Erotic Elaborations

At the extremes of Eros, I can want it all or I can want nothing at all.

From a more enlightened perspective, I can allow myself to have it all or I can allow myself to have nothing at all. Subjectively, having it all might mean having all that I need or it might mean having all that I desire. Or both. Objectively, having it all can only mean having all that anyone could ever need and desire.

Having all that I need is pure ekotic satisfaction. Having all that I desire is pure erotic fulfillment. This is a crucial distinction.

When I cultivate quality, my motive is pure ekotic satisfaction, and I find such satisfaction in the homes I make, or help to make, for myself. When I celebrate vitality, my motive is pure erotic fulfillment, and I find such fulfillment through the actions I take.

What do I need? I need pure ekotic satisfaction. What do I want? I want pure erotic fulfillment.

The homes I make - in a building, a vehicle, an office - are representations of quality, indicators of value, demonstrations of worth.

My sense of place and my sense of being in-place require objects of quality that have value and demonstrate worth. Having all that I need for my sense of place and my sense of being in-place brings me pure ekotic satisfaction.

The actions I take through the choices I make - in relation to self, others, and the world - require a sense of place and a sense of being in-place. My place in space serves a vital function: to generate interest in my relations so that I might seek and meet desirable outcomes.

Much of what I seek comes through my encounters and relations with culture, technology, and community: more skill, more money, more pleasure, more fun. In my perception of having all that I desire lies my experience of pure erotic fulfillment.

But which comes first? Pure ekotic satisfaction or pure erotic fulfillment?

Ekotic Elaborations

Ekos is my place in space - in my body, in my home, in my world. I can wander perpetually with only a fleeting sense of place and no sense of being in-place, or I can withdraw from the world and stay at home, in my body, separate from the world, with no sense of purpose, promise, or progress. My body is a vehicle that carries my sense of what is divine when I follow my bliss to express my vitality, but as a temple, my body is also a sacred vessel that serves to contain value and quality so as to make it possible for me to know what is valuable and desirable, and what is worthy and worthwhile.

The world is a container for all that I need and desire. The mind and the senses serve as a bridge to this world, and the world serves as a mirror of my every need and desire. In essence, when I give my will to X, and in return, I receive X, then I know that I can only be given what I am willing to receive. When I know what I want, when I know what I want to be, when I know what I want to do, and when I know what I want to give, having and becoming follow in their wake. In between the extremes of Ekos lies a delicate balance of power that forever seeks a stable equilibrium - a balance between soul and spirit.

The body is a vessel of sanctity for soul and a vehicle of divinity for spirit. The bodily urges of soul alert me to my needs and the bodily impulses of spirit announce my desires. The urges of soul would have me satisfy my needs, whereas the impulses of spirit would have me fulfill my desires. Urges would have me settle down, stay put, and keep my place in space. Impulses would have me move forward, onward, and upward to obtain, retain, and sustain a sense of purpose, promise, and progress. Potential conflicts between soul and spirit make it possible for me to know what it is I need and want.

In my next post, I will introduce the extremes of Eros in light of these elaborations.

The Extremes of Ekos

I seek to lay a conceptual foundation, with practical applications, that serves a worthy and desirable life of substance with style that ultimately resolves an ultimate question of purpose. In addressing lesser questions of purpose (e.g., what would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?) in relation to the ultimate question of purpose, I believe it would be instructive to consider both the extremes of Ekos and the extremes of Eros.

First, the extremes of Ekos.

Ekos is about your place in space: you might choose to be a perpetual wanderer, without ever having any sense of place or any sense of being in-place. Or, you might choose to be a reclusive householder, without ever having any sense of progress or any sense of being progressive.

Somewhere in between lies your sacred place and your sacred sense of being in-place.

Of course, it might be fun to be a perpetual wanderer - but only if you know you can return home. And it might be fun to be a reclusive householder - but only if you know you can leave home. Home is common to both extremes of Ekos: this is important to know because, in our encounters with each other and with the objects of our interest, it resides at the heart of what is most worthy and worthwhile.

A home requires a structure that is comprised of three elements: a house (or apartment), a homestead, and a household. The first is physical: in essence, it serves to contain subjects and objects of interest. The second is geographical: in essence, it serves to bridge subjects and objects of interest with other subjects and objects of interest; and the third is social: in essence, it serves to mirror what is more or less worthy and worthwhile.

In my next post, I will elaborate on these notions.

