Final Entry

This is my final entry on this blog. Please visit www.joe-perez.com for details.

An Emerging Personal Brand

Greetings... in the weeks or months ahead, this blog will be going away, replaced by new content, including a new eponymous blog at Joe-Perez.com. The new blog will allow me to highlight my work in defining the phenomena that I'm callilng "Emerging Spirituality", "Next Generation Spirituality", and "Spirituality 2.0".

I'll announce the arrival of the new blog here when it's ready to see the light of day. Thanks for continuing to follow my explorations in cyberspace.

In pursuit of "multiple personality order"

Dear Reader,

As I wrote on the SeattleJobCoach.com blog today, professionals today frequently face the problem of "multiple personality disorder": the fragmentation, confusion, and lack of cohesion of their personal and professional brands (and the brand of their employer or business).

This is certainly a topic that's been on my mind lately as I reflect on the best way to define my personal and career goals for the years ahead and create an online identity that reinforces an integral brand and supports my mission. What is the golden thread that connects my various interests and passions, and how can I use it in a way that supports satisfying work and financial security?

When I started the IntegrallyGay.com blog, I hoped to create a space for writing on a regular basis about how Integral theory and practice can be useful for addressing issues in LGBT lives, especially those of gay men. There's definitely a "space" for this niche in the blogosphere, but I am doubtful that my passion is most fully aligned with "filling" the space at this time. Instead, I believe there are other ways that I may help to catalyze the transmission of information about this space while writing, perhaps, for the same audience at a slightly different angle.

Thus, I forsee the day in the weeks or months ahead when I will redirect IntegrallyGay.com and my Twitter feed to one or more new homes which are more aligned with my ever-evolving brand(s), whether it be my brand as an author with a passion for Integral spirituality, my brand as an author and activist with a passion for LGBT issues, or another aspect of my evolving professional brand as the leader of Writing Wolf, my editorial services firm founded in 2004 which is evolving into a firm specializing in career marketing services.

While I work out my brand confusion into some semblance of what Brian Solis calls "multiple personality order", you have my gratitude for your continued interest in following my writing. In the days and weeks ahead, I'll announce my new directions here so you may update your bookmarks, links, and attention.

Thank you... and many blessings in every dimension of your life.

Joe Perez

Reimagining "Integrally Gay"

Dear Reader:

I launched Integrally Gay in beta form just over three months ago, and it's never really gotten out of the sneak preview mode. Consistent with my past experiences with weblogs, it has served as an experimental space and thinkpad.

And as my professional demands have taken more of my time, I've blogged less and let the posts grow stale. I devoted time to editing a couple of Wikipedia articles for a while, but my work on that project is completed. So bear with me while I share a bit about my intentions and my hopes for what this space could be.

I am quite encouraged by the fact that over 60 individuals have signed up for the Facebook page that I created simultaneously, "We're Gay and Integral".  While 60 people may not seem like a lot, it's meaningful to me because it's a beacon that says you can be gay and integral and you're not alone.

What do I mean by "gay and integral"? The Facebook page description gives a hint:

Connecting gay men, lesbians, and other sexual and gender minorities who self-identify as "Integral" or "Integrally-informed" or "fans of Integral philosophy." We are influenced by holistic and evolutionary philosophies that bring together body, mind, shadow, and spirit. We resist the political correctness of the LGBT orthodoxy in favor of both/and politics. We are influenced by philosophers such as Tielhard de Chardin, Aurobindo, Ken Wilber, and David Deida.

I've spelled out much more about this particular intersection of sexuality and spirituality in my two books, Soulfully Gay and Rising Up, plus the 90 or so posts on this blog. But it's worth stressing that just as the dominant mainstream culture pushes down spiritual aspirants of every variety (except conventional religiosity), mainstream LGBT/queer culture pushes down the impulse to genuinely integral spirituality.

Mainstream LGBT culture is dominated by drives towards individuation, difference, sensitivity, pluralism, relativity, tolerance, and "alternative" expressions of sexuality. The integral impulse seeks to include and transcend all of these impulses into an embrace of paradox, balancing of polarities, equanimity, and unitas multiplex (unity in diversity).

I believe the Rainbow Flag is the sacred symbol of LGBT culture: a beacon of diversity and coalition-building.

I believe the Bridge of Light to be a sacred symbol of an Integral LGBT culture. The Bridge of Light emphasizes the hidden, transcendent unity of Being that recognizes that it is always already liberated from oppression ... and human beings who know they possess both heterophilic and homophilic impulses and who wish to know that liberation fully on every dimension of their being.

I believe the Rainbow Flag symbolizes a mainstream LGBT culture content to embrace the joy of being different from others, take pleasure in the self-expression of isolated individuals, and the formation of coalitions of the oppressed.

Being gay and integral poses an individual with new challenges, and a need for new connections. The formation of online community that can nurture and support individuals seeking to create a second-tier consciousness in themselves is truly the need of the moment, as I see it. The world is able to do without yet another blog by a spirituality author (i.e., this one), but it urgently needs a safe and affirming space where the integral impulse can take root in the LGBT culture.

That's why I am in the process of re-imagining this space in cyberether (as well as the Facebook group "We're Gay and Integral") as the launching pad for a new online community. I can't tell you right now what it will look like exactly, because I don't know. I can't tell you when it will be online. I can't tell you if it will be purely a virtual entity or a full-fledged organization. But I can tell you the URL that I have tentatively picked (and today registered) for the community's future website: homophiles.org.

Effective immediately the twitter feed for my work as a writer in the field of gay spirituality is now called @homophiles. That Twitter feed too will evolve. It's all evolving. Stay tuned... and know that your comments and ideas are welcome in the comment box here, on the Facebook page, or by sending me an e-mail.

Blessings,

Joe Perez

Coming out whole on the blogosphere

Greetings. It's taken me longer to get back into the regular writing habit at Integrally Gay than I anticipated. I've been working far too many hours and spending the weeekends on a mental health holiday with my b.f.

I haven't exactly fallen off the face of the blogosphere. Recently, I've been cooking up a new blog that will soon stand as a centerpiece of my professional writing. You can check it out now at SeattleJobCoach.com. The blog is focused on helping people find work and build their careers in Seattle.

(And if you could, LINKS to the new blog are much appreciated. New blogs are ever in need of links in order to begin establishing their PageRank on Google.)

I've been providing informal job search strategist and career coach services since 2003 as part of my core business in writing career marketing documents. However, this aspect of my business has been underdeveloped. I've spent a lot of time in the last several months getting trained up and practiced up in the ins-and-outs of offering formal job coaching services. The new blog will help to establish my credibility and expertise in the niche.

The "Joe Perez as resume writer and coach" and "Joe Perez as gay integral spirituality writer" sides of my online identity have always felt fragmented and poorly integrated. The impression we create in our online identities reflects the person we are, and so a divided public image has long felt disempowering.

I would even say that it has been emotionally draining to spend energy worrying over the incongruity in how I'm showing up in the world via the Internet. I'm not merely talking about narcissistic angst, but genuine concern about how my inner wholeness/fragmentation is reflected by my outer fractured and multiple online identities.

My new online identity, centered on my LinkedIn profile at http://www.joe-perez.com/, is now a step towards greater wholeness. I'm fully "out" as a gay man, BTW, but this area of my life is situated within a broader professional context which reveals that it is one important part of who I am, but not everything.

I'm a work in progress.

Integral Life Practice and Men's Work

The men's Integral Life Practice (ILP) group that I organized moves into its third meeting on Monday, and we're holding our first open meeting to open the doors to new members. I've been speaking with several prospective new members about the sort of experience they would find, and learning about the gifts offered by ILP to men's work, and vice versa.

Nobody that I've talked to has been in an ILP group before, though they are all experienced in Integration Groups sponsored by The ManKind Project, a men's organization that conducts weekend experiential retreats called the New Warrior Training Adventure. MKP's I-Groups for men are not ILP groups, and all of us involved in this venture are sorting through the differences and common ground.

Men's groups today sponsored by organizations such as MKP are designed around the principles of the mythopoetic men's movement, and many of the protocols have been inspired by the poetry of Robert Bly, the mythic archetypal studies of Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette, and the foundational handbook A Circle of Men by Bill Kauth, one of the founders of MKP. The groups have served men from all ages, races, and walks of life, but in practice have attracted mainly white middle-class men over 40, many of whom are motivated to become more in touch with feelings and control their anger.

