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In this podcast Charlotte reads from Yearnings: Ancient Wisdom For Daily Life, Embracing The Sacred Messiness of Life by Rabbi Irwin Kula. The excerpts are taken from the chapter on The Blessing of Pleasure.
This piece from Rabbi Kula is extraordinary. It feels so important to me to share spiritual voices about pleasure and sex. In a world where pleasure is distorted, misunderstood and misused this kind of smart, nuanced spiritual perspective is so valuable. There are many of you who overtly struggle with the idea that the sensual is sacred, and many more who feel it as a more subtle undercurrent in your life. Hearing this spiritual leader’s acceptance, reverence and integration of the sacred, sensual, sexual and spiritual is deeply healing for many of us. This voice and perspective can give us permission to continue to untether our guilt and shame and instead to deepen in letting pleasure be a joyful part of our life. One of the parts I love so much is he really speaks to the fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness that sensual pleasures can offer us that many other experiences can not. Rabbi Kula speaks so well to the idea that our inclusion of pleasure is key to a fulfilling life where we feel connected to our own bodies and to each other.
One of the other parts I think is interesting is about creating “dirty monogamy”. This is using different language but is in a way paralleling what relationship expert Esther Perel and renowned anthropologist Helen Fisher talk about in how to make monogamy exciting. We talked about those ideas in Podcasts 102 and 130. This continues the idea that to have an excellent relationship it is essential to keep cultivating risk, excitement and newness in long term relationships.
This approach to pleasure is at the core of why we, The Pleasure Mechanics, do the work we do. We deeply believe in the sacred nature of pleasure. Chris and I both experience spirituality to be at the core of our lives, but we follow no faith aside from following our body’s wisdom and the path of pleasure so Rabbi Kula’s words are music to my ears and salve to my soul. So I’ll sign off for today and encourage you to find and notice the blessings of pleasure in your everyday life, always.
PS If you are interested in having outdoor sex like Rabbi Kula shares about please listen to Podcast 41 on how to do it safely without getting caught!