I taught my children how to speak, but I was a bit surprised with myself when I realized that I didn’t teach my children how to listen until much later. Sure, I taught my children how to do what they are told, and I am sure you have as well. But how often to we put forth energy toward ensuring that not only can our children talk but listen? I don’t recall any special classes in school, either, that encouraged... Read more
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9) A common misconception is that the fear of commitment is a horrible attribute to take on as a part of your personality. But I disagree. I fear commitment. I have grown... Read more
Love isn’t simple, but it is serious. It’s such a serious topic that we have politicized it. Not only have we politicized it, but we have clumped it into one indistinguishable cluster of multi-meanings. We have obscured the wisdom that can be obtained through individuating this hefty element of life. We have polarized sexuality with lines of division that separate the fullness of its understanding; relegating some behaviors and characteristics to one side of the political spectrum, and other behaviors... Read more
Mankind has never at all understood the power of love. What we think we know about anything is not nearly close to the truth of everything. Yet, we spend enormous amounts of time and energy debating, lecturing, challenging, pontificating, and contradicting those who refuse to agree with or validate what we understand to be truth. When it comes to the boldness of expanding erotic intelligence and daring to weave the erotic within the threading of theological qualification; the level of... Read more
I was made aware of a podcast episode that tackled the question: “Do we practice the Presence of God while having sex with our spouse?” The podcast is called ReKnew and it is hosted by Greg Boyd, a teaching pastor for Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Boyd is a brilliant theologian and is also no stranger to provocative questions or responses. I have been a fan of his for some time. He captivated me with his bestselling book... Read more
Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder. More particularly, absence of the thing or the person that we want, makes the desire burn hotter. We want what we cannot have. So the question remains: Can we want what we already have? This is the very question that world renown clinician and speaker Esther Perel asks and addresses in her international bestseller, Mating in Captivity. Her contention is that intimacy can thwart desire. And the presentation of clinical experience and... Read more
Eros is highly misunderstood. For if we refer to the Bible and all its pragmatic and spiritual advice, eros is mentioned only loosely, and as a pejorative term—according to proper translation. There are limited biblical references and so we have a limited grasp on how we should integrate eros into our lives. In short, eros was never formally introduced, and when it was, it was interrupted. I have come to realize just how misunderstood this realm of the erotic is... Read more
Dr. Alexander Shaia’s stunning anthropological and psychological stripping-down of the four gospels offers a new lens of perception for the original story of Adam and Eve, transforming the purview of the Path that leads us closer to Truth. Read more
If I go too long without sex, I get cranky. I act selfish, needy, and everything offends me. I then end up projecting my lack of sexual satisfaction onto my social media spheres. It’s something I have noticed about myself, that I couldn’t help but ask: What if this is how others act as well? What if a lack of good sex is the reason we are all so damn outraged about everything? Outrage is the New Orgasm What if... Read more
Stripped, selfless, and in service: These are three tenets of the Third Path of Quadratos, or a Four-Gospel Journey to Transformation. It is by way of John’s gospel that Alexander Shaia guides readers along a path of transformation in which we learn how to receive joy. We can do that by seeing everything as a gift. But, before we step onto this path, we must start at the beginning. We must start with the self, in the erotic realm. For... Read more
Danielle Kingstrom
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