On Becoming the Living Altar: An Exploration in the Self-Pleasure Series

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Welcome back to our final topic of the Self-pleasure Series. In this exploration, we discuss ourselves as the living altar.

How can I be an altar that is living?
I'm glad you asked.

But first, let's get into the meaning and significance of an altar.

Using the definition from our problematic friends Merriam and Webster, altar has two interpretations with a common meaning. The first is an altar being a raised or flat structure by which sacrifices are offered and incense is burned for worship, and the second, a table that serves as a center of worship or ritual. Colloquially, altar is used in reference to a proverbial sacrifice (the altar of…) or in terms of marriage (received or left at the altar).

Whatever your beliefs, the expansion of this definition takes on different meanings. And while our bodies are not tables or flat-topped, the symbolism of an altar is that it is consecrated in reverence to a Divine being.

The religious references create a challenge with associating ourselves with the high elevation and description of an altar, particularly if you do not see yourself as a Divine or associate yourself with religiosity. Even in our humanity, there is divinity. This energy and power lives within us; however, if you are removed from such, connecting the two or even viewing them interchangeable can seem and feel impossible.

So back to the question, how can I be an altar that is living…
I share some exploratory thoughts below.

First, you have to see yourself as Divine.

Without this connection, everything else becomes a challenge to resonate with and if you’re operating in resistance with your divinity, eventually the concept becomes null and void—abandoned. But… if you’re, at least, willing to remain open to what this can be and look like for you, keep reading.

Next, consider how an altar is prepared.

Altar consecration, regardless of religious background, is ceremonious. The art of consecration refers to the cleansing, dedication, and declaration of this space and/or surface as sacred and holy. This process is typically done with a combination of oils, herbs, liquor, incense specific to this practice, along with a prayer. Coupled with intentions, the space or surface is now prepared for use.

With that in mind…do you not prepare yourself to be received and perceived each day?

Do you not smoke cleanse?
Apply oils to your skin?
Bathe with herbs?
Pray over yourself and set intentions?

In relation to the definition, all of this is a form of consecration.
We bless ourselves each day and somehow find ourselves removed from being the living altar.

Thing is, when you set the intention to exalt and venerate yourself in reverence to the Divine, your ancestors, and as the walking embodiment of God consciousness, you dedicate your body to become the living altar to receive the fruits of the Earth and maintain it through pleasure as the offering.

I believe pleasure is a frequency embedded into the Earth.

Allowing our skin to touch the grass, the soil, the sand, and the water is a form of pleasure. The wind on our skin is pleasure. The morning song from the birds is pleasure. The Sun’s rise and set is pleasure. All that attunes to our senses is pleasure because our body and spirit have been consecrated as the conduit to receive it.

Every moment becomes an offering.
All that we allow to expire becomes the sacrifice.

And each day we cleanse and refresh our spirit, we make room for what aligns (and belongs) around, within, and on our altar space of self.

A wild concept, I know.

I'm learning that the less we view ourselves distant from the Earth and nature around us, the more we hold space for all that’s aligned with our unique frequency to magnetize itself to us.

I hope the self-pleasure series has given you much to consider when it comes to making pleasure spiritual. To conclude our series, we return to worship.

Until next time, stay tuned.