PART THREE of an interview with a woman who works with men as a sexual healer and with women as a coach in the erotic arts.
Hw: Holiness has nothing to do with being good. It has to do with belonging to God. To the Goddess, in my case …
At this stage in my life, my devotion is to the Goddess and what she represents – beauty, erotic adornment, erotic play; sex as an art; the possibility of a transcendence through earthly pleasures.
How quickly we sacrifice our sense of fun for some kind of impossible perfection. Pleasure, frivolity, sensual involvements – these may not sit well with most people’s ideas about what’s important in life, but the pursuit of each can lead to spiritual fulfillment. Joy, delight, beauty – these are the essences of a heavenly existence. I don’t mean to deny the depths…
The pit is deep, they say, but God is deeper still. That’s where you’ll encounter the other God, the God of salvation. In the depth of your despair. Look (laughing) – my Christian side is showing.
jb: So I see. You know, we have a saying in America: You can take the man out of the church, but you can’t take the church out of the man …
hw: How true. Sometimes I see myself in a convent. The idea certainly has more appeal for me than getting married and settling down with someone. But I am more than happy in my present role of being a link between men and the Goddess. That’s how I see myself – as a living, physical link between men and the Goddess. If that sounds pretentious, I apologize.
Here’s something I had confirmed for me when I worked as a prostitute: What men hope to gain by going to a red light district is a connection to Goddess, however debased or tenuous such a connection might be. A man will take what he can get, but don’t mistake that for what he wants. (I could just as easily be speaking for myself here, as well as other women.) More than satisfying their lust or curiosity, these men are looking to live a dream – relive an ancient memory.
