Within each of us, is a powerful, fiery sexuality waiting to be plucked from its guarded shell. Many of us have caught glimpses of this fiery sexuality within our life, and continue to suppress, repress, and hide it due to shame, guilt, fear and embarrassment. Society, its sexism, and double standards of patriarchy is to blame, but so are we. We have allowed the conditioning of society to infiltrate our desires and fiery nature. The conditioning runs deep affecting our beliefs and subconscious. Partly due to education but also religion.
Pleasure and religion
Sex and sexuality is universally feared amongst religions worldwide. In my newest book, I detail how rules and laws have globally enforced prohibitions against conscious sexual freedom, such as: “Christianity considers most sex sinful; Islam prohibits indulgence in even wine, music, and dance for the sake of austerity; and Modern Hinduism is prudish and holds that sex is only for procreation, not pleasure.”
However, in my Vedic tradition of original Hinduism, which came before all sex-fearing traditions, it is clear: sex is divine and an all-natural requirement for a healthy body and life. In fact, if we supress sexual pleasure and sensory grtficiation, even in the name of spirituality, our inner Self wont be pleased. It will cry out with illness, rafe, and sorrow!
Instead of shaming the desire for kama in the form of sex, music and dance, why not use dharma? With dharma by your side, you can become full of pleasure, but never self-indulgent. With the power of discernment, you will know what is enough.
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra is a two-thousand-year-old ancient Hindu text that summarizes sexuality, eroticism, and emotional fulfillment in life. The text paints a fascinating portrait of an India (before the Islamic cultural invasion), whose openness to sexuality gave rise to a highly developed expression of the erotic. However, the first translator of the Kama Sutra treatise to English was overwhelmed by the Kama Sutra’s sexually explicit language, the Hindus’ ability to imagine sexual play and pleasure, and give themselves the inner permission to enjoy sexuality with soulful abandonment. Contrary to the translator’s Victorian puritanical sensibilities, in this text, premarital and extramarital sex are not frowned upon, as long as no one gets hurt and dharma is upheld.
“Contrary to popular perceptions, the Kama Sutra is not just a manual of sixty-four sex positions; it is a complete guide to living a life with fulfilled kama. It teaches the art of living, the art of happiness, the nature of love, finding a life partner, maintaining one’s love life, and other aspects pertaining to pleasure-oriented faculties of human life.” - Roar Like A Goddess by Acharya Shunya
Here are three ways to start living a more pleasure-filled life:
Reframe perceptions around sexuality and pleasure: How we think and feel impacts of sexual experiences. By building a stronger self-awareness, we can create sexual experiences that align with our true desrires.
Practice somatic awareness: This is the ability to be completely present in your body, being aware of sensations, emotions and thoughts. By developing a stronger inner awareness, we can notice our patterns of behavior (from our thoughts to bodily reactions) and let go of those that block us from reaching pleasure.
Explore and reconnect to your sensual self: We have evolved to think rather than feel our way through life. Take time to become reacquainted with your senses through sensual play. This can look like performing an abhyanga massage or creating a pelvic floor exercise practice.
