Going beyond yourself…when healthy relationships are a starting point…

A few weeks ago I wrote, in relatively vivid detail, about an Out Of Body (obe) experience that I was thrust into at the tender age of 18.  It was an experience that altered my perception of life.  For the past couple of weeks I’ve been writing about the idea of healthy relationships — a emotional and intimately personal endeavor that began when the pain of staying the same became greater than the discomfort often associated with intentional transformation.

Could it be, that for the past three weeks I’ve been paving way for what I’m about to share with you here an now?  Would you believe that by repairing the relationship you have with yourself could lead to healthy relationships in just about all aspects of your life — and more?  From a personal perspective, I tend to think that when someone works on the relationship they have with themselves by facing that which causes you to suffer- and staying with it (the pain) long enough to embrace the feelings you run from, you end up healing that which causes you to ail. From personal experience, I feel that process paves way for healthy relationships with others, on all levels.

While the idea of healthy relationships isn’t rocket science…I never, not in this lifetime, would have guessed what intense erotic energy coupled with a healthy relationship could deliver…

Before, however, I go any further into the process of sharing with you another experience that has caused me to abandon much of what I thought I knew about life (and especially limitations) – A disclaimer, of sorts is in order.  Prior to the evening I had my out of body experience, the idea of such Healthy Relationshipsa thing hadn’t even entered my thought process.  It was random.  Unpredictable.  As with many of the experiences I think a person has in life, what I’m about to explain was also a completely unpredictable experience, that in no way, could I plan to replicate.  I’ve had a handful of experiences in my life that many would consider paranormal, or outside of the comfort zone of what our society at large, considers acceptable.  None of those experiences were planned.  They all happened completely on their own timeline — as if guided by a hand that has remained unseen in this world, which we tend to think of as tangible and real.

For those of you who are wondering why I would bring such a disclaimer up, it’s pretty simple.  Mystical, paranormal, out of body, near death experiences, or anything else you could think to call an experience that pierces the veil of the known in this world — is a process that happens on it’s own.  They can’t be planned — and for the most of us, they simply don’t happen at will.  So just because I took a certain amount to steps and ended up going somewhere I didn’t plan on, doesn’t mean that what I experienced is a road map, etched in concrete, for others seeking similar experiences.

That being stated…what I’m have to share is a detailed experience I had, in which sexual energy acted as a catalyst to pierce the veil of the normal world — taking me on a wild journey that was exactly as if, I were at two places at the same time.  Unlike the out of body experience, I had an awareness that I was going on a journey — and when it got a bit to strange for me (the point where I got scared) I was able to make my way back to the area of being here now, in this world.

Now, for a detailed account, of one of the most “kinky” nights of my entire life.

Living in South Florida, it rarely gets really cold.  Last winter was no exception.  It was January 11th, 2011 — and I had vowed to start the year off in a memorable way.  Most notably, I had become determined to accept life on life’s terms without becoming frustrated (too much) by the aspects of life that I didn’t think were going my way.  Namely, the woman whom I had been expressing my interest in for close to two years, didn’t seem interested in me in the way I was her, and I was finally at peace with letting go and moving on.  Life, however, had other plans for me.

More than likely, I had gone to a yoga class earlier that day and decided I was going to take it easy that night.  My roommate (the woman I have been discussing) called me to let me know she was on her way home and wondered where I was — as well as what my plans were.  I told her that I was home…upon which she replied I had better stay put because she was on her way and had something to tell me.  I knew where she was earlier that night, which was a place I didn’t personally approve of — nor did I care for the company she was in, but that was not really my place to let her know these personal opinions.  I just accepted what she had to say and agreed to be home.  Shortly after the phone conversation commenced, the door opened and there she was — looking as beautiful as ever.

Just the sight of her was enough to set off a certain set of reactions within, and that night was no different, in that aspect.  What was different, however, was the shy (which she isn’t at all) grin and demeanor she coyly floated my way while starting a conversation laced with sexual innuendos of sorts.  This bait, of course, was something I simply couldn’t resist, so I decided to engage in the conversation — with more than a casual curiosity, just to see what might happen.  That, however, didn’t get too far.  I was abruptly told, with the tone of an angry school teacher, to “Shut Up Paul” pretty much, as soon as I started talking.  Entertained (as I like that kind of role play with certain people) I decided not to even entertain the thought of an argument…

Soon after, we were embracing — holding each other close.  Both of us were completely dressed.  She had her face tightly buried in my shoulder and we were simply holding each other.  As I was holding her, smelling her, feeling her warmth — I was also becoming more and more aware of the sensations stirring within.  The familiar sexual fire I had often felt and associated with her was back again.  But this time it was different.  Strange.  She wouldn’t look at me.  She wouldn’t talk to me, and I sensed that she too, was feeling the same sexual electricity that I was.  We gravitated towars the couch so we could lay down….

Once on the couch, it was more of the same.  We were holding each other, not saying anything, not kissing, not fondling, not undressing — not that much more than just holding.  What many could think of as a peculiar and somewhat torturous encounter.  To me, the common (if such a thing exists) sexual encounter follows a somewhat linear path.  It starts with interest, communication, more interest, desire, feeling sexual, holding, touching — then some kissing, clothing coming off and then you know the rest of the story.

