Yoga and Sex Scandals: No Surprise Here

An article about the scandals and hypocrisy of so called spiritual leaders and the women who've suffered from this kind of abuse. As the article notes, it's not new or surprising.

But what is of interest to me is the fact that yoga as we know it was derived from old tantric practices, that taps into and channels sexual energy which is enhanced by breath control, meditation, as well as exercise of the body.

This can cover a range of practices and energies, such as chi, qi, vril, odic, mana, or anything developed by meditations, exercise, or breath control. Meditation alone has been known to enhance libido. Prana and Bindu, is part of these disciplines, both of these words also meaning a lifeforce or subtle energy, both stemming from kundalini, a life force often associated with lifeforce and sexual desire. Libido was initially coined by Freud to denote an actual sexual energy. Wilhelm Reich, a student of Freud's, followed this line of thinking even further in his studies of what he called orgone, a popular subject with many who practice occult traditions. In fandoms, it doesn't take much to extend that to magicka or the Force.

The Jedi are especially known for meditations and yoga like disciplines to enhance their connections to the Force. Prana-bindu is a common practice in Dune. And it doesn't take much to see wizards in different settings as randy fellows (or gals). In the Elder Scrolls: Morrowind it could be said that the thousands of years old Telvanni wizards are quite perverse. Or how about Anders and other wizards in Dragon Age? How about what we like to put into fic about the wizards in Harry Potter?

So, any surprise that Jedi and so many other characters who have tapped into lifeforces have a heck of a time with scandals in their personal lives ;p
...

Source
.

Title:   The Book of Irulan: Excerpt One: Waiting
Author: darth_eldritch
Fandom:  Dune
Size:    ~1,900 words
Genre:    AU, because Irulan has more presence of mind than is given in the books.
Characters:  Irulan, mention of many major Dune characters, particularly Paul Maud'dib
Rating:    PG-13, some sexual content
Summary:  Irulan struggles with emotions and thoughts on her wedding night.
Disclaimer:  Dune is not my sandbox, no profit is made by this writing.
Notes: The portrayal of Irulan in Dune Messiah and Children of Dune was to me a great letdown after she was finally given an intriguing introduction at the end of Dune. I want to show her as a stronger character.

( WaitingCollapse )
.

"My father, the Padishah Emperor, took me by the hand one day and I sensed in the ways my mother had taught me that he was disturbed. He led me down the Hall of Portraits to the ego-likeness of the Duke Leto Atreides. I marked the strong resemblance between them — my father and this man in the portrait--both with thin, elegant faces and sharp features dominated by cold eyes. 'Princess-daughter, my father said, I would that you'd been older when it came time for this man to choose a woman.' My father was 71 years old at the time and looking no older than the man in the portrait, and I was only 14 years old, but yet I remember deducing in that instant that my father secretly wished the Duke had been his son, and disliked the political necessities that made them enemies.” — In My Father's House by the Princess Irulan

I was just discussing on my flist my discovery that Frank Herbert, writer of Dune was indeed a homophobe as I had suspected by his depiction of the evil Baron Harkonnen.
The site: Star Wars/Dune

In his autobiography T.E. Lawrence explains how his homosexuality contributed to his military career. He says that he was initially attracted to soldiering because of the all-male environment, and his desire to impress other men sexually is what ultimately motivated him to become a hero. Rather than writing a gay male hero, Herbert transferred Lawrence's homosexuality to Dune's villain, Baron Harkonnen. According to Herbert's biography he considered male homosexuality immoral, and died without ever expressing love or approval for his gay son Bruce. In a world where gay teens are four times more likely to commit suicide, it's a shame that the stories of real-life gay heroes are often retold so dishonestly. As Herbert knew better than anyone, Paul Atreides was largely based on a real human being, and his great love wasn't a woman named Chani but a man named Dahoum. Paul may have also been modeled partially on Alexander The Great, who many historians call "the greatest military genius of all time." Alexander was also gay, and his boyfriend was a strikingly-handsome soldier named Hephaestion.


This so begs for a Paul/Feyd fic...