DIVINE FLESH: THE SPIRITUAL LIBERATION OF THE BODY Your body is a candle and your spirit a flame . If you seek enlightenment , set your body on fire . Our bodies are the foundation of our lives and the sacred path to our spiritual awakening . The greatness of life is revealed when our minds are stilled , our hearts are open and our flesh is ecstatically alive . I passionately believe that the spirituality of the future will celebrate and liberate the divine joyfulness of the body . When freed from guilt , shame and other painful conflicts , our bodies stand revealed as they actually are -- divine creations ablaze with the force of life . Throughout history this healing truth has been obscured by many negative beliefs . Our bodies have been scorned as sinful , or seen as illusions to be rejected and transcended . In the end , these ideologies foster great unhappiness because they undermine our faith in our own goodness and the rightness of life on earth . I believe that body-denying beliefs emerge when people cannot find resolution for their inner pain . When trapped in fear and sorrow that never end it is easy to adopt the ideology that life is pain and that escape from our suffering bodies -- either through death or denying their reality -- is the path to salvation . But the fundamental liberation of the body is possible . When we release our fear and pain and the force of life flows through us freely , our bodies recover their innate joy and our spirits know that paradise is right here and right now . To be completely alive we must trust who and what we are . This means embracing the positive nature of our basic instincts -- including our aggression , sexuality and love . To empower our bodies and fuel our spiritual awakening their passionate aliveness needs to be guided by an open heart . Our aggressive instincts motivate us to pursue and satisfy our needs . In the form of anger they energize us to defend our boundaries or break through barriers to greater freedom . Confidence and strength fill us when we use our aggression in life-affirming ways . Our sexuality is the sacred energy that transports us both into and beyond ourselves . When our sexual excitement is flowing freely it melts our deepest tensions and resoundingly affirms the goodness of life . Each of us deserves our birthright of sexual happiness . Love is the basic human instinct to unite . It connects us to ourselves , other people and the universe . Whether we touch each other physically or reach out with our minds and hearts in compassion , love is the great healer that feeds our bodies and frees our souls . To fulfill our instinct for love , we must be free of the fear of losing it . By facing the pain of where our hearts have been broken we release our body's greatest stress and free our spirit to live without fear . Our minds frequently deceive us , but our bodies never lie . In our flesh is written the history of our entire lives . All the hurt we have not faced and healed is held in our tissues , where it blocks the flow of our life energies . For this reason the most transformative meditative practice involves an ever-deepening focus on the emotions and sensations within . To rescue ourselves we must risk letting down our defenses and encountering our depths . Every time you make greater contact with your body your life's flame grows brighter . This occurs whether you feel deeper pain or greater pleasure . As your body unblocks and your energy flows more freely , old habits of restriction will try to regain control . Fear will push back against your growing aliveness . But just as in giving birth , when you trust and let go the anguish of resistance transforms into the ecstasy of release . True spiritual growth involves being reborn again and again -- many times during the course of your lifetime . The sacred work of embodiment calls forth the strengths that are the goal of all religious and spiritual paths -- compassion , awareness , trust , surrender and love . Transforming everything that restricts your growing aliveness leads to the greatest of all treasures -- all of YOU and the joy of being alive . And just by your presence -- the vibration of all the beauty and power you have awakened in yourself -- you shine the light of freedom into the world and inspire others to liberate themselves . LOVE , JOY AND FREEDOM -- BRYAN EDEN