Point being, in those linear encounters, usually, a mutual feeling (gives the take charge person) the cue to initiate action, taking things one step at a time until orgasm has been reached.  The experience I was having, that night was quite different.  There was definitely desire, sensation and sexual energy stirred up — but there wasn’t a physical progression.  We were just holding each other and staying on the couch, moving with the energy and feelings.  Internally, things were most certainly progressing, so to speak.  Externally, on the other hand, there was very little that seemed to be happening – and every time I made a motion or went to speak I was told, with an impish (and mischievous) tone -”No.”

Being as such, I decided to let go of any further attempts to control or guide the experience in the conditioned way I had grown to expect encounters in which sexual feelings between mutual partners to go. Simply stated, I was just going to go with the flow – to the best of my ability.  So…I decided to close my eyes and let the sensations within my body go on a journey all by themselves, much like what I had discovered how to do in the Soulistic Touch erotic meditation that I shared about, in detail, previously.

Well.  That’s when “things” started to get a bit uncommon.  One of the things I figured out how to do in the process of “Soulistic Touch” was learning how to “ride” feelings, utilizing the energy gererated from erotic sensation, to internally open up an entirely new landscape.  Based on my initial experience, I had discovered that erotic energy, when magnified enough, could create the sensations of “energetic orgasm” within the body.  More specifically, I learned that in order for that to happen, it helped to allow the body to behave on it’s own accord, moving as it felt fit, in the moment, from one moment to the next.

As I decided to let go and go with the flow, I also decided that I was going to allow my body to move rhythmically with the feelings I was experiencing and to just close my eyes and let whatever was going to unfold just unfold as it would.  As I loosened up and let myself move, as if I were making love, the first thing that happened was an intensification of erotic energy.  Somehow, that night, there did not seem to be a roof on sensation…

Next, I was feeling a strange tightness in the area in my forehead that “those in the know’ would consider to be the “third eye” — it was a tightness that coincided with the erotic energy I was feeling.  At that point, I was squinting my facial muscles because the feelings were more intense than I was accustomed to and that seemed to be the most natural way to handle it.  When things did not subside I felt that eventually, something, I wasn’t quite certain what, would have to give…

Exactly how what happened next happened, I don’t quite know, as the how, is a bit hazy.  What I do remember (as a kick off the the “real” experience) is becoming alarmed to say something along the lines of “What are you doing?!” only to get the answer “What are you talking about?” in response.  Well, being as verbal communication was useless, I went back into the feelings and visions I had started having.  The feeling was that I was partially in the room, in embrace and mostly, consciously at least, in another place.

In detail, I “saw” an old hand made wooden table that hadn’t been stained or treated with anything.  I was standing on a rouge wood floor in an old, stone house in what appeared to be, the kitchen.  Outside, tied up, there were a couple of horses.  Somehow I got the idea that the horses were used for transportation, and this place I was having a vision of was in a time before the time and space the physical body I occupy now, was situated.

In that vision I was making love with a brunette woman who was dressed (partially) in what I could only consider an old, somewhat plain, full dress with a white collar and cuffs around the wrists.  I could feel her.  I loved her very much, and the I was not the me I am in today.  The I was a guy who came from a different place, in a different time with a different look.  Oddly enough, though, we were somehow surprisingly connected in a way I was not familiar with that seemed perfectly natural.  I was aware of his presence, and what he was doing (making love) as if I were him, and he was aware of my presence, and what I was doing, as if, he were me.  Then on another thought, I felt that I realized — that somehow, I had pierced some sort of veil with erotic energy that this person I was seeing, also pierced through, with  sexual energy.

I was in a place that didn’t have time.  For all I knew, (it was possibly a figment of my imagination) this person I was experiencing in this vision had physically died a long time ago, but the place that we had both tapped into was a place in which time, as we think we know it, simply doesn’t exist.

I was kind of wierded out at that point.  I knew what I was doing, but that vision was too real to be part of my imagination.  It was nothing like a daydream.  It was more like reality.  Yet, I knew where I was and what I was doing.  I think the way I was responding was sending a message of fear to my other half (of the experience) and again, I was told to just go with it.

That’s when things started to get really strange:

Already in an altered space, it was pretty easy for me to continue to have visions  and go deeply back into the space where I had been.  Mind you, physically, we were, still just in embrace.  Then there was a period of travel.  It was night, and it was as if I were floating through the air.  The sky was black with clouds and I could make out images of what seemed to be pyramids.  Beyond the pyramids was what I construed to be a group of people, who came into my mind more like a force.  This force, however made even the darkest of dark nights feel safe.  It was all knowing.  It was genius.  It was ancient and modern at the same time and it was (is) a force that has manifested people who walk among us here on Earth, today, in this world we all share.

They were aware of my presence.  I attempted to hide and become preoccupied by focusing on other things, but to no avail.  They knew I was there and they were directly addressing me.  I made reference to a person in my life whom I feel epitomizes a science that, if good and holy existed, exemplified that, but I was directly told they are not interested in that person.

Before I go further, so you, the reader don’t just assume that I’m bat shit crazy at this point, I feel it important to communicate that I simply cannot think of any choice of words, to use, to accurately describe that part of the experience.  It was very real, and the communication that seemed to be transpiring was more on a level of knowing — which is much different than communicating with another person by using your voice to talk.  Of course, you are going to draw what ever conclusion you choose, but I just want to do what I can to clarify this event was internal, vivid, and as seemingly real as it was, it was largely expressed in symbolism.

