Temple of the Red Lotus' Guiding Principles
The Heart of Our
Philosophy
1. Everyone
has the right to enjoy healthy, fun, safe and pleasurable
sex.
2. Everyone has the personal responsibility to
define and enforce limits and boundaries, to communicate needs and
desires, to manage emotional states, and to manage one's own healing and
self-growth.
3. All people are responsible for their
own well-being. Once we do fall ill, we have the right to decide for
ourselves whether we will accept healing treatments, what kind, for how
long, and from whom.
4. The Temple believes it is the
absolute right of every individual to decide for themselves, from moment
to moment, what level of sexual contact is acceptable and desirable. This
applies to our priests and priestesses, our Staff Qadishti and Qadishtu
Trainees, as well.
5. The body is a Temple for the soul
and should be regarded and treated as such. By extension, physical life
cycles and biological processes are sacred and should be
respected.
6. Sex is a sacred act, a gift from the
Divine (however that concept has meaning to the
individual).
7. Sex when used manipulatively,
coercively, or violently, is a desecration of the Goddess' (Divine's)
gift.
8. Sacred sex comprises more than the physical
acts; it is the sharing, exchange or production of creative and generative
energy.
9. There is a huge diversity of sexual
expression available, and sacred sexuality takes many forms. Aspects of
sacred sexuality can be incorporated into (and may already be present in)
any spiritual path or religious tradition.
10. Sacred
sexuality becomes the vehicle for learning to honor the divine within
oneself (immanent divinity, experiencing the divine in the body), and
experiencing the divine interconnectedness with all of creation (namaste,
om, o mitakuye oyasin). It is about recognizing and consciously
participating in divine oneness.
11. The use of sex or
BDSM in shadow work is acceptable and encouraged, provided mutually safe,
sane and consensual guidelines are in place.
12.
Qadishti are sacred servants of the Goddess (or Divine) and are
passionate about, have a deep understanding of, experience with and
training in the many aspects of sacred sexuality.
13.
Qadishti exist to help others learn about, heal with/through and
celebrate sacred sexuality, to help with the integration of the
mind-body-spirit split, and to demonstrate the possibility of
enlightenment through sacred sexuality.
14. As
Qadishti, our role/job is not to fix people, but to enable those who seek
our help to find their own path toward healing and growth. If someone
doesn't ask for help, or specifically says they don't want help, it is not
our place to force healing, change or growth on them, regardless of how
much we might think they need it.
15. The Temple of the
Red Lotus is devoted to recognizing and promoting the sanctity of sex, the
body, love, relationships and other connections. We believe that
enlightenment can be attained by learning to integrate all three aspects
of our being: the mind, the spirit, and the body. We also feel that one of
the most powerful ways to integrate all three is through the practices of
sacred sexuality. Many religions teach enlightenment through transcending
the body. The Temple of the Red Lotus teaches that enlightenment and bliss
can be achieved through embracing the body and all its sensual
pleasures.
16. The Temple of the Red Lotus exists to
provide a space and a body of trained and experienced Qadishti staff to
the community, and to provide a structured curriculum and program to train
others to become
Qadishti.
