Opposed to relatively recent, primarily Western classification of the physical as something to be ‘tamed’ or ‘controlled’ body/art could be shown as observance of inherent physiological potential alongside subjective description. Aside from long established use in tribal affiliations, rights of passage and clear indications of specific cultural participation the conscious non-adherence to modern social coding standards as displayed by the body reflects an underlying spirit of self-expression through modification. Roots of contemporary prejudice against and indeed novelization of practices may be partially traced back to no more than historically narrow, single ideological obedience. However with this the concept of narcissism must be acknowledged, which will be explored in upcoming entries
 
| ‘The intuitive spirituality of the body and a spirituality that encompasses physical reality as well as unseen psychic energies, although based in ancient practices and beliefs, are gradually entering mainstream thought of the 1990s. The history of body alteration and the nuances of its various cultural and Spiritual meanings would comprise a lifetime of research, but a brief introduction is essential to understanding contemporary shifts in attitude toward body alteration. During the Western peregrination toward modernity, ornamental and religious body marking and alteration became associated with pagan barbarism according to the European world view that dichotomized spirit and flesh and sought out reasons to degrade unfamiliar and colonized cultures. Ancient Egyptian culture located spirituality in physical existence, but by the time of Greek civilization the body was considered an inferior manifestation of a more noble and abstract perfect body.
 
Augustine furthered a schism between man’s physical and spiritual existence as he preached the sinfulness of sexual desire and the need to discipline the body. His influence extended through the middle ages and Anglo-European Christian culture began to see bodies as “interchangeable” and “non-essential” to man’s spiritual growth. Acceptance of magical and symbolic use of the body declined. Medieval practices of venerating relics—the preserved body parts of saints and mystics—faded. Physical existence became something to be conquered in order to transcend one’s humanness and become spiritual. Once the body and its desires were discarded, pure spirit could be achieved. Medieval saints who practiced chastity and ascetic activities that punished the body believed they were renouncing the body rather than enlisting it in the journey toward mystical union with God. This is in direct contrast to religious practices that consciously train the body to enter altered states and consider integrating body and mind an essential element of religious ecstasy.
 
Indian Tantrism, for example, rebels against the dualism that proposes asceticism as the path to enlightenment. The Tantric claim that bodily pleasure and spiritual reality coexist creates paths to enlightenment accessible to individuals not ordinarily credited with spiritual capabilities. As one of the Tantras explains, “Ananda (the mind-expanding bliss that is the essence of Reality and Self) is the form of the Brahman (the transcendental Self) and that Ananda is installed in the body.” By validating the body as a spiritual temple necessary to attain enlightenment in a single lifetime, Tantric teachings during the eighth through twelfth centuries encouraged anyone from any social class to strive for spiritual knowledge. The Tantric philosophy of embracing sexual desires and pleasure as a method of obtaining divine communion was, and remains, controversial. Likewise, the medieval mystics caused consternation in the church when they claimed to experience the bliss of divine union without the aid of scripture or church authorities by fasting and flagellating themselves. While the saints may not have known they were democratizing spiritual bliss, the Catholic church probably did. This was probably the basis for Catholic castigation of many of the ascetic women mystics for their extreme and unauthorized practices… | continue

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