To practise sacred sexuality means to bring more consciousness into your love-making.

It’s been a slow progression for me into understanding what people mean when they speak of “consciousness.” It seemed initially as if everyone else understood what was meant by that word – and yet I didn’t.

I began to get a better grasp of it when comparing it to unconsciousness. I find it easier to recognise unconsciousness, such as when I do something and only afterwards become aware of what I did. So in a way there’s a strong link between consciousness and awareness, another word which I struggled to comprehend.

To be aware is to recognise/be alert to/notice/assimilate etc. So in sex, awareness means you become awake to the fullness of each moment and your awareness of subtle movements and variations of mood and movement, is heightened.

And still, the wondering of how to develop this conscious awareness, which is part of the process of “Awakening.”

The Awakening idea springs from the thought that if we live most of our lives in UNconsciousness, not seeing ourselves and how we’re living, then we’re as good as asleep. We move robotic-ally and life almost passes us by. I have recently discovered that over-thinking is in fact as much a dulling and sleep-inducing practise as drinking alcohol or similar. As is over-using the internet! All of these dull the “awareness” and neautralise one’s capacity for alert receptivity to what is. The thinking mind is often busy with what was, or what might be, or what isn’t, or what shouldn’t be etc. It’s fairly obvious that these are all contrary to what is – which is real life.

And so I return to “consciousness”, which is now seen to be a space; a silence; an openness simply to receive what is.

What sparked these thoughts was something I received in my mail-box tonight, with which I close:

“Act Consciously

Begin to be aware of anything
which ordinarily happens unconsciously,
for example – anger, jealousy, pride -
and your consciousness will be deepened.

Act consciously,
even in day-to-day acts be conscious,
for example – walking, eating, talking -
and your consciousness will be expanded.

Be alert when thinking.
No thought should be allowed to pass unwitnessed.

And then, in the end, there is explosion
in which you become totally conscious
with no unconsciousness behind.”
Osho