slow and let the energy build. As you do this, repeat to yourself the following mantra: "I am sacred. Pleasure is sacred. I am worthy of this pleasure." The energy will build, your rhythm will increase, and your chanting may get louder (you can repeat it silently, as well, but when we say things out loud, our subconsicous works with them on a deeper level.) Continue pleasuring yourself and chanting your mantra until you approach orgasm or you're approaching some sense of satisfaction and culmination. Continue until you reach that energetic and/or physical peak, whereupon you will release the energy toward the Goddess, and you may shout, moan, scream or otherwise vocalize your gratitude to the Goddess.

Allow yourself to wallow in the after-glow with yourself and the Goddess for a few minutes. Allow the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction to gently and naturally subside. If you feel silly, embarassed or any other seemingly negative emotion, forgive yourself, hold yourself in compassionate space and assure yourself that all your feelings are valid. If you're feeling joy, power, happiness...revel in it....and thank the Goddess again! :)

This is just one suggestion for how to use sacred sexuality to honor and work with the energies of this season. Happy Imbolc, no matter how you choose to celebrate or observe it! :)

In sacred love & sensuality,
Inara

Essay - It's All About Sex

Inara de Luna (c) September 2005

Why is it always all about sex? Have you heard someone say this, or perhaps have you said it before? Many people tend to get disgusted with how much sex is used in advertising. “Sex sells,” is the standard response. We, as a society, want to relegate sex to private, monogamous, bedroom interactions. The military has its “Don’t ask; don’t tell” policy. Teachers and other professionals are encouraged to keep their relationship status out of their workplace in various ways. Movies and television shows and video games all have to clearly state if they include any type of sexual content, and many of these can only be shown at certain times or at certain places, and to certain people (those considered “of age”). Sex is a taboo topic of conversation in “polite” social situations, and many people would like for it to be completely obliterated from our children’s education.

What people don’t understand is that sex IS a part of everything. Sex is, literally, what makes the world go ‘round. The most obvious example of the truth of this, of course, is that if we didn’t have sex, none of us would be here. We need to reproduce as a species, and the best way to do so is through sexual intercourse. But there are so many other ways that the concept of sex can be seen to be present in all things.

Let’s look at the word “yoga,” for a moment. It means, in Sanskrit, “union.” Well, what does the word “union” mean? Basically, union is the bringing together of multiple things into one new thing. In yoga, it’s usually taken to mean that one uses the practices and techniques of yoga to achieve union between the mind, the body and the spirit. Or to achieve union between man and the divine, or between oneself and all of creation.

Sexual union is usually understood to be a joining between (usually) two people into what feels, briefly, like one new entity. Have you ever experienced that feeling of not knowing where your skin ends and your lover’s begins? Have you ever been so attuned to someone that it seemed as if you could read each other’s thoughts, or knew exactly what each other’s bodies were craving? Sex and yoga are both unions.

And if we expand our concept of sex to include the entire spectrum of sexuality practices, including the dance of attraction, then we can explore our metaphor further. The sexual dance of the cosmos, the sexual interplay of atoms and molecules…the “marriage” of ideas…engaging in conversational intercourse…sex is a give and take, a play of interrelation, a joining and melding and unifying force, however that force manifests.

If we weren't so afraid of the power of that force, we could relax into it and enjoy the many ways we can interact with that force. Perhaps it's too much of a stretch to think of sex as a universal force. Think of it this way: sexual energy and creative energy come from the same source - the universal life force. We are always constantly creating in multitudes of ways: fixing dinner, crafting a persuasive argument, designing the layout of your new house, even dressing yourself everyday is an act of creation. That creative energy, at its core, is the same as the generative energy associated with sex. We call on the same life force energy when we decided to create something new, or just to practice creating something new (as in a baby, during sex).

Have you ever experienced a rush of ecstacy outside of the bedroom? A final triumphal moment in a game or race, a deeply satisfying sense of accomplishment upon completion of a major or important task, a deep sense of contentedness, serenity or joy in any situation...these are all akin to the orgasmic rush at the peak of a sexual experience. Even supposedly non-sexual spiritual mystics enjoyed moments of ecstasy in communion with their Creator or God, moments which sound suspiciously like sexual gratification when reading their own descriptions of the experience.

Sex can be seen as to be pervasive in all things and you can learn to recognize the sensual dimension of every part of your life, thus making of your life a sacred sensual expression of divine communion. It is all about sex...but that's not such a bad thing....

Creation of new yahoo group on Sacred Sexuality

Hello all!!

