Sacred Sex

I am the mother of three fabulous children, Alexandra freshly 21, Stephen 19 and Victoria 15. Alexandra studied last semester in Italy and before she left we had her first appointment with a gynecologist and received a prescription for birth control for hormonal difficulties. Scary thing indeed for this Mom! Since she has not had a steady boyfriend as of yet, this has not been an issue but she is growing up and things will be a changing! A few evenings ago, we girls had dinner with a friend of mine who both of the girls respect and look up to. As mothers know, sometimes our children take the advice of friends a bit more to heart than their parents who may be just a little too close during those confusing adolescent years. I have always encouraged my children to forge relationships with appropriate adults as I realize there may be things they do not wish to discuss with their father or myself and a trusted adult friend can fill that void with love and concern for their welfare also. The subject of sex arose and my friend rather flippantly seemed to condone casual sex with the physical act as an end in and of itself.  This is not what she intended but it is what my girls took away from the conversation. I was stunned by their conclusions to say the least.

I believe sex is indeed a Sacred act. It is the merging together of more than two bodies; it is the intermingling of two Souls. I believe you leave a part of your spirit with every person you have a intimate relationship with and a sexual relationship is intensely and immediately intimate whether it is acknowledged or not. Sex has the ability to destroy as well as to heal and should be entered into with full awareness of this sacred and ancient power.

I  grew up in an extremely religious home. While we were Roman Catholic and attended Catholic schools through high school, the command to wait until marriage for sex was inexplicably ingrained without so much as a conversation. It was as if it had been knitted into our very bones from the beginning of time. I married the first person I was to have sex with, as did most of my 6 siblings.   My early marriage lasted a few short years but I learned much about myself and how to listen to the guidance of my spirit through becoming one with my body. The answers are all there within. These are the lessons I try to pass on to my children but I also have to continually learn to let go of the results. They each have their individual soul journeys to navigate. Who am I to presume to know what is right for them? What lessons they came to earth this life time to learn? I can pray for them and hold them in sacred space as they learn to navigate the precarious turns and bumps they will encounter along the way. I can prepare them the best I can and then I must let go and let go and let go again. As much as it breaks my heart, they will be hurt and they will make mistakes. It is part of life. It was part of my life and it will continue to be so even as I grow more aware and hopefully wise with age.

In this precarious age we are called upon to become the change we wish to see. My mission as a parent is to forge a loving bond with my children that will give them the freedom, the space and confidence to grow into the full blessedness of their soul’s expression. I hope the innate need of all humans to be loved and accepted as a part of a group or community larger than themselves will be filled within our immediate family until they are of the age to fly from the nest with the maturity necessary to begin to make decisions and choices that will affect them for their entire lifetime. And I hope they will find the joy of love and the beauty of sacred sex as part of their journey as adults whether they choose to abstain or not. I hope they do not take these life choices lightly but I also pray they will find the lightness of heart and soulful connection that can be part of this wonderful expression of our life on this planet. While The Catholic Conflicts* that were once a large part of my shadow with much influence over my inner turmoil as well as my outward choices, ultimately served me in ways I was not to understand until the reflection and contemplation that comes with awareness and possibly age; I can look back and see their only purpose was to protect me  from making decisions I would regret if not at the time, then in later years.

I believe all life is a continuous circle, constantly spiraling deeper back into itself and then out again as each generation adds to the wisdom, joy and inevitable pain of our human journey to become aware of our Oneness with all creation in all directions of time and space. Sex is a magical part of that journey and when approached in this manner may be as close as some of us will come to experiencing the transcendence of the Divine in our human and ordinary daily lives.

Comments

[Karen Maezen Miller]

Welcome to the conversation Kathleen. You have much to share.

[Debbie W]

Kathleen,

First off, you are such a beautiful person, both inside and out! Your children are absolutely gorgeous and their smiles are so genuine. It is so nice to see another family that is happy and that loves and adores one another!

This post is so insightful and honest. I agree with what you said about sex being sacred, and have tried to instill the same beliefs about it in my daughters. Each one of them knows what my husband and I believe about it, but it is up to them to make their own choices. I speak honestly and openly with my older daughters about sex, and try to provide a comfort level that allows them to come to me with any questions that they might have. It is not always easy, but it is necessary. I am Jewish, but my parents were not religious and so, sadly, I wasn't provided with any spiritual guidance when it came to sex. The only thing my mother ever said to me about sex was "never let a boy touch you down there." Huh? Not very effective and definitely terrible advice. Sad to say, I had to find my own way to figure out that sex was a gift and not something that should be taken lightly.

Great post and wonderful perspective!

Hugs,
Debbie

[Marilyn Gallas]

Thank you so much for your kind comments on my blog. I read "A New Earth". That's my second Tolle book, the first being "The Power of One". I did not take part in Oprah's on-line "seminar". However, I have viewed a couple sessions on Oprah's website. Some pretty deep stuff. Seems so logical and easy, but in practical life, it's not so easy. I do keep trying though. I do really like Waye Dyer for practical information. And Paul Ferrini's books just speak to my soul.

I'm in the process of reading answers on The Altered Page and viewing various artist's blogs. Such outstanding talent. What did we ever do before the internet???

You have three beautiful children. I'm going to take a big more time and look through your blog. I love the banner!!!! I need to customize mine. It's pretty boring.

Do you belong to any groups? I can only handle a couple. I belong to Arttechniques and Inkjet_transfer.

[Marilyn Gallas]

Truly open-minded, loving, caring thoughts for your children. That pull between caring and nurturing and letting them fly on their own is a difficult one. Seems you are doing a great job!!!

[Jennifer White]

You have so much wisdom! I have to ask about the groups you mentioned about... what is the inkjet_transfer group you mentioned?