That being said – and me feeling completely exposed to a dark force that was just as clever as the “light” (perhaps two sides of the same coin) I became fearful.  I was kind of certain my own death was Healthy Relationshipsnot far away and I began to mentally prepare.  It was that intense.

Becoming noticeably shaken, opening my eyes, I became quite questionable of what my partner was doing to me.  I didn’t know where she was, what journey she was on, but I knew things were wild beyond what I felt comfortable communicating with her at that point.

We both sat up.  I must have looked like a fawn in the headlights, as there was no hiding my uncertainty about everything that seemed to be.  She was then holding me and I put my head in her lap.  She started rubbing my forehead and again, I went internally, into a completely different space.  I was in a room that was seemingly ancient.  It was underground that the walls were made of stone.  Somehow, I had the impression it was a room underneath a pyramid.  There was an intricate circle carved into the floor and on the inside of the circle there was a series of detailed geometrical patterns.  They traced the inside of the circle.  Inside of that, there was another circle.  Inside of that circle, there seemed to be two triangles intersecting each other.  Again, there seemed to be beings in this room with me.  They too, seemed to surpass the hands of time.  It was a place that simply was.  Beyond time and beyond what’s here now.  Somehow, I had the inclination I was to be initiated in some strange way.  I felt a jewel was being placed (implanted) into my forehead that that I was I was being softly spoken to as though I were a newborn child.

Once again, the whole thing became a bit overwhelming to me and I, that time, had had it.  I sat up and looked my partner in the eyes quite directly and ask her what she was doing.  Looking at me as if I were crazy, she calmly told me, in between innocent giggles, that I looked like a baby and she was soothing me.  At that stage, I just didn’t know what to think.  I didn’t know where she had been — and I was, to say the least, ultra sensitized.  Everything was magnified.  Touch, smell, sound, thought and overall feeling.  It was so real.  In so many ways, it was challenging for me to grasp in any sense what was happening.

On one hand, it was an experience no less significant than the out of body experience I had had earlier on in my life — while on the other hand — it was, so far, the most intense sexual experience I had ever had in my lifetime — and we weren’t even undressed.  The rest of the evening was equally intense and interesting as the experience did proceed to a more physical experience.  Most notably, (what I feel comfortable mentioning here) I felt that I could feel her even when direct contact wasn’t being made.  The sense was more of a linking of minds — that continued throughout the night.

Speaking of healthy relationships…the aftermath…

The aftermath thus far, at the time of this writing has been a one year together “anniversary” — as well as a further opening of the mind.  Could it be, that so many of us are hopelessly locked into thinking about sexual energy only in ways that temporarily satiates a physical hungering that prevents us from experiencing so much more in our lives, in so many ways?  That was one question that came to mind after that night.

I started to realize how men and women alike, regardless of sexual preference or gender identity, seem to become trapped in a web of their own self serving desires.  When we don’t know better, unconsciously we seem to find ways to attempt to impose our will on another person whom we feel, can touch us, so deeply, in a way that stokes something inside.  Flames that once fanned, seem to only consume more and more.  Flames powerful enough to consume an entire life…when left unchecked.

The purpose for me to share is singular.  I wish to inspire others to get out the way of the addictions they hold so tight, with such conviction — that, even if it’s just for just a moment…to think — and realize, we are only but drops and an ocean.  An ocean so vast we cannot even see beyond the horizon from this vantage point.  Are your addictions, when it comes to so much (including sex) really worth your life?  Extra-ordinary experiences are as unpredictable as a sudden change in weather, they cannot be anticipated and they don’t seem to give any time for preparation.  I believe we’re all able to have them — it’s just a matter of being ready, willing and open.  Are you?

Namaste,
Paul

PS – The practice I have made reference to, Soulistic Touch, is available in oBook format here.

 

 

…and just where do healthy relationships start?

I think it’s not too far fetched for some of us to attest — the real life relationships we have, often, sadly fail to live up to the thoughts, fantasies and longings we have picked up somewhere along the grandiose path of life.  Many of us have reasons for thinking, acting and feeling the way we do, when it comes to relationships.  Some of us may feel as though what (and who) we wished for in the past was cruelly denied — so now is the time to reconcile the past… Then there are those of us who wear a thick crown of jagged thorns, carrying with us heavy baggage past relationships have left us stranded on the side of the road with.  Let’s not forget about those who perpetually settle for the oh so much less than stellar “safe” relationship lacking just about everything except the quasi comfort of a warm body…at times.  There are also, however, some of us who have been fortunate enough to have no disconnect when it comes to the art of healthy relationships.  If that isn’t you, how then, could a healthy relationship even be possible?

Healthy RelationshipsLast week, I shared details of a period in my life — when the pain of staying the same outweighed the discomfort of shifting my focus — and venturing into unknown territory to possibly change.  There is an old adage — “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” — that idea has played an important role in repairing a part of my life that, to me, was so damaged, dysfunctional and unconscious – that I was suffering in many ways a a result.  What I wanted from life — and what I was actually experiencing in terms of relationships could be summed up with the word antithesis.  In an unpredictable mirage of things that happened, somewhere in the past, the opportunity for healing and resolution presented itself — and I embraced it completely.  The solution was an idea, a concept, a thought that I made the conscious decision to follow up with dedicated and disciplined action steps so I may understand, with greater conscious.  Fortunately, the set of actions I put into motion in my life, (which I have detailed step by step in eBook format) led me along a path that paved the way for tremendous growth that included the ability to have (and enjoy) what I now consider to be a healthy relationship (with myself).  Interestingly, the teacher…the coveted teacher, ended up being an invisible force that so often gets overlooked (even cast aside) in favor of something, more tangible… The teacher ended up being intuition stemming from the willingness to venture into the unknown and tap into a force within the casing of something so much greater.  Myself.

