A thought provoking blog, Abdelwahab. I read it yesterday, but had to go away from it, to breathe. I see Freud and Jung, ying and yang.

Why is it that in French films, sex is much more free, more open, more natural?

To straighten up people's sexuality...and how do we do that, I wonder?

I took class on exploring the Shadow some years ago and the ring that stays with me is that we must acknowledge that we are all capable of doing "bad" things and that if we suppress that and don't find an outlet, be it art, writing, etc., lest the shadow will surface and take us by surprise. I painted "my shadow" and kept it on my fireplace for a time. It's in my closet now :) but I just snapped a photo of it if you'd like to have a see (it's in my image gallery). Your blog brought me back to that.

And then of course I think of those that were affected as a result of the priests suppressing their natural tendencies. I do not judge them. I only wonder how they could have prevented that. Did they keep their shadows in the forefront or did they push it deep down so that it erupted in a bad way? I don't know. The mind is a powerful creature unto itself; throw in sex and look out!

Hmm............for once I am stuck for words! Will have to muse on this one, will get back later........

Sex is great and it doesn't cost anything and we wouldn't be here without it. Some people have debased sex along with religion and politics by their actions and illicit practice of the three.

Lu, yes, that makes sense and is a beautiful thought. I would say also that sensuality is what keeps our minds alive—the interaction of all the senses—engaged in feeling life. I suppose they go hand in hand. Catherine, I agree, there does have to be balance and many people have lost control of their libido causing pain as you’ve witnessed. So true, Mares, that some people have debased the three.

This morning as I reread your blog, Abdelwahab, and the responses, these points stick:

Sometimes, we wonder if, in order to straighten up peoples, it is not necessary first to straighten up their sex(uality)!
Their sex quality?

Any biological impulse, of any nature, if it does not fulfill itself directly, will be realized under a fantasized form, by a substitute.”

How does one fine tune their “sex(uality)” when what they know begins at conception. Every little vibration, every little witnessing of mommy and daddy. Maybe a bedroom door was left open. Or what about the little boy whom is caught pleasuring himself and his mother walks in and gets his father and scolds him and makes him feel dirty and beats him, etc. And then Mr. Clinton allows his desire to take control and publicly humiliates his wife and lies for everyone to see. I ask myself, how does one fine tune this aspect of themselves when part of how they relate to sex and desire is often ingrained in them to the point that they don’t even know they are out of balance or they cannot stop the urge and act out the libido to the point of no return? I don’t know if anyone is familiar with the show “To Catch a Predator” with Chris Hansen. They would set up sting operations and lure adult men: married men, teachers, a rabbi, old, young, all types. They would have someone online pretending to be a 13 or 12 year old and they would chat with the men in chat rooms and setup a time to meet because the parents were not home. The men would come with their condoms and beer or whatever, not suspecting it was a setup. When they arrived, Chris Hansen greeted them to their amazement and would have them sit and chat and he’d go through their chat room transcripts with them and they would still deny that they intended to have sex with the said minor. I pitied these men and wondered how could they let their better sense get away with them?

I like the questions that you pose, Catherine. Perhaps sex/sexuality education needs to involve more than showing those useless videos that I remember the teachers showing us in 4th grade--and the boys and girls were separated.

Sex is beautiful and divine; a gift given to us by God. It's a pleasure that cannot be matched. But it's so transient that it leaves us humans craving for more. That's the trap that even the best among us fall into and it breaks up homes and marriages.

 It seems that the more creative and powerful a person is, the greater is that person's libido. Rather, sex seems to stimulate creativity and is the fuel for power.

But we've had great people like Mahatma Gandhi who sublimated his sexual desires to reach greater heights. He was a great soul. Most great people don't have his qualities, at least as far as the power to transcend sexual desires goes. Before he gave up sex for higher goals in life, he was like any other ordinary person in his sexual urges.

While it is wrong to go on sleeping around indiscriminately, it's stupid to think that sex is dirty. Indians love sex like people from other nations. But when the Brits came to India, apart from plundering the country, they put in their stupid Victorian notions about sex into the minds of their Indian subjects.

Though it is full of pleasure, sex is sacred. It binds the body and soul of man and woman and completes marriage. Yet it is the cause of so much of trouble between spouses when sought outside the institution of marriage. Infidelity is unforgivable. But it keeps happening all the time.

We've got to look back at our roots to understand why we are not satified with a single partner. What were humans in ancient times?

It's clear we haven't evolved enough to be perfect human beings. We'll keep on making mistakes for many, many centuries to come. Perhaps humans will get more promiscuous in times to come.

I've often wondered about the story of creation. There was Adam and Eve who produced children. If you assume that Adam and Eve had boys and girls, did they marry among themselves to keep up the race? The story of Adam and Eve is not related to this post. But it shows that sex then was a necessity and that families may have been created out of incest.

Ultimately, it all boils down to human needs, desires and appetites. Sex is what makes us human beings.

But then if we don't know how to use sex for our good,the good of our partner and the community, then there's danger of us going back into barbaric ages, if not in time, then in spirit. Breaking norms painstakingly built by various civilisations is like going back into the darkest of times.

Oswald brought much water to the mill but Luciana seems to strike at an important point.She says:"Saying no without violence is another example that he had his sexuality in the right place." Having one's sexuality in the right place,this is what it means to be a normal person,what distinguishes civilization from barbarity. In wars,when soldiers commits barbarities,it is just because their gun has become an extension of their sex .What they do with their sex,they do it with their weapon.For them theses two objects are the same.

Abdel, Oswald, and Lu, I enjoyed reading your discussions.

Oswald says: "While it is wrong to go on sleeping around indiscriminately, it's stupid to think that sex is dirty. Indians love sex like people from other nations. But when the Brits came to India, apart from plundering the country, they put in their stupid Victorian notions about sex into the minds of their Indian subjects."

What stands out for me here is how this statement truly demonstrates how sex, politics, and religion are so intertwined and how it's not easy to find a balance with so many outside influences. But it can be done on an individual level, which in turn can cause that ripple.

Yes, Abdel, "In every human act,this very act is defined by the consequences that follow it." If only more people kept this in their minds when they followed through with decisions.

And, Lu, yes: "Mental and emotional rape can be very painful as well. When people try to impose what they think or feel on others they´re using their sexuality to gain power." This conjures up some of those horrible atrocities in history that you allude to.

I appreciate being able to read all of your perspectives, which adds that much more clarity to this complex topic. Thank you for that.

For your 1st question; "How will you straighten up a pervert?" For a pervert,it is mostly the job of a psychatrist. The question concerns rather young boys and girls.They must be educated to make THE RIGHT CHOICE in matter of sexuality.Hence another question asserts itself:What is right sexuality?The world needs to answer this question. For your second question :"Any biological impulse, of any nature, if it does not fulfill itself directly, will be realized under a fantasized form, by a substitute...." I think Luciana has answered it in a brilliant way.David did too.The substitutes for healthy people are arts,games,all intellectual and spirituals activities. For unhealthy people,the substitutes,well you can find them in most american horrors films. There is an italian film of late great filmaker Luchino Visconti which tries to show that behind great human tragedies,there is a deviated sex.In this case,he makes the link between deviated sex and Nazism.The film is : LUDWIG 

http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=963