If you don´t really know what a temple is, but you are kind of intrigued…
If you’re struggling to picture what a Temple could look like…
If you feel resistance about the word TEMPLE…
If you realize judgements coming up, knowing it´s about a place where sexuality is invited…
… then this article is for you!
Imagine a space, where people gather to honor the sacredness of life. We meditate and dance.
We feel life with its highest highs and deepest depths.
We celebrate and we cry. We connect in ritual and we play. We are in full presence and dissolve at the same time. We remember. We reconnect to the pureness, beauty, love and alignment we are born with.
We make love and music.
We are together in the abundance of life.
We are.
WHY THE NAME TEMPLE?
One of my teachers, a former Rabbi, Ohad Pele, says:
“For thousands of years, all around planet earth, humans have created buildings and monuments, some of them very impressive and sophisticated and some very simple and humble, but the way we know to call them all ‘temples’, or ‘shrines’, is because they were all used to serve as contact places between humans and the divine. Any temple around the world, no matter the culture or the religion it was made by, was and is always a place of contact between those two realms: human consciousness and the divine. Love temples are the same. “
A temple is a place of sacredness, intimacy, and love.
ALL is welcome and may be and be seen.
It is a place of deep connection to oneself, to others, to life, to the world and to God.
A TEMPLE IS NOT A PLAY PARTY!
The main difference lies in the intention.
A play party is all about fun, lust and sex. There's nothing wrong with that. Especially with certain guidelines and if consent is a core value.
Nevertheless, it is important for me to point out the difference clearly.
A temple is more:
“…but to a temple, you come with a desire to have your heart open to the mysteries …. Coming to the temple of love does not mean you are going to get together with someone and have your desires met. In a love temple, there is a place for tears, broken hearts, and the sacred feeling of being alone.” (Ohad Pele)
We come to the temple in humility,
ready for whatever may show up
ready to show ourselves in vulnerability,
ready to surrender to the flow of life force- however it wants to run through us.
According to the saying
we don´t always get what we want, but we always get what we need,
oftentimes magic happens in the temple, connecting us both to our personal core and to the big picture.
It's about love, authenticity, healing, worship, prayer, connection, mystery, eros, life force ....
MY PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP TO TEMPLES
First introduced to temples, I felt really great resistance and my prejudices, my upbringing and my conception of society made it difficult for me to see and receive the beauty of temple culture.
I am grateful for the people who offered me guidance and opened my eyes to temple magic.
I can now say that the temples are helping me to connect with myself over and over again on deeper and deeper levels, to reclaim my power and my sexuality, and to love myself more fully. More and more I'm learning to show up as I am in the moment, without judgement, shame, pressure or agenda. This makes me more authentic, open and free.
I experience temples as deeply healing and nourishing.
I find these types of temples to be islands of authentic human expression.
Manifested Utopia.
Freedom.
IMAGINE…
Let me draw a picture with words for you.
Of a temple where I was recently moved to tears:
Turkey. A room full of people from different parts of the world. East meets West. North meets South.
Some sit and lie in a circle. Fully dressed, in lingerie, naked. It doesn`t matter.
It has turned out that some share their music.
A woman from the Netherlands sings her own songs in front of others for the first time. Tender, edgy and at the same time strong and real.
Others play songs like John Lennon's "Imagine" on guitar and everyone sings along.
Some people are dancing.
Others are cuddling. In twos, threes or in a cuddle puddle.
Overall, a lot of bodies and a lot of contact!
Someone gets a full body massage. Yes - WHOLE body!
What a joy to witness.
Then a young man from Iran grabs the guitar and starts singing a Persian song.
The only other iranian person in the room emerges from a sensual moment and joins in.
She sings - naked, on her knees, held by a sister from Germany, her arms and her heart wide open.
Like a prayer.
I don't understand the lyrics, but I feel: grief, pride, passion... freedom.
Life!
Somewhere, a few people let Eros run wild and have sex.
Sounds of pleasure mingle with the singing. Nobody takes special notice of it.
Everything mixes into a wonderful temple symphony.
I cried.
Joyfully. Emotionally. Gratefully.
Overwhelmed by beauty!
THIS IS TEMPLE MAGIC!