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He left India to attend private school in England and entered Oxford University in 1970 as a history student. While most cultures have never officially recognized or sanctioned gay sexual activities (though exceptions exist), many have at least quietly tolerated the presence of gay persons given the out-sized contributions of such individuals to their societies. It was this meeting that helped him synthesize the whole of his mystical explorations and reconcile Eastern with Western mystical paths. Some (such as Shakespeare) might have been bisexual, or heterosexual, but still seem to be able to tap into that voice which seems most representative of and represented in the gay community.TEGM brings together a broad selection of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered writers whose works illuminate and elaborate the mystical path. The following year he met a succession of Indian saints and sages and began his long study and practice of Hinduism. In 1992, he met Dom Bede Griffiths in his ashram in southern India near where Andrew Harvey had been born. Andrew Harvey was born in south India of British parents in 1952 where he lived until he was nine years old, a period that he credits with shaping his sense of the fundamental unity of all religions and providing him with an uplifting vision of a world infused with a sense of its own sacredness. This text, part of the 'Essentials' series, examines various mystical and spiritual writings by gay persons across time; however, not all the authors represented in this text are gay.
Lawrence, and Audre Lord, among others.With selections from 60 gay and lesbian writers - covering 20 centuries and over a dozen traditions - TEGM explores a variety of religious and sexual experiences. As in other realms of human endeavor, this has been reflected in the religious and spiritual realm.From ancient Greek society to today's varied cultures around the world, there are commonalities of spirit and sensibility that can be traced as common threads. Harvey's painstakingly thorough research, "emic" perspective, and incisive knowledge of spirituality and command of its language make this book unique and vital to an understanding of contemporary religion, spirituality and psychology. He today lives in Nevada with his husband Erick.Generally, Western culture separates sexuality from spirituality in very much the same way that it separates the sacred from the events and processes of everyday life. Notwithstanding the fact that he became the youngest person ever awarded a Fellowship to All Soul's College, among England's highest academic honors, at the age of 21, by 1977 Andrew Harvey had become disillusioned with life at Oxford and returned to his native India. Some assume the form of ardent love lyrics and psalms to male and female beauty.
Andrew Harvey has taught at Oxford University, Cornell University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the University of Creation Spirituality as well as at various spiritual centers throughout the United States, and maintains a spiritual direction practice in New York City. It may therefore come as something of a shock to the average reader that there exists such a category of beings as `gay mystics' identified synchronously by both their sexuality and their pursuit of the sacred.Nonetheless, it has long been accepted that gay persons of both genders have always figured prominently and in significant numbers among the artistic and cultural (and spiritual) elites of societies around the world. This anthology includes texts from the Greeks and Romans; the Native American "berdache"' tradition; the ancient Far Eastern and Persian Sufi traditions of Hafiz; and the writings of the Japanese sage Kobo Daishi (Kukei) and poet Basho, as well as excerpted works from the Renaissance to the 20th century including writings by Michelangelo, Whitman, Wilde, Rossetti, Dickinson, D.H. I have also found TEGM to be a valuable sourcebook of inspirational readings for liturgies of interest and usefulness both to gay people as well as their wider community.
Every time I come upon a book dealing with the matters of sexuality and gender in the context of spiritual development, I ask the same question: is it really important. How do the accidents of birth and sexual preference relate to the eternal, immutable, never-changing Self. Can the people who define (and thus limit) themselves by their sexual behaviour really reach the universal Reality. Perhaps the readers of Andrew Harvey's book should keep these questions in mind.
