Obstacles to a comprehensive spiritual path - in this case, one's own Anandayana - cannot be denied, repressed, or suppressed; if one tried, they would achieve the opposite effect: new disturbances would arise and, the desires or distracting elements that one hoped to eliminate as obstacles, would instead be amplified.
We cannot try to hide an obstacle by pretending not to see it; the obstacle will always be there, and unconsciously, our attention will be even more focused on it.
There is only one way to eliminate an obstacle on a spiritual path: to transcend it.
The first step to transcending an obstacle is to identify it.
We need to understand the obstacle that is obstructing our path; to analyse and understand it, in order to be sure of what the effect of transcending it will be.
In order to transcend an obstacle, one must follow a concept first proposed by Osho Rajneesh, and again today by Pragnil:
Take for example the two main obstacles to a spiritual path that generally arise within the socio-religious system: money and sex.
In this text, we have dualised the socio-religious system of control by defining it in its two main parts: society and religion, which are intrinsically linked to one another. Each part of the duality causes effects in individuals that can be seen as obstacles to a spiritual path: religion mainly causes sexual obstacle, while society causes money obstacle.
If we properly analyse the various controls that society exercises on people, we will find that the common point is money.
Sought-after status symbols may be purchased by having financial availability. Career-related desire usually translates into the desire for a higher salary.
If it is true, as some psychologists say, that individuals' Egos extend to their belongings/possessions, then greater purchasing power could potentially lead to the growth such Egos.
Money is often a discriminating factor, particularly in some Eastern cultures: this job is better than this one if the pay is better; this person is better than this one if they have more money.
Money can be an obstacle to a spiritual path when it becomes the subject of most conversations and thoughts. The more importance one attributes to money, the more of a problem money is. The worst-case occurs when a person begins to make life choices based on money, worse still if such choices are made at the expense of better alternatives setting aside the economic aspect.
The most effective method for transcending the desire to have this much money is to indulge it. You must find a way to make a lot of money... easier said than done.
Many people who reach the state of earning more money than they can spend understand the futility of that means of exchange we call money, thereby they automatically transcend the obstacle of money on their spiritual path.
Having said that, it should be emphasised that there are also people for whom money has never hindered their spiritual path. There are also other people, albeit in limited numbers, who have managed to transcend the obstacle of money by following their own path, without ever needing to indulge the desire to have a large amount of money.
In one way or another, societies are influenced by religions, which have always claimed to control the sexuality of people through obsolete books outlining the directions for a sexual life which is to god's liking. Thus, willingly or unwillingly, some more so and others less, we have all been subject to mental conditioning stemming from religious belief with regard to sexuality, even those raised in a secular family environment.
In the best cases, when such negative influences are of a lesser magnitude, individuals do not present problems, but their concept of right and wrong within the sphere of sexuality is unconsciously dictated by the local religious culture. These people likely have minimal imbalances that can lead to normal perversions, if one can use the adjective "normal" in the field of sexuality.
In the worst cases, that is, when the surrounding environment causes a denied, repressed, suppressed, or otherwise deprived sexuality, the only consequences are constant perturbations, which also result in psychological and psychosomatic problems.
Sex is probably the most common obstacle to a comprehensive spiritual path, as erroneous concepts originating from a socio-religious environment are deeply rooted within us. These erroneous concepts generate psychological limitations, creating desires and disturbances that become obstacles for those who are increasing their own spirituality.
As mentioned above, to be able to transcend an obstacle, one must first analyse it. Self-analysis is the first step in understanding exactly what aspects of our sexuality are creating the obstacle, after which we can move to indulge these aspects. Sooner or later there will come a time when, thinking about these aspects of our sexuality, which will now have been long since indulged, you will find that they no longer create any problems; both desires and distractions will cease to exist; there will no longer be an obstacle to our path. The obstacle will, therefore, be transcended.
Therefore, to transcend a characteristic of our sexuality that we think is preventing, limiting, or slowing down our Anandayana journey, we must first form an introspective analysis in order to properly understand this characteristic. We need to truly understand the problem that this feature causes and analyse the possible future condition that will be reached once this characteristic will have been modified. In this way, we can gain a certain degree of confidence that this characteristic of our sexuality is better off being transcended.
Caution: we can and must transcend what we ourselves consider problematic, not what others consider problematic... what others consider problematic, even if it is inherent to ourselves, should not matter to us; that is their problem.
