Sacred Touch

I recently uncovered that Sacred Sexuality was one of the HOT TOPICS for this year's International Conference on Shamanism. I mentioned this to my students and brought it up on a Facebook Community that Sarah (a student and friend) started a few years back. This is one of my postings on the topic and since I didn't want to loose it for further references -- I brought it here.

In 1999 -- I picked up this article on Sacred Sexuality where an ethnologist was talking about the different rites of Love and Sex all over the World. I liked the article because the ethnologist took a Shamanic perspective. He talked about tribal living and how people used certain rituals to teach each other how to be collectively healthy. I found it fascinating. For example he talked about Greeks (ancestors 1700) and how they were publicly affectionate with each other -- to teach their children how to be open and intimate with their own people (Greeks obviously). He also mentions the worshipping of Aphrodite and how it created people who were focused on pleasure. I am not Greek but I know lots of Greek People (friends) and I've always admired the way Greek men and Greek women are affectionate with one another. Definitely even today - you can see within the Greek culture the affects of ancestral ritual touch. It made me wonder about our own Society today... What are the sexual rituals of the 21st century and what does that say about US?

A French journalist, Nathalie Dray -- wrote an article on Sacred Prostitutes in India that also talked to me. She too made a connection between the worshipping of the Goddess Yellama and the behaviours or the attitudes of the people. She seemed to be saying that "our beliefs" impact our issues or non-issues with sexuality, intimacy, TOUCH.

One thing that's FOR SURE for me, is that all HUMANS need touch. We constantly seek companionship; we're sensitive to our biological clocks; and we fear things like abandonment, rejection and being alone. We are creatures that NEED each other; we are creatures that are in tune with the physical -- and all that, resonates into TOUCHING in many cases. Whether we are talking about a hug, a pat on the back, holding hands, the warmth of someone else's body in our bed, or SEX -- it's all about TOUCH and it's all about fulfilling a need. How can we ever say we are CONTENT in life if we don't somehow FILL up all the HOLES in our life ---- TOUCH unfortunately being one of them in this century. Plus - lets face it many illnesses (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) are about a starvation on the level of touch. I understand that our society is scared of sexual abuse or abuse of any kind but I fear that we've gone to far and created many of the issues we are dealing with today with our children and elders. TOUCH has been a healing tool for thousands and thousands of years for HUMANS. Since the arrival of modern medicine -- touch has been rejected in so many ways and to the detriment of us all.