I shared the idea of never having to be lonely again — even healthy relationships, but the change… it certainly didn’t happen overnight…

I’m not gonna pretend to be some sort of expert on how energy moves in the human body, but I will, however, surmise that what happened when I reached the point of what I refer to energetic orgasm that I discussed in a previous post, a lot of things changed, internally as well as externally for me.  For starters, I seemed to be so much more aware of how things felt outside of myself.  For example, (and maybe this was in my head) I began to notice how I felt around other people a lot more in many ways. If someone was curious, or paying attention in my general direction, and I was in proximity, I felt it.  If someone in proximity was upset, I could feel that to a much greater extent than I had before.  I was also more keenly able to tune into romantic or sensual energies that weren’t necessarily being put out there by myself.  It was strange and exciting at the same time — finally arriving at the crossing point of a threshold that prevented me from being more conscious on so many levels.

There could be many sane, rational – even scientific reasons for this, but in retrospect, I tend to think that by letting go and releasing a lot of the noisy baggage I was constantly carrying around with me, I was in turn, able to simply tune in, more effectively, to what was already there.  Naturally, I became curious.  A bit egotistical too.  It seemed as though I was able to “direct” more of what happened around me, in certain ways, by saying less – and “manipulating” what I will call (for lack of more appropriate terms) my energy field.  Where I noticed this mostly, was in the ability to seemingly meet women I was attracted to from a physical perspective and more rapidly establish a level of rapport and comfort that would inevitably lead to sexual intensity — and naturally physically connect in a much deeper way than I had before.  Not only that, I was also, effectively able to extend the experience to the extent that I never again, had to worry about the “train leaving the station before all passengers were aboard” — and when the train did leave the station, it did with such intensity that it (felt as though) was an act of God there was not derailments.  I never knew orgasms had the potential to be so intense.

All of that wonderful stuff had been previously unknown.  So…for a few months, I embraced my newly inflated ego, along with a childlike desire to “play with my new toy” and went to town, so to speak…Some people believe in karma, others tend to think that life has a way of eventually balancing out – while others, yet, don’t give the concept any more than the curt judgment “thoughts like that are for whack-jobs.”  It’s not up to me to make that stuff right or wrong, but I will let you know — after a few months of glistening in an egotistically shiny after-gloat, life balanced out.

Short, sweet (except not really) and to the point, I had my first stalker.  Then I had my feeling hurt.  Badly.  After that I met someone whom I really liked — a lot, who thought of me as nothing more than “Platonic Paul.”  How’s that for healthy relationships?  In so many ways, there I was, back to square one…

But not really.  Despite my rather undesirable position as “Platonic Paul” (a nickname I gave myself in her presence in the many times I plead my case as to why I should have been more than just friends) I decided to accept what was in front of me the best I could.  Ironically, that was a friend.  Someone who seemed, in so many ways, to be a female version of how I was.  Of course, we did have our differences, but in all the ways important for close friends, we were very much alike.  Also, ironically, she seemed very familiar in  strange way…

Over the course of two an a half years, she and I became very close.  Something I would not have been willing to do prior the experiencing the meditation (if you want to call it that) that I now think of as “Soulistic Touch” — but there I was, allowing myself to feel vulnerable and much more.  The much more part could be thought of as internal darkness.  Powerful emotional feelings, inner conflict and lack of understanding that remains dormant until the “right” conditions are present.  Similar to a “perfect” storm.  In my case, the potent ingredient that aroused all of these dark feelings I had not had the opportunity to “deal with” was the sensation of desire for another human being that I deeply cared for and about.  I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms, to feel the warmth of her body and to make love with her in ways she had never been touched before.  Selfish?  Absolutely.  Not once, however, have I claimed that I wasn’t ever a glutton for punishment.

Getting back to the story…the most uncomfortable part of the equation for me, was there was an actual friendship of sustenance – something I had wanted for years, to be able to experience with a woman before actually crossing the holy threshold and uniting in divine sexual union.  The thought that drove me crazy was “What if that never evolves into being?”  I certainly wasn’t shy about sharing my feelings with her.  In fact, it was a practice that became a somewhat regular part of our friendship.  Me pleading and her being diplomatic in rejecting my advances.  After all, we were, eventually — roommates, so my advances and feelings were understandably, natural to share with a close friend (in my rationalizing mind).  The bevy of feelings I went through in that two and a half years of my life were enough to drive just about anyone, who wasn’t a deeply genuine friend — far away from me.  I was experiencing many feelings that hurt.

Desire, especially when there’s someone on the receiving end of that desire, who you have more than a casual longing for, gets really strange.  It’s the type of thing, for me at least (as I cannot speak for others) that pushed me to the edge in many ways, for a long time.  In the beginning of the journey I thought I was cleverly engaging on, all I wanted was to be able to experience healthy relationships.  What I felt I was going through, however, was completely chaotic emotional turmoil.

