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?

The Extremes of Eros

At the extremes of Eros, I can settle or demand, stop or go, wait or move. At the extremes of Eros, I can want it all or nothing at all.

Before I elaborate on this, consider the following:

Evolutionary enlightenment is the evolution of culture out of consciousness, evolving from a contemplation of religious mystery toward a spiritual realization of mastery, evolving through a balance that would cultivate soul and celebrate spirit, through sacred encounter with quality through acceptance of what is and through divine experience with vitality through assurance of what can be. By this definition, there are no mysterious depths we cannot plumb, no masterly heights we cannot climb. If and when we find and keep this balance between soul and spirit, individually and collectively, and if and when we find and keep a balance that would have us express and impress, cultivate and celebrate, then all will be well with us and the world.

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.

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?