Sensual Spirituality

Somehow, in most spiritual schools—and consequently within people themselves—sensuality and spirituality have become separated. In Life itself, this is impossible. It is a human, mental invention to tear apart and isolate what is inherently connected—to see division where none exists. The result is either a cold, abstract spirituality or a sensuality devoid of soul and love.

Sensual spirituality is Love. It is the body and the spirit; the manifest and the unmanifest. Life is the embodiment of consciousness—the incarnation of love.

If your life energy does not flow naturally—if you are full of tensions, blockages, fatigue, and restlessness, full of desires, fantasies, and suspicion—then your spirit is suppressed and cannot blossom. You are holding it back without even realizing it, entangled as you are within yourself.

If you seek refuge in spirituality through belonging in a group or believing in something, your energy will not flow, and you will not awaken. Running away from yourself does not work, nor is it possible. You remain at the mercy of a structure that emerged without your choice or desire—one you now regard as your own, defining who you are.

But life never lies. Life reveals whether the soul shines through your eyes or whether merely smug, intellectual knowledge is coming from your mind. It shows whether you are free or constricted; whether you know the immortal space or not; whether you embody love or a manufactured persona; whether you are lying or are an expression of truth.

An expression of truth is unconventional. It never conforms to social standards. It goes unseen and, consequently, misunderstood. You try to capture it with your narrow mind. You attempt to project your petty ideas onto others. You imagine yourself to be the divine mold. But divinity fits into no mold; it knows no limits.

This pathless path is honest; it doesn’t know pretension. It does not care for what others consider spirituality to be, buys into no spiritual clichés, and seeks neither popularity nor ‘your’ approval. It is authentic and original, seeking no recognition from you. Indeed, recognition from ‘your’ mind would be a cause for suspicion!

It (life, the master) seeks to shatter your mold, to liberate you from your burdened and presumptuous mind—from your self-importance and your immature needs. Why? Because life loves you; it sees, feels, and hears you—in a way you have never seen or heard yourself.

The master is not here to be accepted by you. The master is loved by existence. Their heart dances ceaselessly, and their carefree life resonates through every circumstance. It is bliss and abundance; it is creative and still. The master has died to themselves and to you. It dances, it plays, it springs into action, yet remains motionless.

This is called freedom in Love. This is awareness living itself in relation to everything.

Yes, THAT will bring about some withdrawal symptoms. It is not easy to let go of your illusions. You may feel displaced for some time, without a false sense of grounding. Hidden fears and memories will surface. This is necessary to come to your true nature, to dissolve into the whole. Otherwise, you will keep thrashing about like a fish out of water, trying this and that to find a bit of pleasure or joy—to avoid pain, to achieve a level of bearability that allows you to cope with life.

All of Naropa’s programs are designed to dismantle you—to break you out of the limiting mold of your mind and reveal your true, brilliant essence. Do not view Naropa’s satsangs as mere teachings. See them as a true art form that leads you to an all-encompassing insight, to your essential nature. Leave yourself behind, be willing to die to what you are not.