Are Sex and Spirituality like Water and Oil?

I have a long time friend in Germany. He knows about Eckankar, but years ago chose a different path.

But he reads books from Eckankar, and to say the least, he is a friend of Eckankar. Recently we had a short encounter and he mentioned that in the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, the main Book of Eckankar, it is mentioned that man shall not become animalistic and dwell in sex to satisfy his/her lust.

Love and sex always had played an important part in my life. But I had felt my mind played a more important part. I was lucky to have my first sexual encounter at a very early age. No, I was not abused, I was probably the one using the other person. But it was also a time where I was a very good christian. Probably not from a moralistic point of view, but in a spiritual sense.

God was part of my life and so was the puberty. But due to my early experience in contrast to my "friends" I did not speculate to much about sexuality but has my mind free for God.

Before I was 15 I was thrown out of the paradise we call faith. It was lunch time at work and we workers gathered, ate our lunch and discussed various things of course woman and also God. One of the older Workmates made a statement which as a consequence made me an atheist. As far as I can see now, out of croup of maybe 10, I was the only one affected. Strangely then also began a long drought in love and sex (about from 15 until 19). Writing this, it occurred to me, that there might be a connection I had not seen earlier.

About 40 years later

Maybe my falling out of faith had made me more critical towards the christian teaching. Maybe because of my strong sexual drive the body hostility of the christian teachings rebuked me. Why would God give me "Lust" if it was a sin.
Correction: Why would God give me a sexual drive if it was not to be used. Even Eckankar says that a seeker should not indulge in lust! For me Lust is satisfying my own desires. And if my desires control me I am addicted. 

Maybe it is not really wrong to say that I had an addiction to love. But when I hear the word Lust, I become uneasy. Is it still lust if my desire is not to satisfy my desire but that of my partner? Is it not an act of love to hold my satisfaction back to allow her to have hers?

At the end of my sexual prime not only my lust declined but also my desire to get involved, in love. In German there is a green joke

A man basically is surprised twice in his  life: 

The first time when when he cannot perform a second time

and the second time he is surprised when he cannot perform the first time.

With the declining sexual desire I observed a new freedom. It was a shocking experience. I always had thought I am a spiritual being (not a moralistic one), but now with the lessened desire I had a choice! Did I not have it before?

Yes, I could chose if I go after her or not, but I had no choice to find her attractive (fairly independent from her looks).

Do I enjoy this "new "freedom?

Of course I do, but I also miss the desire.

So the Church is right to say lust is bad? Body hostility is good?

I do not think so!

God gave us the hormone level we have to fight with, so it is good. 

If it declines in later age we are free to focus on other things. We can look back on our life and learn from it, or we can prepare to go into the other world and are not so much distracted my the hormonal needs.

I like to think that the churches favor a sex free life to control us via guilt. But originally before, when the church was a body of love, not one of power,  it meant the freedom from sex, older men and woman experience. They did not know that we are under hormonal control. And the more sex we have the lower our hormonal level, or without sex and masturbation the hormonal level rises and more and more controls us. The more we become less ourselves".

So, if I am right, if the churches asks us to refrain from sex, they ask us to more and more become subject to our hormones.

But what if the hormones are the real evil? 

Nice line of thought! I invite you to follow it!

Overcoming doubts and fears

The theme for the Eckankar Worship Service in June 2013 is Overcoming Doubts and Fears. Sri Harold Klemp the spiritual Leader of Eckankar states that we reach points in our life - also in our spiritual life - where we no longer are happy with the situation we are in. It is like an inner force that pressures us to move on, even to leave out comfort zones.
Many of us are looking for a sign of God, but to often we look outside us, but this feeling of no longer being at the right place, this wondering if there is something else out there for us this is a sign of God too.
But to move on also comes along with the feelings we call fear and doubt.
It is funny in a way. The most static and static is not the proper word, the most common force is something we do not like - CHANGE. And the older we get in this bodies, the less we like it. Even if we are in a situation which is not so nice like a bad marriage, prison, sickness, poorness we do not like change. In psychology it is a known fact that many people rather suffer than change. And we also know the circumstance when we really want a betterment in what we are in at the present time.
We want change without changing.
Do you agree, that in a way it is strange. There is God saying "Come to me", but the moment we want to take action to follow ITS command, there is doubt and fear to hold us back. Why would God do this to us?
Is God not serious?
What if God is serious?