For the last couple of years, I have been running a succesful private yahoo group called CLASS_Atl (Celebrating Love and Sacred Sexuality in Atlanta). Although that group is still going strong, I wanted to create an additional group to meet the need for this kind of discussion on a larger level. The Atlanta group consists largely of people who already know each other from the local pagan festival scene and the related communities. This new group CLASS_USA will be open to the public, although new people will have to go through an application process, so that I can screen out those who are just looking to spam new sex-related groups. I will keep this group tightly focused on our discussion theme and I won't tolerate disrespect between members.

If you are interested in learning more and sharing, I encourage you to come visit us!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CLASS_USA/

Lovingly,
Inara de Luna

Linking Sacred Sexuality and Peace

In light of the recent flurry of interest in the Global Orgasm project, I wanted to post an essay I wrote a few weeks ago which links sacred sexuality, peace and the concept of sacred play ("lila" in Sanskrit).

For more info on the Global Orgasm event, check out these links:

globalorgasm.org

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1120-02.htm

And now, on to my essay...

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Essay - Connecting Sacred Sexuality, Sacred Play & Peace

Inara de Luna © August 2006

I've been asked to give a workshop at the Peace Day Festival, which has been themed "A Day of Play," and was told that my classes on Sacred Sexuality would fit in beautifully. This has challenged me to define the connection between sacred sexuality, peace and sacred play.

To me, sacred sexuality is twofold: (1) the process of using sex and sensuality as the vehicle through which you experience recognition of or appreciation for the divine in yourself and others, and (2) a practice toward integration of your being on several levels: the body, mind, heart and soul; the male and female aspects; the human and divine; the sacred and profane. Through the process of recognition of the divine and the process of integration, a sense of peace and harmony is inevitable. This is true whether you're working primarily with yourself, in a relationship, or in a larger community.

When working with yourself, learning to see the divine within helps you to achieve peace because you are no longer at war with yourself. Once you recognize your own inner divinity, there is no more reason to beat yourself up over little things, you can see that your body is a beautiful temple of the divine, no matter what its shape or size, and you are more in touch with your innermost feelings, desires, boundaries and personal power. Of course, there is more that goes into achieving a state of peace, but we'll delve into that later.

When you are able to consistently appreciate the divine within your lover, partner, parents, siblings, children, etc…you can be more forgiving, more compassionate, more open, more vulnerable, more trusting. The Divine is all these things and so to see them in your very human partner opens you to interacting with them from a place of divine grace. This isn't to say that you won't still get angry or irritated with them at times, but it does help you to work out differences and difficulties with more mutual respect, patience, grace and maturity. When you connect with the inner divine of your partner, you don't operate from a presumption of distrust of their motivations or intentions.

Once you learn to appreciate the role each aspect of your being has to play in creating your overall Self, you can integrate them and become Whole and Holy. The body, mind, heart and spirit all work cooperatively to keep you healthy and happy. Your inner masculine and feminine traits and energies are balanced and equal, allowing you to temper justice with compassion, strength with vulnerability, and assertiveness with gentleness. Once you've begun to achieve these integrations, the separations between human and divine, and that between sacred and profane, begin to blur and disappear. The yin/yang balance becomes a merged union of Wholeness, in which seeming opposites are actually found to be complementaries. And once you've experienced this oneness within yourself, it's not such a stretch to expand that understanding beyond yourself to incorporate everyone around you, and to fully know that we are all indeed interconnected.

Once you can sense the interconnections between all the beings on the planet, and appreciate that the divine resides in all things and beings, it becomes impossible to hate and make violence on anyone else, because they are a part of you. To harm another is to harm yourself. Peace then becomes inevitable as we learn to maintain our state of harmony and interconnection. This process of learning to maintain our state of harmony and interconnection is truly about making love, not war.

Neither sacred sexuality, playfulness nor peace can exist in the face of hate, distrust, fear or animosity. All can be experienced in and contribute to an atmosphere of love, trust, compassion, harmony and serenity.

Sacred play is about honoring the divine role that playing fills in our lives. The harder we work, the more we need to relax, engage in leisure activities, indulge our creative natures, and enjoy pleasure. If we don't make room for these things, our lives begin to resemble a wasteland, empty of enjoyment, emotion, satisfaction or serenity. Material accomplishments can only go so far in buoying us up...we need to balance our doing with simply being. And divine play can help us with that. During play, children are completely focused on the activity of the moment. Their attention is absorbed, they are wholly present, and their feelings of joy are readily apparent in the look in their eye, the big easy smiles, the bursts of laughter, the clapping of hands.

