Pleasure and Spirituality

Think of a profoundly memorable and pleasurable moment with someone or some persons to whom you are deeply attracted.

What were those electric feelings? Perhaps . . .

• Excitement
• Relaxation
• Vulnerability
• Freedom
• Arousal
• Stimulation
• Joy

What were your thoughts?  Perhaps . . .

• “I desire for these feelings to be prolonged.”
• “I desire to be with this person/these persons for a long time.”
• “I hope that this moment and relationship will persist.”

Stay with these feelings and thoughts. Sleep with them. Hug and cuddle them.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How do I integrate the feelings and thoughts of this pleasurable moment with my relationship or spirituality with God?  If God became fully human except sin, didn’t he also have these pleasurable moments?  How did Jesus integrate them with his relationship with the Father?

At this point, my struggle begins. I cannot reconcile my pleasurable moment with my spirituality.  I was dutifully taught to keep the two separate – one sacred, the other profane.  

Then, I am transported to the Book of the Songs of Songs, “My Beloved lifts up his voice, he says to me, ‘Come then, my love, my lovely one, come” (The Songs of Songs 2:10). Oh my God! How sensual, romantic and pleasurable!

How could this sensual, romantic and pleasurable poetic book get into the canon of the Hebrew scriptures?  It must have been the pleasurable, romantic, sensual, and sexual experience of the writer that became an open window into his relationship with God.

What are your pleasurable moments in life?  Can you discover God in those pleasurable moments? 

If so, then these pleasurable moments are Holy Moments.