My masturbation habit was, how should I put this…extra-ordinarily filled with lots of motivation and inspiration?  Maybe, but the non sugar coated version would be more along the lines of straight up obsessive.  Emotionally — times were very interesting.  I never knew jealousy could be so intense, or that what I thought of as love could hurt so badly.  But somehow I knew, with all me being — if I was not able to not only deal with, but grow from, accept and understand the feelings I was experiencing, it was certain — they would repeat themselves until I was able to embrace and heal (understand with higher conscious) them.

At what point, does chaos render the thought of healthy relationships a pipe dream?

That, I wasn’t certain of.  But eventually I was able to accept my feelings and accept that I might not have the type of relationship I thought I wanted.  I came to terms with my desire to control the environment as well as how much discord in my life that desire was causing me.  It was one of the hardest things I had ever done.  On an emotional level, it was, perhaps, the most difficult feat — in terms of all that that choice and acceptance represented.  I might not ever get to experience all that I dreamed of and desired.  That was ok.  Had it not been for what I think of as the 4-degree shift “Soulistic Touch” allowed me to reach, I simply would not have had the mindset or wherewithal to “subject” myself to two and a half years of encountering and wrestling with a darkness that resided deep within, lurking, waiting for the ideal circumstances to boil over to the surface.  What made it even more intense, was the woman whom I fell in love with, was so similar to whom I eventually “saw” in Soulistic Practice.  That was a real mental bender for me.

Finally, I let go.  I’m not talking about a half (or less) hearted “affirmation”  — “I now release this desire to the universe” type of utopian self help gibberish.  I really let go.  I accepted not having.  I accepted my life.  I accepted moving on.  I accepted and wished for her to be happy as well.  I even felt lighter.  Happier.  More filled with a willingness to live, embrace life, move forward and live.

Literally, a day after I had done that, things changed.  The very next night we made love — on a date we both think of as our anniversary.  That was also an evening in which many things I did not understand about sexual energy occurred, traversing the mind to another plane, piercing a veil – opening a door I never even knew could be accessible – through erotic energy…which was similar to an out of body experience I had — and something I will elaborate on in my next post.

In closing…I really couldn’t even begin to promise, or even suggest the experience I had could be guideline for others.  I, to this day, don’t feel as though any advice I could give a person is of deeply penetrating, life-altering  value.  I feel that until you have an experience, it’s all just a story.  Personally, I have no idea what journey might open up ahead of you.  There are just so many possibilities — and there is really only one way to go about discovering, and I think you know that that is — and it starts with a choice…

Namaste,
Paul

 

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When you think “Healthy Relationships” – Where Does Your Mind Go?

Do you think there is a space where the physical needs of your body overlap the emotional longings we also feel?  If so, what area of your life do you think acts as a “triggering mechanism” to let you know that somehow, somewhere, you have wants, needs and desires that aren’t being met?  As suggested by the title of this piece – relationships is an area where physical want, need and desire can easily overlap emotional want, need and desire.  I know that’s a broad statement I just made, so please, allow me to narrow it down a bit so that we can both get on the same page before I share how an experience I had in the beginning of 2008 got me off the edge of the edge of the tall building I was standing on, and more confident that I too, could have the privilege of enjoying what many people think of as healthy relationships.

healthy relationshipsBefore I go further, I should let you know that I was not really planning on jumping off any tall buildings or calling it quits.  But I was frustrated to no end with the physical desires that too often seemed to pulse through my body — desires that burned like hot embers constantly sweltering and seeking to consume — desires that simply did nothing to satiate the intense emotional longings I had to be in a healthy relationship — you know…the kind where both parties involved actually liked each other enough to want to share time with each other — the kind where nothing needed to be held back and there was trust and no secrets.  More truthfully, the kind of relationship where I would be able to enjoy a romantic partners personal company, even after having sex with them.

Healthy Relationships and Sex, They Really Do Go Hand In…

Unfortunately, for me, the idea of connecting with someone whom I could share everything with – and by everything, I mean a “best friends” emotional bond along with “my sexual fantasies are coming true” steaminess with — was an idea that I somehow felt wouldn’t ever come to fruition…at least not for me, in this lifetime.  For me, there was friendship — and there was sex.  Often, women that I befriended became great friends that I could “hang out” with and communicate with about whatever, just not sex.  Not because it was unacceptable, but more because I had this thing.  Once I was friends with you, eventually any ideas that I may have had about “hooking up” in a sexual way stopped.  For the most part, I only became friends with women I wasn’t sexually attracted to in the uncontrollable fiery way I wished for in the first place anyways.

Sex, on the other hand, was a completely different story.  There had to be an element of mystery and excitement that went along with it.  Often, my attraction was, for the most part, based on physical attraction — then, on the occasions that I actually mustered up enough courage to go ahead and put a mask on “portraying” to be someone I wasn’t — a steady stream of b.s that was carefully coordinated and engineered to be spewed fourth with the full full intention of — hot, somewhat anonymous, uber kinky, all knowing, all feeling, reality melding SEX.