It is said that "God" was playing when he made the world. He wanted to experience some of this for himself and so incarnates as a physical being every now and then. It's fascinating in the way that a captured beetle fascinates a toddler.

Approaching our adult sexual lives with a sense of childlike wonder, innocence, playfulness, attentiveness, hyper-focus, and present-awareness can only enhance our joy and pleasure in the interaction.

Interweaving then the three concepts of sacred sexuality, divine play and world peace is a process of recognizing each other's inherent divinity, integrating all the disparate parts of ourselves so as to recognize our own divinity, playing with each other in ways that celebrate each other's strengths, fulfill each other's needs for affection, pleasure and acceptance, respecting one another's processes, listening to one another's needs and complaints from a place of maternal, compassionate, detached Witness, holding safe space for each other's growth and healing to take place.

Can you imagine a world in which the leaders of conflicted countries could come together in a yab-yum embrace, engage in an eye-gazing exercise, express their heartfelt needs, fears and hurt places, ask one another for forgiveness and express what they feel would help heal the situation, and then tickle one another until both fell over from laughing so hard, finally to be bathed by the temple priestesses before celebrating their newfound unity by engaging sensually with each other or the priestesses themselves? What a world that would be….

ROFLMAO!! I've got to send this you all, because it actually made me laugh out loud!!
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"We hear a lot of arguments today that the reason that we can't get serious about our borders is that we are desperate for all these workers," Emery said. "You don't have to think too long. If you kill 44 million of your potential workers, it's not too surprising we would be desperate for workers."
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You've got to be kidding me!!! The reason we can't really keep the illegal immigrants out of our country is because we need them to do the work that all those potential people who were aborted could be doing, if we hadn't killed them. LOL!! The anti-choice folks are really reaching on this one.

I hope no one here takes offense at my incredulity, but this is just going too far. I only hope that these kinds of statements don't start dictating more of our government policy and legislation.

Any thoughts? Dissenting opinions are okay, too! :)

Lovingly,
Inara

PS - I also find it interesting that this report also introduces the Fair Tax concept, but the article says absolutely nothing else about the one line statement:
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The statements about abortion, welfare policies and a recommendation to abolish income taxes in favor of sales taxes were inserted into the immigration report by the committee chairman, Rep. Ed Emery.
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: News List <NewsList@woodhullfoundation.org >
Date: Nov 16, 2006 6:55 AM
Subject: [wff-newslist] Opposition Research: Lawmakers Blame Abortion For Labor Shortage
To: wff-newslist@lists.woodhullfoundation.org

http://www.wfsb.com/politics/10329613/detail.html?rss=hart&psp=news

Lawmakers Blame Abortion For Labor Shortage

POSTED: 5:19 pm EST November 15, 2006
UPDATED: 5:51 pm EST November 15, 2006

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Republican-led legislative panel in Missouri claims in a new report on illegal immigration that abortion is partly to blame because it is causing a shortage of American workers.

The report from the state House Special Committee on Immigration Reform also claims "liberal social welfare policies" have discouraged Americans from working and encouraged immigrants to cross the border illegally.

The statements about abortion, welfare policies and a recommendation to abolish income taxes in favor of sales taxes were inserted into the immigration report by the committee chairman, Rep. Ed Emery.

All six Democrats on the panel refused to sign the report. Some of them called the abortion assertion ridiculous and embarrassing.

"There's a lot of editorial comment there that I couldn't really stomach," Rep. Trent Skaggs said Monday. "To be honest, I think it's a little delusional."

All 10 Republican committee members signed the report, though one of them, Rep. Billy Pat Wright, said Monday he didn't recall it connecting abortion and illegal immigration.

Emery, who equates abortion to murder, defended the assertions.

"We hear a lot of arguments today that the reason that we can't get serious about our borders is that we are desperate for all these workers," Emery said. "You don't have to think too long. If you kill 44 million of your potential workers, it's not too surprising we would be desperate for workers."

National Right to Life estimates there have been more than 47 million abortions since the Supreme Court established a woman's right to abortion in its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. The immigration report estimates there are 80,000 fewer Missourians because of abortion, many of whom now would have been in a "highly productive age group for workers."

The abortion connection to illegal immigration was listed under the report's recommendations on federal social policies and potential state legislative actions on illegal hiring.

"Suggestions for how to stop illegal hiring varied without any simple solution," the report states. "The lack of traditional work ethic, combined with the effects of 30 years of abortion and expanding liberal social welfare policies have produced a shortage of workers and a lack of incentive for those who can work."

Democrats contend the abortion statement wasn't discussed, much less agreed to, by the committee. Emery said there was some testimony about abortion during a question-and-answer session at one of the hearings, although he couldn't recall by whom.