Let's see some examples.
If we believe that our obstacle is a lack of sex with many people, then we will have to accept promiscuity and have sex with so many people that we can no longer count them all... there will come a time when changing sexual partners will no longer have any appeal to us.
If we believe that our obstacle is the impulse to imagine people's private parts, then we should spend long periods on nudist beaches... there will come a time when we will look at intimate areas in the same way as we look at any other body part, and there will no longer be any impulse to imagine people's private parts.
If we believe that our obstacle is the hidden desire to have sex with someone of the opposite sex to our sexual orientation, then we should do it several times... there will come a time when we will only be interested in the sex of our sexual orientation.
Whatever the characteristic of our sexuality creating an obstacle for our Anandayana, transcend it and there will come a time when it will no longer be an obstacle.
It is obvious to expect that transcending one side of our sexuality will lead to a change in the sexuality itself: our sexuality will become more consistent with our spiritual journey.
Healthy sexuality is a fundamental part of an individual's Anandayana: sexual activity must be experienced in a way that is full and respectful to oneself and others, at all stages of life.
Healthy sexual activity has many physiological benefits, especially at the hormonal level; maintaining an active sex life is an important part of caring for one's body and is thus an important part of one's spirituality (see Spirit chapter ⇒).
For healthy sexual activity, one must be aware of one's own sexuality.
A person's sexuality is a complex and unique aspect, and it changes over time.
Sexual desire must be nurtured and fulfilled consciously, indulging its specific needs.
The only possible way to walk one's own Anandayana is to experience one's sexuality in a free, natural, and respectful way.
Free - because sexuality should be free from any cultural-socio-religious constructs and should be managed at the individual's liberty according to one's own morals and virtues, and not according to the morals and virtues put forward by other sources which do not align with one's own.
No one should ever intervene with another's sexual behaviour, unless such behaviour is disrespectful to another person.
Natural - as sex is part of one's own naturalness and, as such should be experienced naturally; between two people who are attracted to one another, sexual attraction is a natural reaction and should not be dictated by socio-religious timings such as engagement, marriage and the like, but rather from individuals' natural desires.
Natural - as the genital organs are body parts just as much as the hands, ears, and eyes are, and there should be neither shame, nor taboo, nor scandal, nor sexual anxiety when discussing or seeing them.
If we feel perturbed at the sight of sexual organs or when listening to a conversation about them, we need to do an introspective analysis of our own sexuality.
Respect for oneself: understanding the phase of sexuality in which we find ourselves, whether it is an exploratory phase, a phase of fulfilment, a liberating phase, or a shift towards a different sexuality; respect your own sexuality, whatever stage it may be in, rejoicing in it without ever abusing it, whatever form of sexuality it may be: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or something else.
Respect for others:
- Never take advantage of the naivety of human or non-human beings, especially children;
- Sexual partners must always be aware of their sexuality, sexually mature, and consenting;
- Never use violence, unless the partner(s) are consenting.
A sexual act is not solely an activity of the body and mind: Spirit and Mens are also energetically involved.
All sexual activity initiates a non-ordinary state of consciousness, however mild it may be.
This non-ordinary state of consciousness is nothing more than the result of psychic manifestations of non-ordinary activities of Spirit and Mens, and physically corresponds to a large number of physiological activities that take place during the sexual act. Such physiological activities during the sexual act are also manifestations of non-ordinary energetic activities of Spirit.
Sexual activity is a cause and consequence of a synergy of manifestations of Spirit and Mens, which is still a topic of study. Spirit and Mens feed sexual activity, each in different ways from the other, while at the same time they find a source of nutrition in sexual activity.
Libido is also generated by manifestations of both Spirit and Mens.
Orgasm is a source of "energy recharge", particularly for Spirit, while male ejaculation is a form of "energetic emptying" for Spirit.
It is still uncertain how Spirit and Mens come into play for female ejaculation[46], whose physiological processes are still subject to scientific study.
In tantric practices and Taoist sexuality, the practice of male ejaculation control is suggested: practitioners learn to separate orgasm from ejaculation.
Taoism even suggests completely avoiding ejaculation to promote male longevity.
The benefits of ejaculation control are notable and within the reach of anyone who has the desire to see them: improvements in sexual performance, a more spiritual view of one's own sexuality, a feeling of renewed energy, the experience of a new kind of "dry" orgasm, and immediate and short-term physical benefits.