Does this seem like the stuff healthy relationships are built on yet?  Didn’t think so…

The times the sex part actually came to fruition, there was pretty much, almost always, the 10 out of 10 times disappointment factor that ensued afterwards.  Plainly stated, sex, on those terms, never, not even once, lived up to my hopes, aspirations and expectations of what I thought it should have been.  In fact, most of the time, it was quite a let down.  All the slick talking, all the effort, all the thick animal magnetism I had tricked myself into believing was there, somehow seemed to disappear just as the orgasm (that also rarely lived up to my expectations) was over.  Those feelings were pretty quickly replaced with resentment, could shoulders — or on some occasions, the ravenous desire to do it again because it had the potential to live up to “sexual fantasy” standards — but even that was laced with the heavy fear that I might get hurt and if I do. A certain kind of painful “lust hangover” that would drive me to act out in all sorts of ways that even a 2 year old knows would land them in “cool down corner” if they acted in such a mortifying way usually trailed hookup style encounters that I actually felt had potential to be more.

Can you understand the dilemma I faced at that point?  All I wanted was to enjoy what most people consider healthy relationships — clearly, that wasn’t happening, and I had no idea how to make “things” any different.  It just didn’t seem as though my heart and penis had the same agenda, but they both longed for the same thing.  Strange, yes?

Despite this wheel of undesirable cause and effect I seemed to have become so good at riding, I somehow knew I was not along.  There are plenty of women I knew (and still know) that have somehow seemed to master the art of “imposing the vagina” on men in such a way that they are absolutely genius at the “bleeding heart” and “nobody wants me” game.  Friends of mine who prefer partners of the same sex often confide how frustrating it is that everyone seems so focused on just sex and nobody in the world seems to want anything of any actual sustenance (except them) — so they are forced to live out a lonely life filled with dreamy hedonistic “hookups”until the unfriendly fingers of time cast the “ugly shadow” of old upon them – rendering them undesirable, destined to grow old and die alone.

If that wasn’t bad, there’s the ultimate antithesis of healthy relationships:

There’s settling for a relationship that despite how many lies you tell to yourself and others in a futile attempt to believe otherwise, causes you to feel completely dead inside.  The recollection of a recent lunchtime conversation with some colleagues of mine may help you get a better idea of this concept:

There were four of us, three guys one one woman.  Freshly engaged, and mortified at just about the entire conversation, she listened.  After all, it started innocently enough — we were discussing television.  Personally, I don’t watch it.  There are many things I can think of to do in place of television, including sharing engaging time with my current partner, writing, doing yoga, walking – and just generally living a life free of the direct influence of Fox News, CNN and other stations that seem to be so good at pontificating stuff that I do not find agreeable on a soul level.

As I was sharing my views on television, I felt a confession was in order.  I wasn’t always “this way.”  In fact, when I was married, television was a HUGE part of my life.  It was the one distraction that helped me avoid dealing head on with the undeniable truth that I was in a relationship (one the government co-signed on) that my heart simply wasn’t into.  This was supposed to be a relationship that was to last the rest of my life — an all that I wanted was out.

Sure, the beginning was, well, ok.  Deep down, I think both of us knew that we were not a match made in heaven, but we were both getting older and I just didn’t want to be alone, so it seemed like a rational choice.  I mean…I had never experienced anything else to give me the impression that things were ever going to get any better, so I may as well give up this crazy dream that a deeply fulfilling relationship actually exists and accept what I had in front of me at the time.

Let me say, thank God for television.  TV was the glue that prevented the fight that would inevitably happen when we started actually communicating with each other.  TV was the glue that allowed us to both live a convenient “white lie” that what we shared, was as good as life gets.  TV gave us the perfect distraction we both needed to make it through another day so when we were resting our heads at night, we could secretly both dream of what we both really wanted, and that wasn’t a life with each other.

Upon hearing this anecdotal story, one of the guys (who has been married about 14 years) started laughing, and without even a trace of shame — confided that television is a big part of their household.  Without it, he would be forced to actually look at his wife!  The other guy, who hasn’t been married that long had a concerned look on his face.  He seemed like a kid, waiting in the lunch line at school, who had just been bullied out of his lunch money when it was pizza day.

Then he confided…when he was single, he didn’t watch television either.  Now, he’s married, with children — and they watch LOTS of TV.  The woman in our group, somehow, didn’t care to finish the rest of her lunch.  Mr. Married for 14 years reminder her that she just got engaged right?

We all want health relationships, but how often do we settle?

I’m not telling these stories to be mean or cast a cold grey cloud over anyone’s idea of healthy relationships.  If your idea of healthy relationships is snuggling up together and watching TV, who am I to suggest otherwise?  Clearly, that’s not my place.  The point I’m getting at is that many of us simply don’t face that which causes us to become miserable in the first place — and try as we might, casting it aside or cramming our troubles into the closet isn’t going to somehow magically make things better.

For me, and I’m using myself as an example because I don’t want to speak for anyone else (although many people I have shared this story with relate a lot more than they wish) the soul source of discordhealthy relationships in my life resulted from the disconnect, or lack of harmony between my emotional wants, desires and needs and my physical wants, desires and needs.  I’ve done a lot of introspective types of meditation and plenty of other “seeking” related stuff — I was even able to demonstrate to myself incredible powers of the mind in many ways — but when it came to the idea of sex and connection, all bets were off.  I seemed to become someone I wasn’t, and it was increasingly more and more painful.

I had managed to leave the marriage I wasn’t fulfilled in, but outside of that, I seemed to be doing the same types of things that got me into that space to begin with.  The prospect of living out the rest of my live with such powerful, unrelenting unfulfilled desires was, to say the very least, daunting.  However, as what some would consider fate, would have it, I was “destined” to find and experience that utopian dream relationship I had always wanted.  You know, the one I was praying for since I was, oh, around 19 years old that I was never “given” — and it came to me in a strange way (and it started with the relationship I have with myself).