Some of the authors here have never been included in a collection such as this. While most cultures have never officially recognised or sanctioned gay sexual activities, many have at least quietly tolerated the presence of gay persons given the contributions of many talented individuals to society. H. Interestingly, one of the commonalities of many mystical traditions and paths is that for a true mystical deepening and enlightenment, the masculine and feminine aspects should be blended and cooperative within a unified spirit. Harvey has purposefully concentrated on those expressions that emphasise a breaking down of dualisms and barriers - those visions that look to eliminate the gap between heaven and earth, body and spirit, heart and mind, male and female. Some (such as Shakespeare) might have been bisexual, or heterosexual, but still seem to be able to tap into that voice which seems most representative of and represented in the gay community.There are nine chapters to this text, exclusive of the introduction by Andrew Harvey. This text, part of the 'Essentials' series, examines various mystical and spiritual writings by gay persons across time; however, not all the authors represented in this text are gay.
The first two chapters look at ancient Greece and Rome, including Sappho (of course, perhaps the most famous of the gay ancients), Pindar, Empedocles, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, Plato, Theocrius, Vergil, Horace, and poems from the Galli, gender-variant priests of the Cybele.Chapters three through five look at native American traditions, Far East, and Persian/Sufi traditions. These include We'wa, Hasteen Klah, Qu Yan, Kukai, Zeami, Basho, Attar, Sadi, Hafiz, Iraqi, Jami, as well as the modern Mohawk descendent, Maurice Kenny.Chapters six through nine look at the more modern Western culture, from Renaissance times (Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz) through to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where the names become too numerous to mention, but are well known - names such as Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Rimbaud, Virginia Woolf, D. It has been an accepted fact for some time that gay persons of both genders have always figured among the artistic and cultural elites of societies around the world. In his introduction, Harvey likens the gay person to the mystic in that they are both risk takers and adventurers of a sort. They eschew conventionality of some sorts, even as they might embrace conventionality and tradition of a different sort. Gay experience can often relate to this. Harvey talk of putting this collection together as being one of the most fulfilling times in his life. Harvey also talks about the exclusions he had to make - while the likes of Mechtild and Hildegard from the Middle Ages might well fit categorially in this collection, their writing and the documentary evidence about them warrants leaving them out.
This has likewise been reflected in the religious and spiritual realm.From ancient Greek society to today's varied cultures around the world, there are commonalities of spirit and sensibility that can be traced as common threads. Some yearned for silence and solitude during their lifetime. Lawrence, Dag Hammarskjold, and H.D. (Hilda Doolittle). Others sought expression and voice, but couldn't find such. Reading this collection and the attendant introductions and commentaries is likewise a rewarding experience, giving voice and feeling to an often overlooked presence it the past, and adds a new dimension to the gay experience in the present.
In his greatest film, Kazantzakis also carried this conflict into the life of Jesus called The Last Temptation of Christ. He collaborated with Sogyal Rinpoche on the best-selling Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Look at Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Those who did not understand this theme picketed the movie houses at the time of its release. Cultural and historical evidence shows that not only has same-sex desire always existed and been known to exist, but that in many cultures those who followed this path were seen as connected to the sacred.
In the past, spiritual and other psychologists have treated body, mind and soul as if they were separate entities, whereas, in order to reach the wholeness of spirit, the oneness of the universe, and we must include our bodies and minds. "Lesbian" comes from the name of the island of Lesbos where Sappho, the poet, wrote her inspiring works. Physical exercise, vitamins, if necessary, sufficient sleep, a time for relaxation, and a healthy sexual life for the body; good reading and challenging creative ideas for the mind; and the joy of the here and now for the soul as observer. He is now a visiting professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I knew that St.
As a Westerner brought up in a culture that separates sexuality from spirituality, it had never occurred to me there could be gay mystics who could be identified. Francis of Assisi was a notorious hoodlum, but the idea that they had had sexual desires never occurred to me. To give only one example, the berdache, the cross-dressing shaman of various American Indian tribes, holds an esteemed and fundamental place in the life of a tribe. Gay usually refers to a middle-class homosexual male living in the West in the late 20th century. Both of these stories have homosexual incidents in them. There is no intermediary of priest, rabbi, or shaman.
