Kuan Yin Musings Over at The Jesus in Love Blog

The always tantalizing and wonderful Kittredge Cherry continues her fascinating series, "GLBT Saints" today with an exploration of the "Asian Goddess of Compassion," Kuan Yin (sometimes represented as Quan Yin or Guanyin) in both words and art.

Take a quick trip over to the Jesus in Love blog here to take a look at what delights Kittredge has served up for us today.

Photo Credit:©Olga's Kuan Yin By William Hart McNichols. View more of his work here

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Today's Quote of the Day

 Androgyny seeks to liberate the individual from the confines of the appropriate. -- Carolyn Heilbrun.

Carolyn Heilbrun 1926 - 2003 

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Today's Master Class on Nonduality...

 

Are you able to see beyond what might at first appear to be a superficial, comic or even burlesque appearance here? Are you able to let go of pseudo Advaitin conventions or pseudo Taoist conventions enough to see a slightly different depth of perception represented in this simple split shot photograph?

Class Dismissed. 

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Celibacy and Androgyny Through the Eyes of Diarmuid Ó Murchú

Michael J. Bayly
over at The Wild Reed
brought this essay to my attention

Diarmuid O’Murchu
Celibacy and Androgyny

I am proposing an understanding of celibacy that may seem very new, but in fact is quite ancient. By revisiting the notion of androgyny, I want to activate a spirituality and theology of celibacy more coherent and congruent for our time. The inner drive is towards integration and wholeness, motivated in this case not so much by conscious choice as by an inner subconscious urge which is fundamentally spiritual in nature. And it is not a once-and-for-all achievement; it is a life-long process, which merits the status of a life-calling or vocation, as distinct from a goal one reaches through learning and human accomplishment.

The androgyne and mystic seem to have a lot in common; each aspires to a sense of wholeness that transcends all our man-made distinctions and dualisms. Perhaps, St. Paul was alluding to this when he describes the new person in Christ: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, . . .slave or free, . . . male or female” (Gal.3:28). The mystical dimension helps to articulate and channel the spiritual meaning which is central to androgynous orientation; this may be subconscious rather than conscious and may not be easily integrated with formal religion.

Psycho-sexually, androgynous behaviour is informed by a stronger desire for psychic wholeness rather than driven to perform out of stereotypical, biological conditioning. Because it is difficult to internalise this identity in a culture addicted so rigidly to sexist and gendered stereotypes, androgynes are often labelled as bi-sexuals or transsexuals, and some prematurely adopt these labels.

I suspect that people called to a celibate vocation effectively embrace an androgynous identity. This is not something they have consciously chosen; more likely it is something that happens in the internal spiritual realm evoking a particular calling or vocation. Were such people always disposed to this calling - already marked out at birth as several ancient cultures claim? I feel unable to offer a meaningful response to this question. Whatever the preconditions governing the vocational call, the consequences remain the same and it is the consequences I am exploring in this essay.

Celibacy in its primordial significance seems to arise from a passionate desire to share more closely in the erotic intimacy of the Divine. God is the supreme lover who allures and captivates the heart of the loved one. This can easily be depicted as a mystical calling for the rare few, with nothing of value or worth for the rest of humanity. I suspect that the opposite may be the case. The celibate fulfils a cultural role – perhaps a paradoxical one – exemplifying the ultimacy that is at the heart of all our desiring as a human species. Of course, the vocational motivation may be based on less worthy aspirations, some of which may even be pathological; this is an area for profound and comprehensive discernment.

Despite this divine initiative – or perhaps precisely because of it – I wish to suggest that the celibate calling is a highly sexualised one. The celibate may well be the most erotic of all humans, honouring a very ancient understanding of the Divine as a highly eroticised life-force, impregnating the whole of creation. That being the case, two important adjustments need to be made to our thinking. Firstly, God is not a-sexual, and neither is any organism created by God. Secondly, the celibate needs expressive outlets for psycho-sexual energy, which cannot be adequately or appropriately channelled through sublimation or total abstinence...  

Diarmuid O’Murchu
Celibacy and Androgyny  
The National Catholic Reporter 
March 16, 2011
Read the entire essay here
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A social psychologist and member of the Sacred Heart Missionary Congregation, Fr. Diarmuid O’Murchu (pronounced DYAR-mid O-MOOR-who) has worked in both Ireland and England as a school and marriage counselor. He grew up in rural Ireland. He writes books and gives talks worldwide about faith formation and religious life in the light of new insights from science and from attempts at confronting and solving the deepening ecological crisis. His books include Quantum Theology, Evolutionary Faith and Reclaiming Spirituality.

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How Many Sexes? How Many Genders? When Two Are Not Enough

 

Female to Male transgender (FTM) Porn Star, Buck Angel

Follow this link to a good introductory primer on understanding the world beyond the M/F gender duality

Female to Male (FTM) transgender activist, photographer and writer Rex Cameron (aka Loren)

Photo © 1997 Loren Rex Cameron
All rights reserved

Buck Angel redux 

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