Yoga has done a lot for me, including helping me to rethink the concept of healthy relationships…

I used to teach Yoga classes.  That period of time was a bit of a stretch for me because the way I had usually shared Yoga was on a one to one basis.  Anyways, it seems the general contention about yoga is that it is just as much about “meditation” “spirituality” and living a “balanced life” as it is for physical wellness — while that may be the intent, however, that’s a completely different story about people practicing what they preach that I won’t go into here.  Point being, as a teacher, I was expected to be up to speed with the latest and greatest meditation techniques practice styles, even bodywork!  That being said, some of the conversations I found myself in were nothing short of mystifying to me — and wouldn’t you know it…about 80 percent of the after class conversations that “went down” were somehow about sex, and I was not the one to start them.

In case you’re wondering what this has to do with finding a way to align emotional and physical desires that most of us feel…lemme tell you — it was everything.  Had it not been for the after class discussions that often took place I would have never learned about a documentary titled “The Sacred Prostitute” — in which people holding onto various religious ideas were interviewed about sexual energy.  I was gifted my very own copy.  I even watched it…

For the most part, there was nothing  I felt I could actually take away from the movie, as it was all pretty much philosophy from religious standpoints dealing with sex.  Good thing there was that small “for the least part” that made a deep impact on the way I though and gave birth to a practice that has changed my entire approach to (from withing) transforming an area of my life that gave me pain like you wouldn’t (or would) believe into peaceful understanding and alignment of emotional with physical.

My journey into healthy relationships started with a celibate Monk talking about sex:

Most of us know that Monks, who have the persona of living in solitude, take a vow of celibacy.  There was about a 90 second segment in the movie in which a monk was interviewed about erotic energy and the concept of being celibate.  He stated that in the celibate lifestyle they practiced in their community, the repression of erotic energy was not part of what they did.  He stated “We do the opposite.”  The monk then went on explaining that instead of suppressing erotic energy, they embraced it and incorporated it into meditation.  “We visualize a lover and making love, eventually, with practice, the sensation of orgasm flows everywhere throughout the body.”  Although, he cautioned, the process could take years and years to perfect.

After taking in what the monk had to say, my mind went into thought mode.  I had studied many different meditation techniques and even got pretty good (relative term) at a few of them – but never had the idea of doing something such as “erotic meditation” ever occurred to me.  Most of the “spiritually” orientated teachings I had investigated and practiced, did anything and everything possible to avoid broaching the topic of sexual energy at just about all costs.  Yet, for me, I felt it was those feelings, desires and longings that tended to get my life to go off balance more rapidly than just about anything else.  Something didn’t seem quite right.  I also knew that I wasn’t alone.  I know that sexual energy and the desire for emotional connection is a human condition that completely and utterly disregards race, creed and preference.  We’re all human and we all feel it at some point in our lives.

The next question for me was what to do.  I rationalized that attempting to find out where these monks lived and defecting everything I knew so I could plea my case to live and study with them wasn’t rational.  Nor was becoming celibate.  Nor was continuing to live life how I had been living life.  The solution was pretty simple.  I had to figure out a way that I was going to apply the idea of erotic meditation to my life, and if I was able to do so, perhaps I too would be able to finally enjoy the kind of healthy relationships that I believed I wanted.

Knowing I needed a game plan, I came up with a few ideas.  First, I was going to be approaching practice a slight bit differently than just sitting down.  As a student of Harmon Hathaway’s Alignment Science I felt that if I incorporated the hip release (described in full in the instructional ebook I wrote detailing a step by step guide to practice) into the visualization part of the practice, any intense energy that may become awakened would have a place to go.  Additionally, and perhaps more importantly to me at the time — the hip release would prevent me from going to sleep.  Additionally, I decided to commit to practicing for 6 weeks, 7 days per week, curtailing masturbation or any use of mind altering substances (alcohol included) until after practice.  On top of that I felt that practice would be more effective with clothing on and outside of my house.  Living in South Florida, the beach seemed as though it was a pretty good option.  There was a lifeguard stand on a pretty remote area on the beach that I would be able to make it to during the evenings…

The first two weeks of practice were nothing short of miserably painful.  Being as I had little to no clue as to what a starting point should be, other than the hip release, I decided to visualize my sexual fantasies coming to fruition.  One thing that practice did very well was frustrate me.  It felt empty, void, and served as a consistent reminder of what I wasn’t getting that I thought I wanted.  After a pretty rough couple of weeks wrestling with those demons and feeling more frustrated after practice than before, I decided to ask myself a question that I can’t recall asking myself prior to that moment.

“What exactly am I searching for in a relationship?”

Ironically, the answer that came to mind was connection.  More than anything else I desired to feel a sense of connection that could transcend words as there was such a deep understanding and beingness involved.  I wanted a lover who I could feel — even when there wasn’t physical contact or verbal communication.  I wanted a lover I could bare my soul to and a lover who could bear their soul to me.  I wanted a lover who had similar life experiences to the ones I had and who understood how I was wired.  I wanted a lover I could share with and someone to keep me company through this journey of life.  I wanted a lover who was uplifting, radiant and loving.  Interesting…the sexual stuff wasn’t a priority…

I also realized that other than a few glimpses of having that feeling with a potential lover, this was something completely foreign to me.  I had no reference point for that which I wanted the most…

That’s when I came up with the idea of what I was going to do next.  Imagine the sensations in my own body and being if that lover was there, next to me.  Of course, I decided to avoid using images of past lovers of fantasy images, or even images of people I knew because I didn’t want to perpetuate more endless cycles of unfulfilled desire.

