Hello and happy Tuesday! As I mentioned in the last post, one of the ways to enter our Spring Giveaway (now underway until May 31st!) is to post a discussion question, comment or suggestion on our Facebook fan page. We've gotten a few great questions so far and one was quite timely because it was something that I had recently been thinking about. The question was:

How can you balance your carnal wants versus your spiritual needs?

I recently spoke about my love of travel and 2 weeks ago I had the pleasure to visit my dear friend Dominique in Charlottesville, VA. One of the things that I love about her is her broad worldview and the great books I always find on her shelf. One such book was The Perfect Matrimony by Samael Aun Weor, who was a guru in the Gnostic tradition. One of the great things about Gnosis as taught by Weor is that it stresses Universal Principles: those common threads that run through all walks of the spirit.

What’s so interesting (and controversial) about this book is that it speaks a lot on spiritual sexuality and what Weor calls “sexual magic.” He, and many others of various traditions including the Yoruba Ifá-Òrìsà tradition, of which I am a part, understand that sexuality and carnal desire is very much a part of – not above, below or outside of – our experience as human beings. While certain religious sects regard sexuality as being “evil” or “dirty,” this is not the view of most Eastern (including African) traditions. Sexuality is beautiful, energetic, magnetic, and the means through which new life is created – is there anything evil or dirty about that?

In short, as I and many others view it: our carnal wants are a part of our spiritual needs. Our intimate desires and activities are very much a part of our human spirit and, as with anything else in our lives, we must maintain balance between them and the other parts of our life. Each part of our life has its place, and where we run into problems is when we allow any one thing – be it sexual desire or any other feeling or activity – to overtake the whole of our existence.

Much ire to all of you and keep the questions coming!

~'Funlayo

PS: There’s only 5 days left until AIDS Walk NY and I’ve almost met my fundraising goal, consider making a contribution of $5 right now via PayPal to Funlayo@AseIre.com. You'll be helping people and giving yourself a chance to win the Spring Giveaway -- Thank you to those who have already contributed!

PPS: Have you seen our new video blog?