Like some other groups arising from the human potential movement, they combine Jungian psychology, Gestalt therapy, Twelve Step principles, feminist consciousness raising circles, and rituals adapted from Native American sources. They offer powerful gifts to men, benefits that I have received time and again for many years; yet they are not containers designed for truly Integral work.

Men's work focuses almost entirely on the ethos of "eating the shadow" (to use Bly's memorable phrase). The basic idea is that men's unconscious impulses imperil emotionally mature behavior and sabatoge good intentions, and that men can grow by receiving non-shaming but strong feedback from other men show help him to spot his shadow. They create a safe emotional space for men to become vulnerable and intimate with each other, practice emotionally balanced and healthy communications, and support each other in living accountably in the world. As containers for shadow work, they very often succeed. But the focus on the dark side--unearthing buried wounds and healing/reframing the traumas from childhood and early adolescence in a new light--is a limited methodology.

That's where ILP offers a rejuvenating and liberating perspective for a men's group. Our group will begin every meeting with about 10 minutes of exercises to energize the causal, subtle, and gross bodies and dedicate our work to the service of all sentient beings. We will continue to build intimacy and trust by allowing space and time for communicating feelings, highlighting the issues that arise for men in our daily lives, and processing disputes and emotionally charged reactions some men have with other men. From there, we will devote part of the evening to applying the AQAL Framework to our daily life: exploring how it illuminates the "spiritual cross-training" that forms the core of our Practice. Next, we will devote part of the meeting to shadow work, marrying traditional men's work methodologies with supplemental technologies formulated by Ken Wilber and the Integral Institute. Finally, we will close each meeting by reengaging our causal bodies through group meditation.

Just as ILP makes men's work better by making it a more comprehensive vehicle for personal and spiritual development, men's work strengthens the ILP. Our group will utilize some of the mythic archetypes (Warrior, King, Magician, Lover) that men have come to embrace and find useful. Also we will benefit from the men's movement emphasis on mission, integrity, service, and accountability. Too often integrally informed groups come up short in recognizing the important place for making promises to one's self and others and living truly to them. In these ways and others, men's work and ILP can create a powerful vehicle for development.

Update on the state of Integral on Wikipedia

I have written an article for my blog at Integal Life that has been reposted on Ken Wilber's blog on areas that Wikipedia could benefit from improvement, and put out a call for volunteers to spend time contributing to the project.

A Look at the State of Integral on Wikipedia

Recently I took a look at the state of articles on Wikipedia with an eye towards determining how volunteer editors with knowledge of Integral Theory can chip in to make a difference. For an integral philosophy enthusiast who is willing to take the time to learn a bit about and strictly work within Wikipedia's culture and adhere to its requirements (neutral POV, verifiable sources, decisions by consensus, etc.), there's plenty of opportunity to help ensure the dissemination of accurate and unbiased information about integral philosophy through wikis.

Why is it important what Wikipedia says about Integral?

Consider just two reasons. First: Because Wikipedia pages are very trusted by Google and other search engines, the resulting page is usually right at the top of a search. The wiki's impact is magnified many times because the content is open source and reproduced on hundreds of other websites all over the world. It has been widely observed that large numbers of Internet users seeking information about an individual or organization will go directly to the wiki entry rather than the official website because they believe the information is more likely to be unbiased. It is well known that journalists and bloggers use wiki when researching their articles and posts.

Second: Research that shows that students (from high school to college and even graduate school) often turn to this resource as a first step in research on virtually any topic, even if they know that it cannot usually be cited as a credible source in their papers, because it can point them to credible sources that they can cite for their research. In terms of I-I's current goal of establishing integral studies as more widely accepted in academia, it's hard to think of a better investment of time and energy at this juncture.

Read the whole thing...

It's always a bit of a thrill to have something I've written selected by Ken as a guest post on his blog, and I hope that some good things come of the call for volunteers.

The Wikipedia Treatment of Integral

All my available time for Internet work apart from my other business has been taken this week by my focus on improving the sorry state of Wikipedia articles on the field of Integral Studies, so my blogging has been light. Folks with an interest in Integral might want to check out the debate on the Wikipedia talk pages (here and here).

Here is an excerpt from my discussion post today, which gives some background on how the Integral Studies field has emerged:

Spiritual thinkers and some philosophers wrote for decades before Wilber on similar themes, and a few even used the word "intgeral". Wilber defined a new variation with his books in Wilber IV in the mid-1990s that he called Integral Theory with capital letters, and he calls his theory Integral with a capital I. In the past 14 years, there have been many developments. The one that I am most concerned with is the emergence in 2008 -- 13 years after Wilber started promoting Integral Theory -- of an scholarly field of study which is called Integral Studies which includes Integral Theory as one of its methodologies. I

Integral Theory itself is now no longer associated strictly with Wilber himself, but is an evolving discipline with many contributors. (It is certainly scholarly, and it includes a roster of dozens of academics engaged in interdisciplinary (they call it "trans-disciplinary") research, however it is not widespread (which is NOT to say that it is "unaccepted" only that it is not *practiced* and largely ignored by academia, a different situation altogether from the most common definition of "fringe" which would be a movement like Creationism), a fact that needs to be noted prominently. Note that the keynote address at next year's Integral Theory conference is Robert Kegan, the tenured and highly esteemed developmental psychologist at Harvard School of Education.

Integral Theory (even Alan Kazlev has made this point, and he is no Wilberian) is NOT all of the integral movement, which includes strands such as the Aurobindian that preceded Wilber by decades and have continued to evolve separately in dialogue with his contributions. Not all of those integral movement factions, however, are part of the Integral Studies programs in universities, and the latter is my focus. To illustrate the point another way: the last book published by Integral Books featured Ken as one of four co-authors, and it includes refinements by quite a number of theorists writing in three different peer-reviewed academic journals and can hardly be described as simply "Wilber's book". By what principle are the other authors of the book (Terry Patten, Adam Leonard, and Marco Morelli) who have contributed to a methodology called ILP denied an examination of their work except under Wilber's article? I'm happy to provide references for any part of it to those with less familiarity with this specialty, as I think it's a factual account. Is any of it disputed?

Given this, it seems that Goethean is primarily concerned with treating Wilber parallel to philosophers such as Neitzsche. But I would argue that Nietzsche doesn't have a body of living, breathing academics and scholars publishing amendments, revisions, and developments in his philosophy and calling it Nietzschean Theory or what have you. (Actually, arguably this is the case, given the influence of postmodernism in academia, but let's leave that tangent aside.) So in order to include the material about the Integral Theory body of work at the outskirts of academia, it is important that it be treated separately from Wilber. That doesn't mean that it couldn't ALSO be examined at the Ken Wilber article, so long as the Wilber article only discussed HIS particular ideas and not any future developments in Integral Theory apart from his contributions. Would it alleviate your concerns, Goethan, if the basic material remained at the Ken Wilber article but it was largely duplicated in a separate Integral Theory article that also included non-Wilber developments? I would have proposed that idea myself, except for my concern with redundancy. Also, I know from the Integral movement talk page that at least a few years ago some editors expressed concern that the information about this range of topics was already disproportionately expansive. While I don't agree with that, I don't see much of a need to expand on what is already contained on Wikipedia on Wilber's theory itself and would be open to duplicating a discussion of the same themes at an Integral Theory article.

Snowded, while I agree with your points, I'm not sure that I understand your rationale completely, and don't know what your conclusion is (if you have one at this time). It's absolutely true that Integral doesn't refer just to Wilber, but there is a define body of work called Integral Theory which is both (a) a development of his work and those of others in his think tank, and includes contributions both critical and appreciative, by many others outside of his think tank, and (b) separate from the integral spiritual/"philosophical" movement at large, if there is such a thing as Alan Kazlev has rightly questioned, because there are folks calling themselves "integral" including adherents such as the Aurobindians who still call themselves integral based on a usage of the term that far precedes Wilber, and others influenced more by Gebser or Claire Graves or other strands that have little to do with Wilber. So to be clear, my proposal is to create a new page for Integral Theory (with the capitalization just like that, as is done in the field), apart from an integral portal page of whatever name that would treat primarily developments in the Wilber side of the integral thing.

