Our predisposition is to aim for what we perceive to be ascendant, superior, ultimate—the pristine mountaintop. The process for going up is simple but not always easy. We are told to drop off any perceived extra weight until we arrive at “higher” levels of consciousness. The body knows this line all too well. Often, the body is perceived at best as a nuisance and at worst, unnecessary. When we do land in the body it’s often by accident. It’s not considered a noble aim.
The issues of incarnation are in fact what plague us, what drive us to escape to the mountaintop. To remain with the weakness and fragility of our humanity, Eros asks us to find it right here, and right now.
On this path, we will be steeped in what we most want to avoid: jealousy, power struggles, confusion, insecurity, as well as, of course, passion and lust.
To deeply know the texture, contours, and moments of jealousy, to engage with and know lust and all the deeper yearnings that lie at its root, and to develop a consciousness that can touch our own frailty with enough delicate attention that it strengthens and becomes resilient. We learn through Eros that we do not keep our innocence; that is a kind of ignorance.
To choose innocence requires great courage. We allow ourselves to live in the virginal mind. Here, we are not lacking experience but are able to release the residue that would taint it. Innocence is Eros before Eros enters the body.