The desires of the flesh, the ideas of the mind, and the luminosities of the soul--all are perfect expressions of the radiant Spirit that alone inhabits the universe. You may remember that Sean Connery won a British Academy award for best actor in this story of 14th century monks in an Italian abbey where someone is committing many murders. Augustine regretted his profligate youth, and that St. He includes texts from Sappho, Plato, Vergil, Basho, Attar, Hafiz, Michaelangelo, Emily Dickinson, Jean Cocteau, Audre Lorde, and many others. In the East, Tantra considers all seemingly lesser occasions (errors, stumbling blocks, sin) not as distractions from the Spirit, but celebrations of Spirit's exuberant, wild, overflowing, ever-present creativity. The book, Gay Mystics, is set forth on the hypothesis that sin and sex do not need to be approved and that gay sexuality is as innately spiritual as heterosexuality. Yet, somehow, I could understand that; after all, these were sequestered men living alone without women, similar to military or prison life and homosexual tensions are unbearable for some.The evolution of psychological theories since Freud, Jung, and Adler has moved to an "integral approach," linking body, mind and soul in balance as a holistic unit. A mystic is a person who has had such a direct experience, not merely from accepted religious beliefs but from first-hand personal knowledge.
His extensive research, empathetic perspective, and compelling grasp of spirituality make this book not only unique, but also vital to an understanding of contemporary theology,religion and psychology.Ken Wilber, psychologist, has said "Andrew Harvey has pulled together some of the most passionate and touching works in all of mystical literature, and as it happens, the authors are all gay. Quite frankly, I had never given much thought about any kind of sexuality of the mystics. More simply, every single thing and event in this universe, high or low, sacred or profane, has the same feeling or taste, the taste of the Divine.Excerpting passages from 60 gay and lesbian writers--covering 20 centuries and at least a dozen traditions including classical Greek, Native American, Sufi, and Christian, Andrew Harvey explores a variety of religious and sexual experiences. For there is only God, only Spirit, only Goddess, only Tao. The other word, "gay," is slightly more difficult to define because it is understood in such a narrow and usually limited construct. But the words speak for themselves: that is, the Divine directly speaks through the words in this volume, words that flowed through gay hearts and gay minds and gay love, but words which speakprofoundly, eloquently, gorgeously, to the same Divine in all of us. He lives with his husband, writer and photographer Eryk Hanut, in Nevada.A prolific writer, Harvey is the author of over ten books, including Journey to Ladakh. Perhaps I was naive, and probably the closest I came to such thoughts were from Nikos Kazantzakis' book, Zorba the Greek, (the movie starred Anthony Quinn), which underlined the conflict between flesh and spirit,between Dionysus (sometimes called Bacchus) and Apollo.
Harvey has given us a cornucopia of mystical wisdom, tender as tears and gentle as fog, but also passionately ablaze with the relentless fire of the very Divine."At age twenty-one Andrew Harvey attended Oxford, and received England's highest academic honor, becoming the youngest Fellow of All Soul's College in its history. The word "mysticism" means a direct intuition or experience of God, what Abraham Maslow called a "peak experience." This will frequently happen to almost everyone who is taken breathless at a sunset, a soaring mountain, or just waking up one day feeling exhilarated for no reason at all. In addition, mysticismneed not be religious or theistic, but can express itself in art,literature, music or poetry. A mystic is not one who sees God as an object, but one who is immersed in God as an atmosphere, and the works collected here are a radiant testament to that all-encompassing condition. Harvey is the subject of a 1993 BBC documentary, The Making of a Mystic.
The writing of these ecstatics and enlightned ones was truly a blessing to find. Andrew Harvey has assembled an amazing collection of Gay mystics and their writings. I told a co-worker I was reading about gay mystics and she said "I didn't know there were any". His arrangement of mystics throughtout history and by culture is well suited to this type of study. I enjoyed the profiles of each mystic and sailed from one to the next. The next day, I was able to show a deluge of them via the book and her own androgenous currents broke through. Thanks Andrew.
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