Our Brain, Sex, And Spirit

My last year of college I did a senior project on trying to find the etiology of why the devil is correlated with sex. It was a ridiculously large endeavor that had no business trying to fit in a 40 page paper. For the project, I did parallel research on the history and evolution of the devil plus the evolution of the Christian Church's views and doctrines on sexuality. And, although I found tons of art from the 6th to the 9th century that depicted the devil with a hard-on, unfortunately none of it has made its way to the internet so you'll just have to trust me that the theme was pretty much on everyone's mind. Did you know that the people of the middle ages thought that there were so many devils and demons everywhere that you couldn't drop a needle without it hitting a number of them? These were very frightened people.

Aside from the obvious references to and need to ban Pan, the only answers that made sense to me were those of Jung's Quaternary Theory. This idea, in a sesame seed shell (cuz a nut would be too big) is that there are four basic areas of the psyche: the Mystical, the Emotional, the Rational and the Body. Everyone has these four realms that are trying to find balance within. We each have one that is the dominant. We also have one that we repress which becomes our Shadow. Jung feels that if we don't learn to find balance with that shadow it rules us and becomes 'demonic' for us.

In the Christian church, the Trinity takes care of three areas of the quadrant. Holy Spirit is the Mystic, Jesus is the Emotional, God the Father is the Rational. The body is left and because the Christian Church does not have that completion, the psyche of the Church, so to speak, develops its Shadow, the Devil, to take that role. Since the brighter the light of the other three, the darker the shadow, the Devil 'becomes' a very powerful force that is correlated to the Earth, sex and anything considered having anything to do with the body.

When I read this, I finally got a little "a-ha" that has sort of kind of satisfied me. But I've kept the question in my mind and always kind of thought it would be fun to go back and do new research on the subject. I think I've found something that adds to the picture.

Over the past four years, I have become increasingly passionate about learning Neurotheology. It is a new study that involves two of my favorite subjects: the Body and Spirituality. These scientists hook people up to EEG's and study the brain's response when people are in, what they would subjectively label, an ecstatic state (during their height of prayer or meditation).

They then take these brain mappings and try to explain the mystical experiences given what is known physiologically about the particular brain area that is lit up. In a VERY short synopsis: they are finding that the same areas that are lit up during mystical states are the ones that are also lit up in sex, rage, fear, dreams, near death experiences and more. All of this is located in the deepest primordial parts of parts of the brain called the Limbic System. Oftentimes people that have a highly charged Limbic System are generally amped up in a number of these areas.

It makes sense to me that if all of that deep unconscious stuff is all there in the mix, that when it is stimulated it can go overboard and may short circuit from time to time, given the personality and environment of the person. It also explains some other things to me, too...like:

Often it is the most taboo stuff gets the most intense orgasms.

Why violence and power are often such a turn on for people.

Why pedophilia is so prevalent in the priesthood.

Why murderers often report a rush like an orgasm of sorts.

Why fighting between couples often results in very passionate sex.

Why fantasies are so dark sometimes.

Basically, those who study Neurotheology feel that our drive for spiritual quest remains crucial to our psyches because, in part, our brains are wired for it. At this point in this new science, when they asked the question of what the evolutionary function of spirituality is, they cite that the initial brain nervous pathway response of both orgasm and spiritual ecstatic states are identical. At this point they suggest that it began as a pathway aligned with procreation. Again...this is a new field of endeavor, in the questioning stages. I don't think this field is trying to reduce spiritual experience to a series of chemical responses. But I do find the questions being asked and the science being studied extremely interesting. And I love pondering the possibilities that can be considered with them.

Graphics and Art Credits:

Devil Tarot Card from here

Jung Quaternary graphic from here

Brain waves from here

Brain and man flying from here