Ejaculation control is a practice that requires dedication and is in line with an Anandayana path, as an activity which helps men to improve control over their bodies and minds without depriving themselves of pleasure.
As the practice of ejaculation control is not just a psycho-physical activity, it must be accompanied by a specific lifestyle and a certain spiritual awareness, in order to avoid psycho-physical problems, especially at the prostate level.
We invite all those who are following their own Anandayana to experiment with ejaculation control responsibly and consciously.
We have focused more on male sexuality than female sexuality, as for men there is more literature in ancient texts on the spiritual aspect and less mystery from the medical perspective.
Although we may expect female sexual apparatus to be fully understood by 21st-century medical science, some mysteries still remain; first and foremost, female ejaculation.
Female ejaculation, known only to a small and lucky percentage of women, is still shrouded in mystery: we are not yet sure how it is generated, we are ignorant of its physiological purpose, and we do not even know why only some women can do it.
Female ejaculation seems to have no connection with reproduction, but nonetheless it must have links with manifestations of Spirit and Mens; even in this case, however, our knowledge is limited.
Male and female sexualities are extremely different and complex.
Sexuality is constantly changing over the course of a person's existence and an individual should accept and indulge changes in sexuality over the years.
Supporting the progress of one's sexuality is not easy. With the exception of a lucky few who were raised in (semi) neutral environments for healthy sexual development, the individual finds themselves constantly clashing between their sexual needs and the incoherences of the system that taught them.
As mentioned above, the Anandayana Project aims to provide a broad understanding of how the universe works, in order to allow individuals to obtain the knowledge necessary to shed light on their own Anandayana.
Before even conceivable of assimilating this knowledge of the universe and therefore of starting on one's own Anandayana, the individual must acquire a certain knowledge of their own body, their own sex, and a certain awareness of their own sexuality.
It is unthinkable that someone who cannot feel sexual pleasure, someone who is therefore not in harmony with their own body, could find their own Anandayana. Such an individual should begin a phase of exploring their own body in the first instance.
The phase of exploring one's own body should take place naturally with physical development, from an early age, without taboos.
Masturbation in the exploratory period is extremely important.
If a young man (or woman) intends to fully enjoy healthy couple relations in the future, auto-eroticism from the period of physical development is of fundamental importance: if you do not know your own sexuality, you will never be able to make your partner fully understand it, and you are unlikely to fully understand your partner's sexuality.
With masturbation, the young man learns to understand orgasm and ejaculation, if not even control of ejaculation itself.
The young woman has a more arduous task in the exploratory phase. Firstly, the young woman faces strong obstructions on the part of the socio-religious system, leaving little room to build a healthy and conscious sexuality. The young woman is also confronted with a more complex universe than the male one: the exploration of female sexual organs, their functioning, and how to draw the most pleasure from them, are all tasks that are more arduous than those of males.
Indeed, men learn to experience orgasm and ejaculation immediately. The next step for the man is to distinguish and separate orgasm from ejaculation; such a step, as mentioned above, is more complex and requires more in-depth study.
Unfortunately, some women, because of the cultural and psychological conditions imposed by the environment in which they live, are unable to reach orgasm. It follows from this that self-learning of orgasm would be advisable occurring as a result of self-exploration of one's own genital organs.
But it does not end here for women. As mentioned above, the woman can further explore her own sexuality in pursuit of female ejaculation. There exists a small percentage of women who are able to ejaculate; those who discovered it by chance and those who discovered it after assiduous exploration. In all cases, if some women are able to ejaculate, it seems that there is no physiological reason why ejaculation shouldn't be an achievable goal for all.
The apex of knowing one's own sex, from which one can build a truly healthy sexuality, is the same in the female case as in the male: the ability to separate orgasm from ejaculation, better said, to be able to have an orgasm with or without ejaculation by choice.
Note that non-ejaculatory orgasm of women obtained by choice is quite different from non-ejaculatory orgasm obtained by inability of ejaculation.
The socio-religious system, instead of indoctrinating guilt and restrictions, should, in addition to teaching contraception, encourage young peoples' sexual exploration by helping them and their families to understand how natural sexual activity is.
It should be unacceptable for an individual, man or woman, to become an adult without full knowledge of their own sex... but unfortunately, this is precisely the case for a high percentage of women belonging to cultures hinged on a conservative socio-religious system.