writing

Sexual Metaphors Across The Centuries

by

As a person interested in Taoism, it doesn’t take much to run into some practices and statements of a rather sexual nature. Sometimes it’s tame metaphors. Sometimes it’s hanging weights from your genitals to straighten your spine. Sometimes it’s someone writing a passive-aggressive dis about another Taoist being a huge pervert. Taoism’s diverse history has everything, including a lot of sex stuff.

One thing that I had noticed in my readings over the years was talk about “intimate union” in meditative practices – and ones that are clearly not sexual. Often it’s about joining forces, the various elements of one’s being together, sense and essence, spirit and energy, etc. Sometimes it’s simple, sometimes it’s elaborate.

(And yes, these sexual-but-not-sexual metaphors have clearly been taken as sexual in history. Taoism has also used mercury as a metaphor and it didn’t stop people from poisoning themselves.)

These sexual metaphors had often passed me by. Yes, perhaps I am “joining sense and essence” in an intimate embrace like a couple or something, but that’s just a metaphor, right? Perhaps the Metal Man takes his rightful place with his spouse. Sexual metaphors I just kind of passed by, probably because our own culture uses them.

But in time, I began to see how useful such metaphors were.

In my meditations, the “unity” of forces is a large part of the practice Breath meditation has mind resting on an ever-refining breath in partnership. My energy work is about mind resting on energy as it flows through the body. But such unities can easily be broken as any meditator knows – sometimes the mind doesn’t rest on breath (or energy) but rests on itself resting on breath (or energy). You know how it is when you’re doing the thing but also sort of knowing you’re doing the thing and it just falls apart.

I came to realize that meditating, the mind rests on something – for example, a slow and even breath. The mind sets its intent to be there with the breath, the breath ever slow and evening, and that’s its only priority. In many ways it surrenders itself completely to the breath by being there with it while the breath is there just being itself.

Then I got all those sexual metaphors because that’s perfect.

Intimate metaphors are a great metaphor for meditation practices. They capture the closeness, the surrender, the passion of connection. I’d written them off as trite and simplistic, but they were the opposite – the use of sexual or romantic metaphor fit meditation very well. I got it.

Meditation is an intimacy – as are other such practices. Sometimes you need to go to something visceral – like sex and romance – to communicate such things. Perhaps it has to be carefully phrased or used, perhaps people will get it wrong, but it fits.

I also think this is a good reminder that when reading metaphors and symbolism to remember they are oft written by people who are not you in times that are not your own. Our reactions to them are not the ones that the writers of the past expected or even considered. You have to learn to listen across the centuries.

–Xenofact

You Can’t Win Myth

by

Some of the political writing of these days (2025 AD), has dare I say it a mythic quality. Well an attempted mythic quality. Yes, we’ve often seen attempts to make politicians mythical (the reference to “Camelot” for JFK, for instance), it feels like it’s worse in 2025. A fusion of easy publishing, Influencer Brain, and media-oriented culture seems to involve both more mythmaking, and worse mythmaking.

(Yes, to date this, this was inspired by Olivia Nuzzi’s American Canto, which led me to contemplate other issues.)

I daresay most of my readers know myths and legends. I’ve got a head stuffed full of all sorts of things I picked up from reading, an interest in theology, getting a psych degree (and being into Jung), plus my own spiritual practice. I’[m sure all of you have your own path to and your own myths that you treasure. Myths are funny things, we know they may not be literally true, but they speak to us in a way that is true. You don’t have to believe Hermes stealing Apollo’s livestock is literally true to stand before, say, the crackling aliveness of the good parts of the internet and say, like the ancients, “Hermes is here.”

The thing is myths also are things of many edges. I recall the tales of Taoist Immortal Lu Dong-Bin, who went from failed bureaucrat to immortal but also as an immortal got up to shenanigans, including those of a sexual nature. The aforementioned Hermes was lovable but also a troublemaker – which seemed to make him even more fun to be around (don’t we all know someone like that). Kingdoms rise but also fall. Heroes triumph before being laid low or aging to dust.

Some myths may promise paradise, but many remind us of our ever-changing world. Besides promises are just that, and truth is often where we are now.

But a lot of modern American political myths seem to be more self-argrandizing. We might say they’re myths as some chamelonic politician is hailed as an eternal savior or some reporter invokes how they’re like famed reporters of the path. Such actions may have mythic qualities but they’re really arguing “I am the best, I am awesome.” They’re hagiographic.

Doubtlessly our Christian heritage is part of this. We in America are steeped in stories of the apocalypse, of prophets, of a clock ticking down to the victory. Everyone wants to be on the right side when Armageddon happens so they can declare themselves victor. Everyone wants to be on the side of God, but apparently decided just making it up is fine – they certainly don’t seem afraid of any lighting bolts.

But that’s not mythical. You don’t win myth. Hagiography runs in one direction.

In myths and legends too often things fall, people die, and there’s some ambiguity. Many of them are – intentionally or not – funny or amusing because of the foibles of gods, heroes, and regular people. Just like life.

This is probably why such attempts at “mythologizing” come off as so ridiculous. They’re not relatable because they’re about how awesome someone is and only about that. Because they’re not relatable, they’re hard to make sense of or learn from or feel. They’re disconnected from our realities, just attempts to puff someone or someones up. Emperors and Empresses who have no clothes.

So when I see all these “mythical” innovations, there’s nothing there. No balance, no caution, no depth. It’s sales pitches and pretentious. It’s a great warning when someone is blowing smoke – and a warning to be very careful of said mythmakers.

–Xenofact

Maybe We Should Be Copying

by

Think about how much of human knowledge was dependent on Some Person With A Pen. Before the internet, before the printing press, there was Person With A Pen copying books stroke by stroke, word by word.

Even as technology advanced, Person With A Pen was important (and after a point, Person With A Typewriter). Print shops, printing devices might be carefully controlled by the government or just unavailable due to cost. Person With A Pen was there, and knowledge continued outside of official sources.

Others might have copied things for which a printing press might be excessive. Among my library of Taoist literature is a book on massage and energy exercises called Immortal Fang’s Longevity Quigong. The original book is rather small and illustrated, so people passing around these exercises might find it easier to copy them. The book seemed to have been passed among friends, so that was probably the norm.

There are doubtlessly many motivations for Person with a Pen, but one common thing they all share is that they are getting very intimate with a book. Imagine what it’s like to copy a book, how it sits in your head, how it’s burned into your mind. Imagine what it’s like to do it more than once.

It has to drive the knowledge into your head, to make you understand it more. I’ve often heard stories of people borrowing books to copy them, some people making both a copy for themselves and another for someone else. Imagine what it’s like for religious and spiritual professionals to copy a holy text, the words settling into their souls.

Now of course it’s usually easy to get books. If it’s not in stock you can probably get it print on demand or find it used. Looking at my own library I’m grateful for how many people made this possible.

But, and you can guess where I’m going, I wonder if maybe some of us spiritual and religious types should give copying a book a shot now and then.

I’ve thought of doing this with a few Taoist works – at the top of the list are The Secret of the Golden Flower and maybe a composite of my favorite Tao Te Ching translations. Even typing them up – let alone writing them – would make me evaluate words, remember them, live them. I wonder what I’d learn, retain, and feel if I just copied some of the worlds that have influenced me.

I’m not sure I’d do it, but hey three years ago I wasn’t thinking of zines.

Maybe it’s an exercise some of us should try. Imagine taking time, like a weekend away, just to copy a spiritual work that’s important to you. Imagine reliving the role of Person With a Pen and connecting not just to the work in question, but with our history.

–Xenofact