Do you know sheeps and goats? Two very similar animals and yet so different. A goat is curious looking around, even climbing trees, whereas a sheep has its head down grazing and basically following the sheep in front.
Let me ask you a question you probably dared to raise yourself.
"Why did God create you?" and "Why does IT put you through all this hardship?"
Eckankar states the we (Soul) exists because God loves us. I can imagine God as a crazy scientist, but in a way that does not fit the picture I like to have of my creator. So lets assume Eckankar is right.
So why does God put fear and doubt in our way if we WANT to follow this inner urge to go home to God.
You agree it holds us back, diba?
Did you ever watch a baby start to walk? Gravity makes is fall on its butt again and again, sometimes it falls on its face and gets hurt. But up to now I never heard of a baby that gave up learning to walk! We are like a baby on our way to God. Fear is the gravity that makes us fall again and again.

Sometimes we try to walk as a Catholic, some times as Buddhist, sometimes as Protestant and other times as Muslim. And again and again we land on our butt. After we tried it for a number of lifetimes as a Christian we may try Islam or Buddhism we reach a state where doubt makes us wonder if it is right to try to walk, but again this inner urge makes us want to stand up.

For me this inner urge in a way is the love of GOD or this force that wants us to be to "go home".
 I am an Eckist, because I follow this inner urge.  And in a way I am a goat looking around and even climbing trees. Am I not afraid,  you may ask?
I am!
But fear has made me so strong that I can win over it, or at least put it aside (for the time being).
What about doubts. Do I have doubts? I have every now and then, at least. But does it hold me back?
NO!
You see the gift of conquering fear is that you stop being rules by fear. Then and only then does fear become a choice!

"After earth" some thoughts about Scientology and conquering fear

Theatrical release

A few weeks I was watching a movie. I like to be early - not only in the movies- and could enjoy the trailers. There was one looking like a SiFi with Will Smith and his son. The only thing I remembered were great pictures and the sentence: "Danger is real - fear is a choice". In a country where fear is rampant, this is quite a statement.
I also like it from a personal point of view. Fear and his twin bother worry destroy lives or at least the joy of living. Actually I consider the "get rid of fears" as a primary spiritual task, if one want to return home to God. I know in the Bible it seems as if God wants sheeps, followers not asking, and for sure not rebellious. But if you look at the stories in the Bible, the actors oppose the leaders and Jesus himself was a rebel, a freedom fighter which by now would be called a terrorist. If ever you read the Bible, you might be able to distinguish  what God wants and what the church wants. I am sure God does not want fearful beings without the will to find their own way back to the heavens.
So I was really looking forwards to see this movie.
About a week before it was shown in the theaters here, to my surprise a discussion started that the film was carrying (secretly) the teachings of Scientology.
When I read the headline in the Spiegel, a German weekly news magazine, I found it stupid. As if conquering fear would be the sole job of Scientology. I admit this was a premature thought, because I had it before I had read the article.
Many years back I had attended two free weekend from Scientology and had made a test. I have to admit I never had any bad experience with them. But what they taught seemed not be a big advancement for me, so I let Scientology be.
It always seemed to me that letting others be is one of the first step on advancing spiritually. But the first step also might be the most scary. Scary - fear. Danger is real - fear is a choice
Be it a film to carry the messages from the Scientology or not, I was sure I would watch it.
And watch I did. After Earth was in the Theaters on Thursday and on Friday I was in the theater.

In short I was so disappointed. But to be honest I really liked the scenes when the cadet faced his fears and conquered it. As was shown in the movie, it is no a one time thing like loosing the virginity and then it is gone for good. Fear is like hunger, it comes again and again and has to be conquered daily.

The next day one of my text-friends texted me that she was watching the movie and really wanted more of it. But she is young and maybe she would like a "father" who gives advice and watches over her.
After Earth for me is not a great film. But maybe it is a film for you to start your spiritual journey by starting to conquer your fear. A film who makes you feel that you too can face your fears and conquer it.