i don't hear much about this in many discussions about gender and sexual orientation, but personally I feel that it is a very spiritual matter. I'm not convinced about reincarnation, but I've had some strong feelings that I've been a woman in many past lives, and I am now having a hard time in a male body. Like in Taoism or Alchemy or other traditions I think we each have masculine and feminine energies inside of us, yin and yang. We are born with physical and mental characteristics that we need to balance out between the two. Has anyone else here had experiences that make them feel that their gender identification is a strongly spiritual matter?
I believe to some degree it is. I'm Christian, and in experiencing the supernatural it would make a lot of sense to me. Please excuse me, I'm going to share my views: I believe there are effectively 3 stages of being. Spirit, Soul, and Body. It's interesting to me that it is said that man was created in the image of God, and that God is of 3 persons, the Holy Trinity. We are 3 components. The Spirit is what gives us life, and is what connects us to God. The Soul is effectively a person's 'being'. Gender, personality, everything that makes you YOU, is your soul. The Body is pretty self evident, anything physical. Part of me wonders if Jesus made us this way as a display of our mettle. Everyone in the world is born with adversity, but it's different for each. He was very strict about hypocritical-ness and haughtiness, so if we each have infirmity in our flesh, we can look at it as a reminder of how to treat someone else since we ourselves have imperfections. Anyways, I think Gender falls under Soul, and in most cases Body follows suit. Since nature was tainted by man through the fall and entering of sin, now nature has made imperfect births resulting in possible genetic instability. Everything has entropy now. Personally, I've always felt phantom breasts, I always slouched and covered myself up, to the point of neurosis. I mean, look at this picture: http://i.imgur.com/6sszsVl.jpg I felt so insecure in that picture, at the time I had some confidence and bravado but I shifted my shoulders forward, and tried to not give off any indication of a chest. It's definitely something of the soul. I consider it a great blessing, since I feel I understand our world better, and I love super easy <3
Yes. The discovery of being bisexual, was not as profound as the discovery of the connection with the feminine that can arise for me (I'm fairly androgynous at the best of times). Sometimes I feel quite masculine, sometimes quite feminine, and this freedom to shift between the two is something I now treasure, and would not wish to live without. While in the 'female mood', I have experienced such joy, that it has, sometimes, felt like a spiritual experience. I think I understand where you are coming from with this. All folks have both Yin, and Yang, within them. To begin to feel this dance of energies within one's own body and mind, yes, that is joyful.
Dharmic religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism believes that the soul has no gender and that it is possible to reincarnate as a male in one birth and female in another birth. Just wanted to share with you
Yes actually I was aware of that. I love studying eastern philosophies and religions. I like to think of myself as Zen Buddhist. I'm personally not convinced we have a soul at all, but if we do it seems very implausible for it to have a gender. Thanks potofsoup
Dorian, with my background being Christianity I can very much appreciate your viewpoint and this is very well thought out. As for the phantom breasts I haven't always felt them, but since becoming more in touch with my emotions and opening up to other gender possibilities I feel phantom breasts more and more. Luckily I have a wife with amazing breasts Damien, "dance of energies" is right. I've been feeling it more and more. Some days (like today) I feel very sensitive and emotional in a good way. Others just masculine and kinda numb. I very much enjoy the feminine qualities of receptiveness and grace that I just never allowed myself to feel as a straightforward masculine hetero. This oil painting of the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion makes my heart melt and yearn for feminine energy.
Gender identity, not necessarily gender. I don't think anyone is hard wired in to one or the other, but we have certain allocations and affinities to either based on ourselves. If that makes sense.