Finally, let me say that I am friendly to the idea of creating other pages for the integral field of study as well, simply because the entire field of integral studies (distinct from the nebulous "integral" usage) is treated by Wikipedia at this time in a very confusing and inaccurate fashion. I am currently working on a specific proposal and hope to have something developed to the point of an actual proposal within a week or two. This discussion at "Ken Wilber" I started specifically because I do not want to unnecessarily duplicate Wikipedia's discussion of Integral Theory if it can be avoided. I know this is a lot to read. Thanks to everyone for following along & contributing.

Integral Resource: Integral Research Center

The Integral Research Center (integralresearchcenter.org) provides support, including student grants, in the field of Integral Research (IR). The methodologies supported use the post-metaphysical position of Integral Theory and its practice to explore many phenomena in multiple disciplines. Among their grants is the Indigo Award for students who successfully apply Integral principles.

The group's senior researcher is Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Integral Studies Department and Program Director of two Master of Arts degrees at John F. Kennedy University.

Integral Resources: ARINA

Note: This is the first in a series of profiles of resources of general interest in the realm of integral philosophy and spirituality.

ARINA, Inc. (www.global-arina.org) is a nonprofit organization devoted to charitable, educational, and social scientific research purposes. Their journal, Integral Review, is an online, peer-reviewed scholarly publication published twice a year. According to the organization's Web site, their work is based on transdisciplinary process thought emphasizing the organic and developmental nature of reality.

An area of focus is a methodology called Integral Process For Working On Complex Issues (TIP), which is described as a mature, research-based process for organizational change. The group is also developing a project called Integral Evaluation Process, related to the perspectives and intentions underlying perceptions and action.

ARINA is Ohio-based and led by Sara Ross, Ph.D., the group's president.

My Integral Life Practice Men's Group

Monday night's men group, the first official meeting, was amazing. I can't imagine a better way to bring men in my life for authentic communication, presencing, and supporting each other in transformative practices.

A new group men came together in North Seattle on a rainy night, ranging in age from 20something to 60something. The group could have benefited from being a bit more ethnically or sociologically diverse in many ways (so far as I know I was one of two openly gay/bi men there in a sea of white faces).

This followed two organizational meetings in November and December where some of us discussed rules, did some men's work, processed the role of men's work and integral practice in our lives. Some men came who decided it wasn't for them.

Nine of us remain, a few of whom I met for the first time last night or saw for the first time in several years. All but one of us have been initiated in the New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA) of the ManKind Project, and the group is listed on the MKPNW list of I-Groups. (MKP only promotes the group to its community; we are completely responsible for what happens, and we have made several innovations.)

Unlike conventional MKP I-Groups, the integral Men's group is organized so that each evening includes at least one round of the circle for each major model of Integral Life Practice: Body Module, Mind Module, Shadow Module, and Spirit Module. Most of MKP I-Group protocols don't go any further than shadow work, so we will include those processes in that part of our meeting.

Our goal is to support each other in getting our ILPs rocking, stay on track with our goals, keep accountable to our visions and missions in life. The process of the group could help us in forming a container safe and intimate enough to go deep into the garbage bag of the psyche as we need to go. But they are only tools.

Ultimately, the success of failure of the group will much depend on the energy and commitment of every participant in bringing himself fully and authentically into a space where transformation can happen. On Monday night, the focus was the Mind Module. We each completed our ILP Worksheet which described the specific items in our integral development at this time in every area, how often we would do them, and what the next things were on which we would work.

The vision I held for my 2010 is one of accepting and bringing forth my full humanity and full divinity. My most important and time-consuming practice is in the Mind Module/Spirit Module: writing my Kronology project, an endeavor that frequently requires me to access my higher mind and enter into contemplative states of mind. Along the way, I also want to get in shape, spend more time cooking, maintain a money-consciousness practice, and continue several other practices that I have been doing and are working.

My own group came together with a bunch of e-mails and phone calls to men I know, and men that they know, and launched in less than two months. If you don't have a group like the ILP group in your life, what's stopping you?

LGBT Resources: Christopher Penczak

ChristopherPenczak.com provides articles and resources by the author of several books on witchcraft and paganism. Christopher Penczak's site includes information on his classes on topics such as witchcraft, reiki, shaball reiki, and mystic merkaba, and services such as astrology readings. Among his books is Gay Witchcraft, a "genuine Book of Shadows for the GLBT Crowd". Articles included topics on queer spirituality, shamanism and systems of magic, tarot, the wheel of the year, and Wicca.

LGBT Resources: John J. McNeill

John J. McNeill's Web site (johnjmcneill.com) offers a detailed biographical profile for John J. McNeil, descriptions of his five major books, and related information. John is probably best known for his books The Church and the Homosexual and Taking a Chance On God, which helped to establish a gay liberation theology. His books and ministry also set him at odds with the Vatican, a conflict which eventually cost him his membership in the Jesuits. John's message is one emphasizing the themes of self-acceptance, social justice, and spiritual maturity.

Don't Be Christian. Be Christ.

"Why would you be Christian when you can be Christ?" -- Joe Perez via Twitter on 1/2/10 (after similar by Lama Surya Das)

Many Buddhists know there is not one Buddha, but one Buddha nature, that state of liberation from suffering not only taught by one man, not only achieved (if it is an achievement), but realized. Fewer Christians understand that there is not one Christ, but one Christ nature (one bread, one body, one God), that state of consciousness of one body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit of Christ. It is that perfection of the luminous acceptance of all that is, that total abandonment to homophilia, God's Agape.

Engaged with the World and with Spirit

With 80 warm up posts under my belt in the past several weeks, now it's time to take this blog, Integrally Gay, out of the pen and onto the field. As I do, a short note to my readers to give you an idea of what to expect, and what not to expect.

This blog is NOT...

This blog is NOT about all my interests, personal or professional. It is a focused collection of writing on homophilia in self and society, culture and nature, and how an integral spirituality reveals the deeper meaning of homophilia.

This blog is NOT a running commentary on current world events and the latest distractions on the blogosphere. Rather, it expresses an ongoing practice to stay engaged with the world at large.

This blog is NOT about getting traffic, winning blog awards, collecting followers, and filling comment boxes. Too often the blogosphere rewards the worst, most reactive and spiritually immature commentary. I hope not to fall too much into that trap. My posts here assist my effort to build my network of connections among LGBT/homophile thought leaders and the reading public, building bridges of connection and mutual empowerment.

This blog is...

Homophilia in action, every time I reach within myself to manifest and express the liberating teaching that contemplation brings an understanding of the right relations of all things, and of homophilia as the hidden connecting principle in a heterophilic world too often full of hostility and lack of comprehension.

Heterophilia in action, every time I express in words that are translated into bits and bytes and translated again into the bitstream that finds its way to another soul, curious about the meaning of gayness or of integral spirituality and how these may be connected, and that other is invited to change, to evolve, to question what they think they know.

My intention is to write at least a few hundred words every day, five days a week, even if it is only to take a brief look at the surfaces of things, BOLD: AS OF 1/27/10, I'VE OPTED TO FOCUS ON ONE OR TWO LONGER POSTS PER WEEK, PLUS SHORT POSTS AS TIME ALLOWS or to begin tracing a map that can help others to heal, love, and embrace all of who they are and to be liberated into their own True Self.

This blog is NOT... spellchecked. Damn it. The blogger WYSIWYG interface forces me to choose between making it easy to colorize posts or spell check them, and I've chosen the rainbow. I hope not to make too many annoying spelling mistakes.

Thank you for reading along.

The Seventh Principle: Spirit (Universal Consciousness)

Bridge of Light, White or Pink Candle

A winter cultural tradition originating from the LGBT community.

Ritual: On New Year's Day (after midnight on December 31), light a white or pink candle, the seventh of seven.

The candle honors the Crown of Spirit, the seventh chakra, and the principle of Spirit (Universal Consciousness). The candle honors the evolution of Spirit in the contemporary period and future generations to come, and the emerging integral connections between the struggle for gay liberation with the struggles for justice and dignity of all peoples throughout the world, the healing of the natural world, and the amelioration of suffering of all sentient beings.

The Sixth Principle: Wisdom

Bridge of Light, Purple Candle

A winter cultural tradition originating from the LGBT community.