Allowances in First Person

In addressing structure and purpose in relation to substance and orientation, I feel compelled to begin with these allowances for myself; perhaps these affirmations resonate with your own sense of what you need or desire as you make a life of satisfaction and fulfillment for yourself:

I allow myself ... to live, love, lead ... my life ... on my own terms ... in every way possible ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely. I allow myself ... to occupy a position ... in a place where ... I can be, have, do, and become ... whatever I will or desire ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely. I allow myself ... to bring the substance of soul and the orientation of spirit ... into harmony ... with the purpose of my life ... knowing that structure determines behavior and purpose unifies destiny. I allow myself ... to establish the structure of my life through the purpose of my life ... naturally, effortlessly, sublimely.

Ekos Sacred is the realm of encounter where we cultivate quality of soul. This is where we get our substance and sense of meaning. Eros Divine is the realm of experience where we celebrate vitality of spirit. This is where we get our orientation and sense of direction. When we mindfully balance soul and spirit with heart, keeping in mind that the body is a vessel for soul and a vehicle for spirit, the result is twofold: involvement and engagement.

Whatever we do mindfully, we do purposefully. When we cultivate quality of soul through involvement with the subjects and objects of our interest, we feed soul with sacred encounters, and when we celebrate vitality of spirit through engagement with the subjects and objects of our experience, we feed spirit with divine experiences. Encounters with soul give us encounters with mystery. Experiences of spirit give us experiences of mastery.

As we'll see in subsequent posts, the ultimate mystery and ultimate mastery lie at the heart of who and what we are.

From Prosaic to Sublime

We attract what we attend. More precisely, we attract more or less, the more or less we attend.

So, for example, the more I dwell in peace, the more I give my love, the more I share my joy, the more I follow my bliss, the more I conduct myself with grace, the more easily and quickly I tend to attract peace, love, joy, bliss, and grace into a place where I can make them manifest.

The key word here is "place". Ekos.

"Into a place" might mean "into my body" or it might mean "into my home" or "into my office or clinic or lab" or "into my car or truck" or "into my own private space" - into any place where I feel at home, where I feel "in-place". The more I value this "place", the more sacred I treat it, the more "in-place" I feel.

And the more "in-place" we feel, the more easily we can use our places as vessels of transformation, as containers for creative and divine expression.

When we feel safe and secure in our places, we feel free to explore, to examine, to elaborate, to explain, to express - creatively and productively, effectively and efficiently. When we feel safe and secure in our places, wherever they might be for us, we feel called to meet a purpose beyond need.

With needs met, our desires have a better chance of providing a means by which we can know a purpose. When we feel at home - in our bodies, in our places of residence, in our workplaces, in our own private spaces - we have the confidence to find, to know, and to meet a purpose.

To begin to balance the sacred and divine, we simply need to find our places, keep them safe and secure, and give our desires free reign so that we might find a purpose that resonates with our sense of place, before striving to meet this purpose creatively, productively, divinely.

A prosaic life need not remain prosaic. Any sacred place that supports a divine purpose can (and will) transform prosaic need into sublime intent.

How might we realize a purpose and still keep our balance?

For me, at this time, this is the million-dollar question.

Celebrate Eros Divine

Eros, in the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche, is the god of a particular kind of love, the kind of love infused with desire, in anticipation of meeting sensual or sexual desire. In the psychology of Freud, Eros is construed as the sum of all instincts that preserve life, manifesting as impulses to gratify basic needs, to protect and preserve body and mind. In the philosophy of Plato, Eros is conceived as a fundamental creative impulse infused with a sensual element.

The archetypal, psychological, and philosophical faces of Eros, respectively, speak to the necessity of desire in relation to love. Love, by itself, is virtually lifeless; desire, by itself, is all but loveless; but when you blend love and desire responsibly and creatively, you find your divinity. Celebrate Eros Divine is really just a shorthand way of saying, "celebrate vitality of spirit through the experience of love and desire, balanced responsibly and creatively".

The key word here is experience, both as noun and as verb. Where encounter is sacred, experience is divine. Where the depths are sacred, the heights are divine. Where the orientation of sacred souls is downward vertical, the orientation of divine spirits is upward vertical. Where the sacred masculine essence goes, the divine feminine spirit follows, and where the divine feminine spirit goes, the sacred masculine essence follows. Where encounters with mystery are sacred, experiences with mastery are divine.

Encounters of soul and experiences of spirit take on a whole new perspective when viewed in terms of sacred and divine, but the orientations of soul through Ekos Sacred and the orientations of spirit through Eros Divine move in fundamentally opposite directions. Are these orientations reconcilable? Can they be balanced? If so, how might they be reconciled? How might they be brought into balance, both from above and from below?

For lovers of life and masters of mind, these questions are essential to lives lived well. In essence, what seductive wisdom is required to find and keep the balance between Ekos Sacred and Eros Divine?