Tuesday 8 January 2002

Pic of the day: Nice threads. A somewhat atypical screenshot from Dark Age of Camelot. Some details still have a little way to go to photorealism. Or perhaps that's a design choice, I'm not sure.

Lusts of the flesh

Funny how things tie together. I've been working lately on an article about religion and sex. I know I've written about that before, but this was meant to be more definitive. An in-depth understanding of how and why these interests seem to clash so often.

Some focus on "seems", because if you go to a random church on a random Sunday, you are not likely to hear any mention of sexuality at all. But if you follow certain mass media, you could get the impression that this is all Christianity is about, to repress sexuality as much as possible.

And not just Christianity. By one of those freak coincidences, today after writing a major part of this article I read an online newspaper. According to it, some Jewish Cabalist had organized a major campaign against masturbation down in Israel. (They had another more archaic name for it, but that's basically it, masturbation.) According to this Jewish mystic, masturbation was the root of most - if not all - of the evils assailing his country, including the current warlike situation down there.

This is funny because I was writing about how these things look from a mystic's point of view, and how media and others misunderstand them. But then again, if it's one thing we mystics agree on, it's that all things are connected.

***

Well, of course masturbation is the root of all evil. If people did not masturbate, they would spend the time praying and meditating instead, drawing on the infinite divine wisdom and perfecting in virtue. Or would they? While I can indeed confirm that the two sources of pleasure don't mesh well, pure flesh and pure spirit respectively, there are certainly other distractions. And frankly, I think the reality is more that most people are not really interested in Enlightenment.

My endeavor to clarify was in no small part caused by a funny tagline which an online comrade used: He distrusted dogs and religions, he said, because they both were way too interested in his crotch. But that is not how I have experienced religion. The way I know it, religion thinks that most people are way too interested in their own crotch.

As an alternative to blessed unity with all of creation and even with the Creator, it seems a bit ... paltry? I think that is the English word. Then again, religious ecstasy is not quite as available on demand. In fact, it is an utterly alien experience to much of the populace. Whereas approximately 95% of adult males are able to derive some level of pleasure from manual stimulation of their genitals, if they try. (The numbers for women are supposed to be significantly lower, but still comprise a majority.)

***

Of course, there are a lot of other pleasures of the flesh, lined up to take over in the case that someone should be unwilling or unable to wallow in adultery, fornication and masturbation. (I'm sure I forgot some, but you get the hint.) Hardly ever has the world been so jam packed with tasty treats, for instance. If I had not been burned by earlier experiences, I might gorge on chocolates till I puke, so good are they. And don't get me started on the various other candies. Others have a thing for cakes, which come in a variety of flavors and yummy textures to caress the lips and tongue. Others lean more to the carnivorous side, lusting for grilled meat with appropriate sauces and spices. Or you could dedicate your life to the glorious invention that is pizza. They say that sex is like pizza: When it's good it is really good, and when not it's still OK. I would not know, but I can basically confirm the pizza part.

The joys of clothing may be an acquired taste; certainly some young men would like to see clothing reduced to a minimum whenever the climate allows. But the sheer multitude of colors, textures and artful design has entrapped others in a world of desire where they can never get enough different clothes. I have tasted that fruit somewhat myself, though I think I am breaking out of it. It is presumably harder for the women to resist, anyway.

Besides being a good way to tell people apart, the nose also provides enjoyment in the form of a multitude of smells and fragrances. From the sweet smells of blossoms to the sharp smells of spices, from the green smell of sap to the animal allure of musk. There is hardly any end to the enjoyment we can breathe in.

And yet I have not mentioned the various chemicals that influence the central nervous system directly, and in various ways. Nor will I spend much time on this, which already has a bad enough repute without my help.

Somehow I think that my cabalist ally has put the plow before the oxen here. I know that for some people the joy of spiritual fulfillment can overcome the attraction to earthly pleasures: Temporarily for some of us, continuously perhaps for the great saints and mystics. But to eliminate all earthly pleasures until only the spiritual remain, that would certainly be like emptying the ocean with a teaspoon.