Short ritual: On New Year's Eve, light a purple candle, the sixth of seven, and let it burn through the New Year.

Long ritual: Light a purple candle on New Year's Eve.

The candle honors the Eye of Spirit, the sixth chakra, and the principle of Wisdom. The candle honors the evolution of Spirit in pluralistic expressions of sexuality and gender in the era defined by the rise of the feminist, homophile movement, gay liberation movement, queer movement, and LGBTQ community in the past 50 to 100 years.

LGBT Resources: GayGospels (Individual)

GayGospels (gaygospels.com) provides weekly homilies for the LGBT community. The site is managed by Fr. Don Becker of New York City. Don also provides psychotherapy services, spiritual guidance, and counseling. Formerly a subscription-based online service, the online sermon ministry is now supported entirely by donations.

LGBT Resources: Gay Spirituality (Individual)

Gay Spirituality (tobyjohnson.com) is a resource from Toby Johnson, one of the most influential and respected voices in the gay men's spirituality movement. His home page prominently displays the motto: "Our homosexuality can be a clue to us about the nature & meaning of our own lives and about the nature of God." This ethos has informed Toby's several non-fiction and fiction books, and a wide range of articles on culture, metaphysics, book reviews, and Joseph Campbell's work on mythological archetypes. The site contains information on the history of the gay men's spirituality movement that can't be found anywhere else, including the "Statement of Spirituality" produced by a working group at the 2004 Gay Spirit Summit.

LGBT Resources: Spirit Journeys (Organization)

Spirit Journeys (spiritjourneys.com) is the Web site for an organization offering retreats, travel tours, weekend getaways, workshops, and coaching oriented mainly for gay men. Their approach is based upon "a wide variety of tools, teachings, and practices ... that have a common core and truth to them." Some scheduled events have recently centered on topics such as "Intimacy and Eros for Men", "Tantric Tribes: Naked Yoga for Men", and "Welcoming Happiness". The site also contains scrapbooks of retreat photos and clothing items for sale.

Media Release: Worldwide LGBT Community Celebrates a Gay New Year's Eve on December 31

MEDIA RELEASE

Seattle, WA -- A review of the major winter holidays celebrated in the United States reveals that only one is focused specifically on the growth and development of LGBT people. While Gay Pride celebrates the anniversary of Stonewall in June, the Bridge of Light on December 31 reveals the more reflective and spiritual side of the greater gay and lesbian community.

Many gay and queer people are noted for our love of merrymaking. We are celebrated entertainers, gracious party hosts, and unsurpassed in the art of throwing a fabulous splash with style. However, many of us are disconnected from the winter holiday season because of strained relationships with our families or a feeling of disconnection from the season’s religious symbolism. Therefore the holidays can be a source of pain and loneliness.

Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga first celebrated Kwanzaa, the African-American cultural holiday, in 1966, and today it’s celebrated by millions throughout the world African community. However, until Bridge of Light was founded in 2004, nobody ever celebrated a distinctively queer winter holiday.

Bridge of Light is an interfaith and omni-denominational cultural and spiritual tradition originating in 2004 and connected in its inspiration and organization to the Gay Spirit Culture Summit held that year, a gathering of 100+ spiritual leaders and change agents in the gay community.

Since then, the annual winter ritual (now in its fifth year) has helped to draw attention to the positive contributions made by members of the LGBT community in the areas of spiritual growth, inner transformation, and religious leadership.

The core of the tradition is a simple ritual of lighting six candles, one for each color of the rainbow flag, on New Year’s Eve, plus a seventh candle on New Year's Day. Each color corresponds to a universal spiritual principle as well as the specific ways that this principle has found expression in the course of LGBT history and in our contemporary world.

On December 26, 2009, a major change in the descriptions of the principles underlying each of the colors of the rainbow was announced. Joe Perez, founder of the Bridge of Light tradition and author of the books "Soulfully Gay" and "Rising Up", credits meditations by Rev. Kittredge Cherry for more fully developing the insight that the colors of the rainbow flag are aligned to six of the seven colors of the chakras, the spiritual energy centers of the human body. Rev. Cherry is a lesbian Christian author, minister and art historian who offers gay-friendly spiritual resources at "JesusInLove.org".

According to Perez, the revised principles are intended to provide a starting point for individual and group meditations on the meaning of spirituality in the lives of members of the LGBT community. A red candle honors Community, an orange candle honors Eros, a yellow candle honors Self-Esteem, a green candle honors Self-Expression and Justice, a blue candle honors Wisdom, and a purple candle honors Spirit (Universal Consciousness).

These are the Seven Principles of the Bridge of Light, and complete instructions for celebrating the tradition:

Step 1. On New Year's Eve, light a red candle, the first of seven, and let it burn through New Year's Day. The candle honors the Root of Spirit, the first chakra. Celebrate the evolution of Spirit in love and eroticism defined as it first arose in ancient spiritualities, including Wicca, paganism, and Goddess/pre-patriarchal religions (approximately 10,000 BCE and continuing to the present day).

Step 2. On New Year's Eve, light an orange candle as the second of seven, and let it burn through New Year's Day. The candle honors the Fire of Spirit, the second chakra, the principle of Eros. Celebrate the evolution of Spirit in love and eroticism that first appeared in the era defined by the rise of the great divine and mortal heroes of the ancient world, celebrated in song and myths: Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Horus and Seth, Jonathan and David, Naomi and Ruth, and many more, beginning about 5,000 BCE.

Step 3. On New Year's Eve, light a yellow candle, the third of seven, and let it burn through New Year's Day. The candle honors the Core of Spirit, the third chakra. Celebrate the evolution of Spirit in love and eroticism that first appeared in the era defined by the rise of the major world religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Confucianism), beginning about 500 BCE and continuing to the present day.

Step 4. On New Year's Eve, light a green candle, the fourth of seven, and let it burn through New Year's Day. The candle honors the Heart of Spirit, the fourth chakra, and the principle of Love. The candle celebrates the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love, eroticism, and traditional gender role defiance in the era defined by the rise of the modernity in the industrial age and the beginning of modern democratic states (approximately 1,500 CE and continuing to the present day).

Step 5. On New Year's Eve, light a blue candle, the fifth of seven, and let it burn through New Year's Day. The candle honors the Voice of Spirit, the fifth chakra, and the principles of Self-Expression and Justice. The candle celebrates the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love and gender role evolution in the era defined by the rise of Romanticism, Transcendentalism, late modernism, and early postmodern artists and pioneers (approximately 1,800 CE to the present day).

Step 6. On New Year's Eve, light a purple candle, the sixth of seven, and let it burn through New Year's Day. The candle honors the Eye of Spirit, the sixth chakra, and the principle of Wisdom. The candle honors the evolution of Spirit in pluralistic expressions of sexuality and gender in the era defined by the rise of the feminist, homophile movement, gay liberation movement, queer movement, and LGBTQ community in the past 50 to 100 years.

Step 7. On New Year's Day, light a white or pink candle, the seventh of seven. The candle honors the Crown of Spirit, the seventh chakra, and the principle of Spirit (Universal Consciousness). The candle honors the evolution of Spirit in the contemporary period and future generations to come, and the emerging integral connections between the struggle for gay liberation with the struggles for justice and dignity of all peoples throughout the world, the healing of the natural world, and the amelioration of suffering of all sentient beings.

The 2009/2010 Bridge of Light tradition is part of the 7th annual World Spirituality Day, an event sponsored by an unaffiliated group: Integrative Spirituality, a not-for-profit omni-denominational spiritual organization based in San Francisco, California. World Spirituality Day is regarded by some as "The Earth Day for the Spirit."

Joe Perez, founder of the Bridge of Light holiday, said: "Today, New Year's Eve is a mostly secular experience, yet for centuries the world's wisdom traditions have recognized this one day as a special gateway between the old and the new, the sacred and the profane. Bridge of Light honors the unique way that Homophiles throughout the centuries have lived with spiritual dignity and beauty."

Perez added, "The Bridge of Light is a symbol recognizing the hidden unity veiled by the many colors of the rainbow, the symbol most closely associated with the gay rights movement worldwide. As important as it is to appreciate the diversity of unique colors, it is also important to recognize our commonalities and dignity as human beings."

