What's That About?
By Les Mottosky
North American society exists in a profoundly impactful dilemma: we're overtly sexually suppressed (reinforced by unquestioned doctrines) and covertly hyper-sexualized in an internet underworld.
The suppression is evidenced by the question that just ripped though your brain-cells: "Why the heck is this dude writing about sex in a business publication?"
Simple: sex is everything and everything is sex. Not the act, but the energy behind it. Sexual energy is creative life-force energy. It's the base code of every living thing you've ever laid eyes on.
But we don't talk about it.
So it expresses covertly in the "dark" corners of the 'net.
Back in 2009, researcher Simon Lajeunesse at The University of Montreal set out to study the effects of pornography on young men in their 20s. Big problem: he couldn't establish a control group. As Simon explained “We started our research seeking men… who had never consumed pornography… we couldn’t find any.”
More recently, hook-up culture and consensual non-monogamy are having a hay-day.
Does this mis-directed pursuit of novelty miss the point?
It might.
Taoism treats sex as energy management with repeatable mechanics. It's a meditation, a practice that contributes vitality to all aspects of life. First comes an understanding of the possibilities of the practitioner's body – and the role breath plays. With mastery, both men and women become capable of multiple – shall we say – moments of "summit". In fact, with proper technique, that moment becomes a state lasting perhaps 15 mins, half hour or even several hours. With practice, the longevity of this state becomes a choice. And the best part? (Taoists would call it 'the point'): afterward, both partners feel like they could run a marathon, paint the house or write the next great American Novel.
This is the conscious act of energy cultivation. A literal key to life.
How more clearly to describe 'life' than 'energy nurtured and expressed'?
With this context, the irrepressible sexual impulse makes more sense.
There's a sophistication and depth to sexual energy that's obfuscated by social shame, pop-cultural misrepresentation and digital indulgence. So the benefit remains hidden to most and we remain captive to impulse alone.
Ancient lineages didn't trust impulse to lead anywhere useful. Taoism built leverage into the body and Tantra built awareness around desire. The benefit to practitioners is a richer, fuller, more energetic life. In and out of the bedroom.
And it's not just for the young. As we age, we aren't to stop sexual activity, but to stop wasting it.
Taoism in particular emphasizes an evolution of the act. Men past 50 are urged to manage sexual energy as capital – whereas younger men spend it like income. Men are depleted by too much, women stagnate with too little. In both cases, it's the circulation – not expulsion – of this energy that's beneficial and life-giving.
So if we want another path – a practice – to become a better leader, to cultivate more energy, be endlessly creative, happier, more fully engaged in life and an even greater contribution to the world – while increasing our health-span – there's a 2,500 year old precedent waiting to be discovered in the sexual arts of Taoism and Tantra.
This deal comes with an ironic catch: the deeper one immerses in these rituals, the more novelty there is to discover.
TAGS: #What's That About?
Les Mottosky
Adaptation Strategist // I help organizations turn creativity into their competitive advantage by aligning leadership, culture and strategy to unlock adaptive innovations.
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