The next couple weeks were interesting.  I was able to get the idea of how I would feel inside, if there were to be a lover next to me, laying there, sitting there, connecting with me, without even speaking.  Many flashes of past lovers came to mind — often images of bad times I had and reasons I had for putting walls up and unconsciously blocking or preventing myself from experiencing that which I was laying on a lifeguard stand, at night, by myself, concentrating on.  Interesting…

Instead of warding off the negative images that washed through my mind, I embraced them.  I decided to let them tell a story — and that they did.  I started to understand some of the many ways I blocked myself.  Mostly it was out of fer that undesirable situations I had already experienced with past lovers would re-occur and I didn’t want to put myself through such difficult times again.  As I was able to understand that, I was also able to let go and feel what it might feel like if that “dream” lover was there, next to me, sharing a connection that transcended time, space and physicality.  I was even able to get ideas of how this lover would look and feel – on an energetic level.  It was kind of strange in the essence that I was not directing the show, just the intent.

After a week or two of this — feeling it until I was able to experience a deeply heartfelt connection and actually know how that would feel, if it were to happen, I understood that it was time for the next step.  I was going to imagine becoming that lover and practice feeling that same heartfelt, all accepting connection with the idea of myself, as I was at that time.  Ouch…

I rationed that if I was not able to imagine how someone else could unconditionally love and accept me, I was going to continue to block the experience from happening, again and again.  So I forged on…  Imagining myself as someone else was interesting.  I was curious as how them might think, what sort of emotions they might walk through life with and how it would feel to be inside their body.  Surprisingly, I was able to get a pretty good feel for that, pretty quickly.

The difficult part was seeing myself and feeling a connection with myself, the same beautiful, time defying way that I had been able to practice with the idea of a lover that was everything I wanted.  I was ugly, I was broke, I was a failure in life, I was a negative creep, I was anti social, I was a narcissistic delusional child in a man’s body — and on and on and on… Self defeating surface thoughts marched in waves, through my mind.  My body felt tight and constricted and the hip release had me feeling as though my body was one great big, grand mal seizure.

Yet I persisted.  I observed.  I released.  After a few weeks, I was actually able to get past the self defeating surface thoughts and into the real content.  I was able to recall specific events that happened in my life, and even though some of these events seemed insignificant – I realized how they formed the ideas of who I was as a person.  I was able to access the deeper recesses of my mind that kept things on the hamster wheel…  As my body released throughout the process I was able to feel the same connection with the idea of myself, from a lovers perspective, that I had learned how to feel a few weeks prior.  It was about unconditional acceptance and for one of the first times in my life, I was able to imagine the feeling.

Outside of practice, interesting things were happening.  I was becoming much more aware of my thinking.  I was more aware of people, places things and ideas that triggered painful feelings of lack in my life – and I was able to more quickly, feel centered and balanced.  The practice was working in ways I had not anticipated.

Being able to imagine the sensation of completely heartfelt, open connection with myself, I realized I was ready for the next step in my practice.  The sensual part.  Every practice started in similar fashion.  I would imagine the lover (whom had vividly appeared in my mind) and how it felt to connect on a level of emotion and heart.  Then I would imagine becoming the lover and connecting with myself the same way.  Finally, the next step was being in myself and imagining, as vividly as possible – making love with my lover.

The first couple of weeks the results were unpredictable and “interesting.”  I had many changes of mind as to how it was going to work, where it was going to happen and what to focus on the most.  After, however, a couple of weeks it seemed as if things went on autopilot.  Never before had I been able to develop such a strong level of focus.  Never before was I able to develop such a powerful mind sensation connection.  To me, it felt as though I was really somewhere else, making love.

After getting used to the intense sensations in my body and identifying where sensation or energy was tight and “stuck” – such as my lower stomach, and letting go I was able to access an even more powerful state of erotic energy than I had ever felt before.  It completely rocked me.  If it wasn’t for the hip release I would not have been able to handle it.

A couple of “practice mishaps” I had when things got just too intense made me, once again, re-evaluate.  I rationed, if my mind was able to make all that happen, creating such powerful sensations and emotions, what if, when I felt as though I could no longer handle it, I just imagined orgasm and let my body respond as it wanted to?

That’s exactly what I did the next evening at practice.  And wow.  After quite a scene produced my my body – that seemed to go on and on and on, complete with involuntary muscle contractions – I felt as though I had just made love.  I felt high.  I realized I never had to feel isolated and without again, that it was a choice – and I always had a place for that energy to go.

In retrospect, as that was a few years behind me at this point – that practice changed my life in many ways.  I learned things about myself that I would never have realized any other way (at least, I don’t think I would have). I was able to get into the type of relationship I had been dreaming about.  Perhaps most importantly, that period of unique introspection allowed me to change the course of my life by 4 degrees — enough to alter everything simply by learning how to and practicing having a healthy relationship with myself.

Namaste,
Paul


 

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