The first Bridge of Light events were celebrated by small clusters of people on at least two continents in 2004. Today, nobody knows how many people celebrate the tradition. A Facebook group "Bridge of Light" was launched in December 2009 that anyone can join and upload ideas for celebrating the tradition. The group is at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=188851789242.

Endorsements of Bridge of Light (Partial List)

Greg DiStefano, a spiritual explorer and national book award-winning author of the gay spiritual memoir "Breakdown, Diamonds, Death, and Second Chances," said: "Bridge of Light is a wonderful way to add a greater depth of spiritual meaning to the New Years occasion. For GLBT people, their supporters, and the wider global culture, the Bridge of Light celebration will help keep focus on universal spiritual values while honoring diversity, unity and equality."

Toby Johnson, the author, gay spirituality activist, and former editor/publisher and current contributing editor of White Crane Journal, said: "Throughout the past people we'd now understand to be gay/queer were the creators and stylers of religion and culture. As we continue in that sacred role in the evolution of consciousness, it is only consistent that gay culture would offer a gay -- and modern, secular, liberationist way of understanding the winter solstice celebration of rebirth of the year and the archetypal myth of the Eternal Return."

David Rappaport of Bowdoinham, Maine has joined the roster of endorsers for Bridge of Light. David is the Senior Program Officer of a healthcare foundation and a mystical seeker. He said, "In these post-postmodern if not exactly post-Biblical times in which Christian and other fundamentalists seem to seek to create separation -- spirituality from religion, reason from belief, individual from community -- I believe it is important to counterbalance by working towards integration. Bridge of Light is a welcome step towards wholeness."

Jacob Staub, a Reconstructionist rabbi, a member of the faculty of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the co-author of "Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach," has endorsed Bridge of Light. He said, "I endorse the new Bridge of Light celebration as an opportunity for queer people and their allies to focus on their values and their spiritual lives."

Jari Dvorak, a seeker and spiritual organizer living in Toronto, is one of the founders of Dharma Friends. He endorsed Bridge of Light by saying, "I say yes to a holiday that celebrates our spiritual diversity while affirming our fundamental unity! In keeping with integral values, GLBT people need to be embraced as spiritual equals. It's not only because of our rights, but because it is important for the whole of humanity. Everyone is invited to travel on the path of open ended spiritual development. I trust the Bridge of Light will become the seed for a wonderful worldwide holiday."

Scott Dillard, an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric at Georgia College and State University, said: "As an advisor to the Gay Straight Alliance at Georgia College and State University I am eager to help my students connect to their uniqueness as GLBT people and to their past and future. This sort of celebration is just the thing that young people need to help them feel a part of an emerging tradition."

Rev. Koshin Paley Ellison, a Zen Buddhist priest in New York City, a poet, a hospital chaplain, and a psychotherapist with the Psychotherapy & Spirituality Institute, said: "I think the Bridge of Light is a wonderful offering to these times."

Paul Browde, M.D., a psychiatrist in New York City and a participant in the Gay Spirit Culture Summit, said in his endorsement of Bridge of Light: "I think it is important that we are clearly not denominational in any way. We are everyone; we live in all communities, all spiritual and faith backgrounds, and all families. We are part of the greater humanity, yet we express a very particular, very unique spirit."

Cami Delgado, a psychotherapist in private practice in Miami and pioneer of AIDS care in Miami-Dade County, said: "I'm excited about the new holiday. It's a concept whose time has come. As a psychotherapist who works with gay men, I am well aware of how healing and powerful gay-affirming rituals and events can be. Bridge of Light brings new meaning and purpose to the holiday season."

Other endorsers of the Bridge of Light include: Carolyn Baker, Ph.D., an adjunct professor of history and author of "Coming Out from Christian Fundamentalism"; Andrew Ramer, author of "Two Flutes Playing" and other books; Jim Marion, author of "Putting On the Mind of Christ"; Fenton Johnson, author of several books including the Lambda Literary Award-winning memoir "Keeping Faith"; Daniel Helminiak, author of "What the Bible Really Said About Homosexuality" and many other books; Kip Dollar, partner of Toby Johnson, and half of one of the couples featured in Merle Yost's "When Love Lasts Forever: Male Couples Celebrate Commitment"; Ko Imani, author of "Shirt of Flame: The Secret Gay Art of War", founder of MyOutSpirit.com and and editor of the "MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog. A complete list of endorsers is available online.

The Fifth Principle: Self-Expression and Justice

Bridge of Light, Blue Candle

A winter cultural tradition originating from the LGBT community.

Short ritual: On New Year's Eve, light a blue candle, the fifth of seven, and let it burn through the New Year.

Long ritual: Light a blue candle on December 30 and December 31.

The candle honors the Voice of Spirit, the fifth chakra, and the principles of Self-Expression and Justice. The candle celebrates the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love and gender role evolution in the era defined by the rise of Romanticism, Transcendentalism, late modernism, and early postmodern artists and pioneers (approximately 1,800 CE to the present day).

Dreams of Post-Post-Christianity

In a dream this morning, I find myself wandering through some kind of a college campus.

A curious, inquisitive student approaches me and explains that he is compiling some sort of directory of "Christian visionaries". His editor appears over his shoulder, an older and more serious-looking man.

The editor references my recent Twitter and says, "I see no reason to include you. You have clearly tweeted, 'I am not a Christian.'"

I sense that the editorial committee is not in perfect agreement.

"What do you say?" I asked the young man.

He said, "It's a controversy. In the same tweet you also said, 'I am a post-post-Christian.' Many people hear 'post-Christian' and they think, 'non-Christian'. So when I hear 'post-post-Christian', I think 'not a non-Christian', and I think you should be included."

The young man's logic seemed sound to me, and I told him so.

I said, "I did not say, 'I am a post-post-Buddhist' or 'I am a post-post-Hindu' or 'I am a post-post-Jew'. If I am not not Christian, then I do not know what else I am not not."

I thought inwardly but did not say, "Would Christ have called himself a Christian? I don't think so."

The newspaper editorial committee left. I sensed that they had arrived at a decision which would soon be announced when the directory was published.

LGBT Resources: Gay Wisdom (Magazine, Books, Blog, Email List, Organization)

Gay Wisdom (gaywisdom.org) is the hub Web site to some of the most venerable, insightful, and award-winning spiritual resources around. It provides access to the Daily Wisdom Email from White Crane, highlights from the current issue of White Crane Journal, information about White Crane Books, White Crane Institute, upcoming events, projects, and the Facebook group. Don't miss the Gay Wisdom blog, edited by Bo Young and Dan Vera. The contributing writers at this time are Cleo Creech, Debanuj DasGupta, Jesse Monteagudo, Franklin Abbott, Perry Brass, and Eric Riley. The Web site is the latest medium for White Crane, a quarterly journal launched in 1989. Their governing principle is that "as gay men we have a unique and wonderful spirituality to share with each other."

LGBT Resources: MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog (Blog)

Founded as the Gay Spirituality & Culture Blog, the MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog originated around the time of the Gay Spirit Summit in 2004. Today, the site provides pro-gay inspiration and cultural commentary with an interdenominational and interfaith angle from editor Ko Imani and writers Kittredge Cherry, Mary Anne Flanagan, Azariah Southworth, and Joe Perez. The group blog is one of the oldest continuously published Internet resources of its kind, and has long been ranked #1 for Gay Spirituality and LGBT Spirituality according to your typical Google query.

LGBT Resources: Rising Up Whole (Blog)

Rising Up Whole (rising-up.blogspot.com) is a blog by 38-year-old Christine Bakke of Denver, Colorado. She describes herself as a "woman on a journey" who came out of the closet as a lesbian, went back in, and is now out again. An article featuring Christine's story appeared in Glamour magazine and Good Morning America. Her blog has been online since October 2005 and features her ex-gay and ex-ex-gay experiences.

LGBT Resources: The Fairness Project (Organization)

Note: This is the first in a planned series of posts on Internet spirituality and religious resources of interest to the LGBT/homophile community.

The Fairness Project (fairnessproject.org) founded by Dr. Robert N. Minor promotes fair and positive understanding of human beings regardless of sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or other considerations. The site includes information about Robert, who is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas, his writings, seminars, and press releases.