"I felt like that was significant enough and fundamental enough that it warranted addressing it in the report," he said.

Missouri does not keep records of oral testimony during legislative committee hearings.

Skaggs said the abortion statement undermines the credibility of the entire report, which was submitted to the House speaker's office late last week.

"That's ridiculous to draw that conclusion. I don't think that has anything to do with immigration," said committee member Rep. Ed Wildberger, the chairman of the House Democratic caucus.

The report also includes short essays by Emery about the history of immigration, the purpose of immigration laws and the importance of a common language. In those, he notes "the issue of illegal immigration does not lend itself to compromise."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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There has, for years, been a push to promote abstinence as the only appropriate sexual choice for teenagers. Now, people are beginning to promote the idea that all unmarried people under the age of 29 should remain abstinent. The first article below discusses the new propaganda, while the second article explores some of the perspectives from people who have chosen abstience or celibacy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelley-lewis/no-sex-please-were-sing_b_33084.html

http://villagevoice.com/people/0645,bussell,74920,24.html

You know, I have absolutely no problem with people consciously and deliberately choosing abstinence/chastity/celibacy if that is what's right for them at the time. It can be enormously healing and refreshing to approach life from a non-sexual position for a time. And I consider it a valid, respectable life choice.

However, people who choose abstinence or celibacy out of misguided feelings of guilt or shame about their sexual natures and desires need help to heal these psycho-emotional wounds. And I don't have any respect for those who try to force-feed others feelings of guilt and shame around sexuality, or who agressively promote their abstinence preference as the only right, clean, true and pure way to live.

Basically, I don't think our sex lives should be legislated at all. The government has no right to tell me when and when not to have sex, how to have sex, with whom I can share sex, how or if I should use contraception and STD prevention tools, whether or not to shop for, own or use sexual aids of any variety, if I pay or accept payment for sexual services, and the pornographic material I might choose to consume.

This blogger has posted a hopeful and optimistic prognosis for the future of some of our sexual and reproductive rights and freedoms which have come under attack in recent years, based on the recent election results:

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2006/11/08/after-the-election-potential-for-progress

I do so hope that some more realistic and reasonable solutions can be found, or at least discussed, for the sexual education, abortion rights, contraception information, human trafficking and free speech issues that have loomed so large in recent years.

What do you think?

Essay - BE the Change You Want to See

by Inara de Luna (c) August 2006

I have run across several philosophies lately that all mirror or interconnect with one another that point the way to a more peaceful approach to life:

Hawaiin Ho’Oponopono practice of forgiveness

Sioux Native American philosophy, O’Mitake Oyasin “All my relations”

Sanskrit concept of Namaste

Quantum Physics Law of Attraction

Buddhist Metta practice of lovingkindness

Wiccan Rule of Three & belief in Magic

Summarizing:

We are all connected. Everything we do affects everyone around us. We create our own reality. We attract into our lives that which resonates with what we say we want. By learning to practice love toward ourselves, and recognize the divinity within outselves and others, our stress from our interactions with others will lessen. Whatever energy we project will be returned to us threefold. Our thoughts have power; our words have power; through our thoughts, words and deeds, we have the power to change our reality.

* * * * * *

And so, rather than simply bemoaning the sad state of the world, it might be more helpful, for yourself and for the world, to do something about it. And that something can take so many forms. Of course, getting out and voting, writing letters to your Congressional representatives, voting with your dollars, and signing petitions are all obvious and helpful ways to bring about change. But you can also BE the change you want to see in the world. Are you tired of people being apathetic? Then get off your butt and DO something about the issues that concern you. Are you tired of all the bickering and sniping that goes on? Then learn conflict resolution techniques and listening skills. Does it piss you off how people don’t seem to give a sh*t about others? Learn how to apply the philosophy of lovingkindness in your life. Do you feel like people are always disrespecting you or taking advantage of you? Try looking at the world through the lens of compassion and forgiveness.

Don’t allow yourself to be overcome by despair, or that is the energy you will be projecting out into the world, and thus re-attracting back into your own life. Taking the time to evaluate and modify your own behavior, beliefs and daily practices, and then applying those skills to the relationships in your own life, will have an impact on all those you come into contact with. If you are projecting peace, you will begin to create a more peaceful immediate environment. And these practices have a ripple effect. Your efforts will spread out, far beyond your immediate sphere of influence. One person can make a difference, and if we all, each individual person, made a commitment to making a difference, it would continue to have a dramatic effect on changing the way the world works.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

~ Mahatma Gandhi