The Fourth Principle: Love

Bridge of Light, Green Candle

A winter cultural tradition originating from the LGBT community.

Short ritual: On New Year's Eve, light a green candle, the fourth of seven, and let it burn through the New Year.

Long ritual: Light a green candle, the fourth of seven, each evening between December 29 and the New Year.

The candle honors the Heart of Spirit, the fourth chakra, and the principle of Love. The candle celebrates the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love, eroticism, and traditional gender role defiance in the era defined by the rise of the modernity in the industrial age and the beginning of modern democratic states (approximately 1,500 CE and continuing to the present day).

I am a Post-Post-Christian. I am a Christophile

The heart that beats within me is Christ, the heart of Me is Christ. The heart of Christ is the heart of All.

I am neither Christian nor post-Christian. I am post-post-Christian. In other words, I am a Christophile. — Joe Perez on Twitter (12/28/09)

Is there a difference between homophilia and Christophilia? Not to the one who has put on the heart and mind of Christ, for self-love is the love of the divine within.

The Forging of a (Post-?) Gay Identity

Eric F. Riley in "Homogenization" on GayWisdom:

I didn't claim a gay identity until I was 21 or so. I didn't think I was one of the kinds of people I saw on television. I was different from them. It took me actually reading about gay people, going out to clubs, going to the GLBT community center and eventually finding the Radical Faeries before I could truly say that yes, I was gay and that it doesn't look like x, y or z. The kind of gay I am is not even in your alphabet. But it took years and years of learning and time and structure to form the identity I claim now. I had to learn the language, to navigate the wilds of subcultures to find the kinds of people who made sense to me.

I talk to a lot of people, many of them not much younger than I am, who say they're "post-gay" or don't identify as that kind of gay. They're something else, some kind of new-gay. Part of me wonders if they say this because they've grown up with an understanding of gay as some sort of homogenous identity. Perhaps much like I grew up just being generically a white person, these people have grown up with a definition of gay and they reject it because they recognize something more in themselves.

As we transition to a world where the breadth of gay identity is plowed under by mega-corporatizing influences, I suspect I'll hear more of this claim of a "post-gay" identity. Who we are needs the breadth of a library to explicate and understand the diversity of our lives, but our larger society run solely on profit incentive doesn't care about that. They only want to make money, they don't care who we are, where we came from or where we're going. They only care that we'll probably buy erotica, and we probably will.

It's worthwhile to ponder the possible influences that inform the emergence of some kind of post-gay identity, and Eric has put his finger on two. The first, I think he is saying, is that individuals who reject a gay identity are rejecting identification with a monoculture that produces a "homogenous identity". The second, I think he is saying, is that profit-driven businesses manipulate or manufacture a false sense of identity that betrays the actual depth of the "diversity of our lives".

Both the role of monoculture and capitalism are worth exploring further. In particular, I wonder about the role of characters such as Will and Jack in the popular Will & Grace sitcom in defining the boundaries of what is considered acceptable and predictable behavior for gay men ... and how men today resist those limits. And I wonder about the massive influence of Internet porn sites such as Manhunt in changing the ways that gay men express their erotic drives.

However, I want to push back at the implication that the waning of the gay label is some sort of immature form of "coming out" or that greedy capitalists are at the root of the complex changes that we see. I think Eric comes closest to the mark when he says that the culture shift is happening because people today "reject it [gay identity] because they recognize something more in themselves." Which allows for a much more generous understanding of how identities evolve. People outgrow them.

Some people do, not all. And even those who outgrow them may still trot them out or keep them around because they are loved or helpful, and because the old labels still fit some of the time. But to stake one's core on being gay or lesbian or bi or trans or queer is to stake one's core on being different and transgressive of the ordinary. Eric seems to acknowledge as much when he says that the core of his identity is to "understand the diversity" in himself.

Like Walt Whitman, many LGBTers today proclaim that they are multiplicities:

Do I contradict myself?
Very well, then, I contradict myself;
(I am large—I contain multitudes.)

But Whitman also knew that he was at his core was no different than anyone else. In "Song of Myself", he also wrote:

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I prefer a homophile identity to gay because I identify with that universal core common to all humankind, not just one subgroup: homophilia, one of the two prime directions of Love at the heart of all reality as I see it. (I continue to identify as gay because homophilia  is no different than something that I would call "gayness" more often if other LGBTers wouldn't snicker at the sound of such a term. Furthermore, my identification is not limited to humankind; ultimately, all identities except that of Spirit are partial and therefore not truly authentic.)

Not many individuals will define their growing unease with gay identity in quite such explicit philosophical terms. But I guess many more are wrestling with their unease now, and forging something beyond gay and yet unapologetically self-accepting, fully life-affirming, and profoundly homoerotic.

The Third Principle: Self-Esteem

Bridge of Light, Yellow Candle

A winter cultural tradition originating from the LGBT community.

Short ritual: On New Year's Eve, light a yellow candle, the third of seven, and let it burn through New Year's Day.

Long ritual: Light a yellow candle each evening between December 28 and New Year's Eve, the third of seven, and keep the last candle lit through the New Year.

Honor the Core of Spirit, the third chakra. Celebrate the evolution of Spirit in love and eroticism that first appeared in the era defined by the rise of the world religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Confucianism), beginning about 500 BCE and continuing to the present day.

The Second Principle: Eros

Bridge of Light, Orange Candle

A winter cultural tradition originating from the LGBT community.

Short ritual: On New Year's Eve, light an orange candle as the second of seven, and let it burn through the New Year.

Long ritual: Light an orange candle, the second of seven, each evening between December 27 and New Year's Eve, and keep the candle lit until New Year's Day.

Honor the Fire of Spirit, the second chakra, the principle of Eros. Celebrate the evolution of Spirit in love and eroticism that first appeared in the era defined by the rise of the great divine and mortal heroes of the ancient world, celebrated in song and myths: Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Horus and Seth, Jonathan and David, Naomi and Ruth, and many more, beginning about 5,000 BCE.

The First Principle: Community

Bridge of Light, Red Candle

A winter cultural tradition originating from the LGBT community.

Short ritual: On New Year's Eve, light a red candle, the first of seven, and let it burn until New Year's Day.

Long ritual: Light a red candle each evening between December 26 and New Year's Eve, the first of seven, and keep the candle lit through New Year's Day.

Honor the Root of Spirit, the first chakra. Celebrate the evolution of Spirit in love and eroticism defined as it first arose in ancient spiritualities, including Wicca, paganism, and Goddess/pre-patriarchal religions (approximately 10,000 BCE and continuing to the present day).

Notes on Evolution of Bridge of Light Tradition

There have been several changes to the Bridge of Light holiday since it was first celebrated in 2004 (the first gathering used the name Yuletide). While much of this information is technical of interest to a few, some of you may find the historical details of interest.

I originally derived the meanings of the colors from principles in Integral philosophy (a nonsectarian philosophy based on the principles of spiritual evolution and the mystical thread connecting all the great world’s religions). I still find my inspiration for the holiday as fundamentally “Integral,” but I apply the principles differently.

In the 2004 version of the ritual, the colors represented main stages of evolutionary spiritual development, with each color aligned to a specific vMeme of Spiral Dynamics theory of cultural evolution. In subsequent years, this narrow inspiration proved problematic on several levels: first, I have never really adopted the color scheme of Spiral Dynamics into my spiritual practice; second, I have begun to place more emphasis on the modes or lines of development than stages, and now use the chakra system as a convenient traditional way of describing these modes; third, the ordering and naming of the principles was overly esoteric and this probably hindered more widespread adoption of the ritual.

There is wisdom in favoring simple principles that are easily communicated to others based on traditional associations that are already widely in use and need not be reinvented. The color associations of the charkas are an excellent way of communicating basic principles of evolutionary spirituality without being too heavy handed or rigid.

As a side note, I will add that new color scheme and ordering is compatible (if not a direct match) to the eight-mode developmental model that I have begun to use in my 2009 writings on the Kalendar, my vision of sacred time, so all in all I believe the modifications help to bring the ritual into line with my best and most contemporary insights into the spiritual significance of homophilia.

I fully credit Kittredge Cherry for originally suggesting use of the charkas for defining the principles. Her meditation on the chakra meanings and their specific application for LGBT spirituality have been quite valuable. I have more or less adopted her ordering and descriptions of six of the seven principles with only minor modifications. (Just as I have fully credited Toby Johnson for originally suggesting that the holiday be held on the New Year rather than the winter solistice, an idea that has improved the ritual considerably.)

Kittredge advocated differentiating between the first and second chakras (red and orange) because these principles are of particular importance for the LGBT community and I couldn’t agree more. Also, her color scheme lends itself well to ordering the candle lighting in a more straightforward evolutionary scheme than my original ritual: (1) red, (2) orange, (3) yellow, (4) green, (5) blue, and (6) purple. I think that these are developments for the better.

Kittredge also recommended combining the eye and crown charkas into one in order to fit the six-color scheme of the rainbow flag with the seven-color scheme of the traditional chakra symbolism. Upon further meditation, I have opted instead for a different solution that retains all seven charkas. I achieved this by adding a seventh principle (depicted by two candles, one black and the other white) for New Year's Day.

By adding a seventh candle on New Year’s Day just for the crown chakra, then we can retain a celebration of the third eye chakra. It’s my conviction that the Third Eye, representing holistic understandings, integral models of development, and “Right Understanding” (to use a Buddhist term) in the service of enlightenment is somewhat neglected in LGBT spirituality. It would be a shame to miss an opportunity to reinforce the principle's importance.

Kittredge adds, “I see this as a work in progress, and am open to ongoing dialogue about it.” And that is my own opinion as well. I’m publishing these recommendations now, a couple days in advance of Dec. 26, when some individuals will begin their own Bridge of Light rituals, and encourage feedback from the community.

I intend to light seven candles for my own celebration of the Bridge of Light. I expect my celebration will look like this:

Evening of Dec. 26. Light a red candle in honor of the Root of Spirit, the Principle of Community.

Evening of Dec. 27. Light a second candle, orange, in honor of the Passion of Spirit, the Principle of Creativity and Eros.

Evening of Dec. 28. Light a third candle, yellow, in honor of the Core of Spirit, the Principle of Self-Esteem and Self-Actualization.

Evening of Dec. 29. Light a fourth candle, green, in honor of the Heart of Spirit, the Principle of Love and Compassion.

Evening of Dec. 30. Light a fifth candle, blue, in honor of the Voice of Spirit, the Principle of Self-Expression and Justice.

Evening of Dec. 31. Light the sixth candle, violet, in honor of the Eye of Spirit, the principle of Integration and Wisdom.

Morning of Jan. 1. Light the seventh and eighth candles, black and white, in honor of the Crown of Spirit, the principle of Spirituality and Universal Consciousness.

How will you embrace the Bridge of Light?

Revisions to the Bridge of Light

Bridge of Light is an interfaith and omni-denominational cultural and spiritual tradition originating in 2004 and connected in its inspiration and organization to the Gay Spirit Culture Summit held that year, a gathering of 100+ spiritual leaders and change agents in the gay community.

Since then, the annual winter ritual (now in its fifth year) has helped to draw attention to the positive contributions made by members of the LGBT community in the areas of spiritual growth, inner transformation, and religious leadership.

The core of the tradition is a simple ritual of lighting candles, one for each color of the rainbow flag, on New Year’s Eve (or from Dec. 26 to New Year’s, one candle for each day). Each color corresponds to a universal spiritual principle as well as the specific ways that this principle has found expression in the course of LGBT history and in our contemporary situation.

These are the principles of the Bridge of Light in their current (2009) form:

The First Principle
Color: Red
Meaning: The Root of Spirit (Community)
Order: Dec. 26 or first candle of New Year’s Eve
Correspondence in LGBT History: We celebrate the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love and eroticism defined as it first arose in ancient spiritualities, including Wicca, paganism, and Goddess/pre-patriarchal religions (approximately 10,000 BCE and continuing to the present day).
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the first chakra.

The Second Principle
Color: Orange
Meaning: The Fire of Spirit (Eros)
Order: Dec. 27 or second candle of New Year’s Eve
Correspondence in LGBT History: We celebrate the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love and eroticism that first appeared in the era defined by the rise of the great divine and mortal heroes of the ancient world, celebrated in song and myths: Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Horus and Seth, Jonathan and David, Naomi and Ruth, and many more, beginning about 5,000 BCE.
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the second chakra.

The Third Principle
Color: Yellow
Meaning: The Core of Spirit (Self-Esteem)
Order: Dec. 28 or third candle of New Year’s Eve
Correspondence in LGBT History: We celebrate the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love and eroticism that first appeared in the era defined by the rise of the world religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Confucianism), beginning about 500 BCE and continuing to the present day.
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the third chakra.

The Fourth Principle
Color: Green
Meaning: The Heart of Spirit (Love and Compassion)
Order: Dec. 29 or fourth candle of New Year’s Eve
Correspondence in LGBT History: We celebrate the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love, eroticism, and traditional gender role defiance in the era defined by the rise of the modernity in the industrial age (approximately 1,500 CE and continuing to the present day), e.g., secular philosophies, inventors, business and scientific leaders, pioneers in democratic societies, early developments in the abolition of slavery and women's sufferage.
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the fourth chakra.

The Fifth Principle
Color: Blue
Meaning: The Voice of Spirit (Self-Expression and Justice)
Order: Dec. 30 or fifth candle of New Year’s Eve
Correspondence in LGBT History: We celebrate the evolution of Spirit in same-sex love and gender role evolution in the era defined by the rise of Romanticism, Transcendentialism, late modernism, and early postmodern artists and pioneers (approximately 1,800 CE to the present day).
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the fifth chakra.

The Sixth Principle
Color: Purple
Meaning: The Eye of Spirit (Integration and Wisdom)
Order: Dec. 31 or sixth and final candle of New Year’s Eve
Correspondence in LGBT History: We celebrate the evolution of Spirit in pluralistic expressions of sexuality and gender in the era defined by the rise of the feminist, homophile movement, gay liberation, queer, and LGBTQ identities in the past 60 years.
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the sixth chakra.

The Seventh Principle
Colors: Black and White (light two candles)
Meaning: The Crown of Spirit (Contemplative Spirituality and Unitive Consciousness)
Order: Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day)
Correspondence in LGBT History: We celebrate the evolution of Spirit in the contemporary period and future generations to come, and the emerging connections between the struggle for gay liberation with the struggles for justice and dignity of all peoples throughout the world, the healing of the natural world, and the amelioration of suffering of all sentient beings.
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the seventh chakra.

These seven principles are slightly evolved in their meaning, order, and associations since the first draft of my article “Proposing a New Queer Winter Holiday” was published in LGBT newspapers throughout the country in 2004 and later published in Soulfully Gay.

Note: In the following post, I will describe some of the inspirations for the changes, invite additional suggestions for future changes, and encourage readers to plan their own Bridge of Light parties and rituals this holiday season. If you are interested in celebrating your own ritual, why not join the Bridge of Light group on Facebook to share your ideas?

On Elementary Moral Truths

"Pope Benedict XVI, self-described Christian, said recently that the prohibition on gay marriage is not a peculiarity of Roman Catholic moral teaching but part of 'an elementary truth regarding our common humanity.' Elementary, indeed. Third grade, I should say." -- Joe Perez, "Rising Up"

On God's Gayness

"God made some men gay, because He made them in His image. God made gay men to love in gay ways, because God loves in gay ways. The beauty of gay men reflects the beauty of God. The beauty of gay ways of loving reflects the beauty of God's gay ways of loving. When someone fears and hates a gay man, he or she fears and hates God. When someone denigrates, despises, loathes, and harms a gay man, he or she denigrates, despises, loathes, and harms God." -- Joe Perez, Soulfully Gay

On Unconsciousness

"Unconsciousness: I am not your friend. I am your enemy." -- Joe Perez, Soulfully Gay

On Christianity and Homophilia

"I adore Christianity for its most maligned and misunderstood essence: it's the most homophilic of all religions, and therefore the most true." -- Joe Perez, Aug. 31, 2006 (Until)

"Christianity is the gayest religion. Its core commandment to men is to form a deep lifelong partnership with ANOTHER MAN. It demands real man-on-man, man-on-Jesus love action, no holds barred. It's the most homophilic religion in the universe." -- Joe Perez, 2006 (Until)

On Rick Warren

Note: "I Said That?" is the first in a series of posts in which I'll select some of my favorite quips, aphorisms, or quotable quotes from my own writing.

"If a murderer comes out against the genocide of homosexuals, praise him. If Rick Warren does, doubt his claim to being a spiritual leader." -- Joe Perez (via Twitter, Dec. 19, 2009)

Soulfully Gay: The Importance of Being Gay

Merry Christmas! My gift to the readers of Integrally Gay: a free 10-page excerpt, "The Importance of Being Gay," from my 2007 book, Soulfully Gay. With these pages, I first announced the arrival of a new way of looking at human sexuality and its connection to spirituality.

If you read nothing else I have ever written, read these pages. They are part of the reason why the (heterosexual) philosopher Ken Wilber declared Soulfully Gay "perhaps the most astonishing, brilliant, and courageous look at the interface between individual belief and cultural values that has been written in our times."

These pages are a good part of the reason this book is now being taught in divinity schools and religious studies programs across the United States in classes on theological method, ethics, and theological anthropology. There's something original here, if you have the eyes to see it.

The philosophical significance of Soulfully Gay is summed in "The Importance of Being Gay," and it is this section of the book I consider its most notable. It is a vision incredibly simple and yet potentially earthshattering: the announcement that human nature itself has evolved.

For thousands of years, human beings understood their gender and sexuality as a unified whole: yang or yin, man or woman. Virtually every major philosophy and theology of the East or West, from Taoism to Christianity, inherited the assumption that being human meant being basically one or the other, and every religious path designed a way to unite that essence with some concept of Spirit.

The past few centuries have changed and complicated this intellectual inheritance in many ways. Beginning at least since the invention of the words "homosexual" and "heterosexual" in the 19th century, humankind has woken up to the notion that gender and sexual orientation are differentiated aspects of human nature (and the homophile/gay/queer/LGBTQ movements have solidified this understanding).

Today, it is taken for granted (by all but a few in our modern societies) that a human being has both a gender and sexual orientation. All the while, our culture has consciously or unconsciously retained much of the prejudice of the ages: the notion that true spiritual paths are defined only by yang and yin, masculine and feminine. This prejudice is at the root of every notion that homosexuality is unnatural or against God's will, no matter what major world religion you look at.

In "The Importance of Being Gay," I first articulated my understanding of how our age is on the cusp of a revolution in its grasp of human nature. Yang and yin were suited for the age inhabited by the ancient Chinese, a world in eternal harmony with heaven, not a world continually evolving towards Spirit. Adam and Eve knew nothing of evolution. But in an evolving world, it is impossible to look at yang and yin, Adam and Eve, animus and anima, or masculine and feminine, in the same way.

Today, yang manifests as both a gender and a sexual orientation; so does yin. As genders, these eternal principles describe how human beings translate the meaning and purpose of our lives—and as sexual orientations, these eternal principles describe how human beings transform all values. Gender tells us the way that we are; sexuality tells us how we become.

In the first phase of evolution, there were two combinations of gender/sexuality: yin and yang. In the second phase, the age we now inhabit, there are four: yang-yang, yang-yin, yin-yang, and yin-yin. It is impossible to deeply understand the evolutionary dynamics of our age—what is changing in the world today with regard to gender and sexuality—without appreciating this astonishing difference.

And it is impossible to deeply understand these four combinations of gender and sexuality without looking at the major sexual emergences and movements in the past century. With the arrival of fundamentally reshaped identities, we have gained a vision of a more subtle and complex face of Spirit.

To put it simply: Straight men teach us about yang-yang and straight women teach us about yin-yang. Gay men teach us about yang-yin and lesbians teach us about yin-yin. Bisexual, intersexual, and transgender persons also have much to teach about the combinations and permutations. Human gender and sexual variations are important because they show us our core subtle identities in relationship to an Ultimate Reality.

There's a reason why today's culture is obsessed with homosexuality, old great religions and splintering and their theologians going into battle, and why Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, recently declared that gay rights is the "new frontier" of human rights. Sex and spirituality are the crux of this time of historical transition, as Spirit wakes up from an millennia-old slumber and sees a new reflection in the mirror.

I once said, "It is impossible to properly understand God without properly understanding the nature of gayness." And I stand by that claim (and want to add that no one can properly understand the nature of Christian revelation without understanding homophilia).

The ancient Chinese vase has fallen. It has split in four pieces—not two—and the shards are rearranging in our midst. My book, Soulfully Gay, is one of many in recent decades to understand that this revolution is taking place everywhere one looks; and it may have been the first book to proclaim that the intertwining of homophilia and heterophilia is the connecting pattern that holds yin and yang together, that glue which alone can reassemble the broken vase.

Once a person has truly grasped and internalized the fundamental vision that Spirit manifests in both same-directed and other-directed ways, one's very concept of God is transformed. To recognize the duality of heterophilia and homophilia, Eros and Agape, at the heart of all things forever alters the discussion about God's Love and love of every kind. That is what I believe.

Andrew Sullivan spoke beautifully in the final words of Virtually Normal:

[T]he seeds of homosexual wisdom are the seeds of human wisdom. They contain the truth that order is in fact a euphemism for disorder; that problems are often more sanely enjoyed than solved; that there is reason in mystery; that there is beauty in the wild flowers that grow randomly among our wheat.

There is, indeed, reason in mystery. My own conclusion is this: Heterophilia is humanity awakening to its own divinity. Homophilia is the divine awakening to its own humanity.

Advice to Young Gays, Queers, and Homophiles

Source: samm4mrox on Flickr
Note: During this BETA period of the blog, I will occasionally be offering selections from my recent writings. This selection is reprinted from Soulfully Gay (Integral Books/Shambhala). All Rights Reserved.

Today, a friend forwarded me a link to a blog by a young man in his early twenties who describes himself as a Christian and says he’s “turning away from homosexuality and toward God.” What can I say to a young Christian, when I myself have chosen a path outside the institutional religion?

The first thing that comes to mind for me to say to a young man in this situation is that I will not preach to you. I will not tell you that once you learn to accept your gayness you will be happier. I will not encourage you to join a gay Christian church or give any other sort of unsolicited advice. There are plenty of well-intentioned folks who are sure to try to fix the way you are. I don’t think you need to hear another voice encouraging you to just keep your chin up and be happy.

The second thing that comes to mind is to tell you that whatever choices you make about how to express or not express your sexuality, you are a wonderful, beautiful, precious gift to the world. Be the gift that you are. Nobody else can bring that gift to the world except you.

Don’t just think about homosexuality. Feel what comes up for you around your sexuality. Be with your feelings, whatever they are. You can do no good by denying them. You may not know what those feelings are, and some of your deepest feelings may be so deeply buried that they are a mystery to you. Get help to be with your feelings from a therapist you are comfortable with and from friends with different points of view.

A word about friends: you are likely to change your opinions about God, the Bible, Christianity, homosexuality, sex, George W. Bush, and a whole host of other things many, many times. Your true friends will stick with you whether you are conservative or liberal, Christian or ex-Christian, gay or ex-gay. It’s a cliché, but your true friends will accept you for you.

You are on a difficult path—bringing together your spirituality and sexuality—and you don’t have to have all the answers. It’s okay to be frightened, confused, and unsure where to turn. It’s okay to question those who seem totally confident in their beliefs about homosexuality or Christianity. It’s okay to doubt the dogmas of gay activists. It’s okay to question the dogmas of the people in your Bible study group.

It’s okay to flip-flop in your attitudes toward homosexuality—one moment thinking it’s awesome with a hot man’s body pressed against yours and the next praying to God to make you straight. It’s okay to wonder if your faith (whether in God or the dogmas of gay community) is genuine or if you’re just kidding yourself.

What’s not okay is to latch on to certainties that promise to make your life easier if you will only deny a little bit of reality. What’s not okay is to just keep repeating something over and over again to yourself, figuring that if you just keep with it, you will eventually start to believe it.

It’s okay to not know what to think about your homosexuality or God or the Universe. I heard Thomas Moore say recently that he doesn’t know if everything in life happens for a reason. He said, “What I don’t know, I don’t know.” I liked the sound of that. Enter deeply into the profound mysteries of life. Don’t deny them. It’s not always necessary to try to figure them out. Just try to accept the state of unknowing.