Anadromous - The Power & Spirituality Of Being Gay (LGBTQ+)

In this talk, specifically written for the LGBTQ+ community, Jac presents a new way of thinking about being gay... A new way of accepting oneself in our hetero-sexist culture... A new way to move beyond struggles related to low self-esteem and shame (internalized homophobia)... Jac teaches us how to embrace the power and spirituality of being gay.

Transcript

So I've just returned from the park after doing a tree meditation.

I hugged a tree and sat with my back up against a tree and I blissed out.

And no doubt I am known as the crazy tree lady in this town.

But hey,

I am proud of it because it's a powerful thing to do on so many levels.

And it very neatly relates to what I want to talk about today.

I want to talk about the power and the spirituality of being gay.

Indeed,

Of being any member of the LGBTQ plus community.

Throughout this talk,

I will predominantly use the terms gay and non-heterosexual.

To refer to those of us the heteropatriarchy considers not normal and less than because of our sexuality.

Despite my personal preference for these two terms,

This talk is intended for absolutely everyone on the non-conformative gender and sexuality spectrum.

My experience of being born female and gay into a social system where men hold power and heterosexuality is considered the norm.

Was being expected to feel shame and to stay muted.

Interestingly,

This talk has very little to do with feeling shame and staying muted.

And at the same time,

It has nothing to do with diminishing heterosexuality.

Nor does it have anything to do with blaming the heteropatriarchy for the way that we are all conditioned.

This talk has everything to do with celebrating the power and spirituality of being gay.

There's a word that describes fish that have the ability to swim upstream.

It's anadromous or anadromous.

In Greek,

Ana means up and dromos means running.

Translating to up running.

These incredible up running creatures,

These anadromous fish are biologically wired to make the long and treacherous journey through rapids and standing waves back to the place that they were born.

It is believed they possess the scent of their birth deep within their minds.

And when they mature,

They instinctually follow it back,

Back to the calm nourishing waters where the birth death cycle continues.

Why am I talking about fish that have this incredible ability to run upstream?

Because metaphorically speaking,

So too are there human beings who have this incredible ability to swim upstream against the currents of conformity.

We have it.

Gay people have it.

Non-heterosexuals.

We are anadromous.

We can and we do swim upstream against the oppressive social force that is heterosexism.

Perhaps it is a power born from oppression.

Thank you,

Oppressors.

Or perhaps just like anadromous fish,

We are biologically wired to run up against the heteronormative grain.

To run through standing waves of bias and discrimination.

To swim upstream with all the power,

Beauty and grace of the Atlantic salmon.

But or too often we don't realise our beauty,

Grace and power.

Because we have been taught the opposite.

We have been taught that we should feel shame and self-hatred for swimming against the current.

For daring to follow our hearts.

When we find the courage to come out as gay,

We get a glimpse of this superpower,

Our ability.

But or too often we compartmentalise the experience of coming out.

We relate to it in our minds as something that happened in the past.

An independent act that took great courage.

But then we tend to put that act away on a shelf and get on with living our lives as best we can.

I often hear gay people saying that life feels so good after coming out.

But gradually over time as the coming out experience fades,

The weight of heterosexism takes its toll.

And life can feel like a constant uphill battle against the social forces at play.

And this is where it's really important to remind ourselves that coming out is not a one-time deal.

That power within that guided us to swim upstream.

That guided us to live our lives authentically.

That power within that is love.

It is always,

Always within us and always,

Always available to us.

It is constant.

And so whenever we are feeling a little bit overwhelmed by heterosexist values or we need to feel supported in life,

This divine power exists within us.

We can say no to say yes to so many things in our lives.

When I came out over 20 years ago,

I learned to celebrate my sexuality.

But what I didn't realize back then was at the same time,

I was showing myself that I had this incredible ability and inadvertently showing the world that I had this incredible ability to say,

Stuff you.

Ah,

The Australian accent,

Yeah,

Stuff you.

Negative voice of society.

And I say it completely and utterly grounded,

Anchored in love.

I mean,

No one ever told me a single good thing about being gay.

And then to realize,

Wow,

I have this power within that I can harness any time,

Anywhere and use for the greatest good in all areas of my life.

The heteropatriarchy conditions us to feel shame and self-hatred because it knows how powerful people who can swim upstream are.

And it does everything it can to make sure we don't realize our own power.

And this is the reason that I'm sharing this talk today to declare to my sisters and brothers who may struggle with self-esteem and confidence that we are,

Oh,

So powerful and oh,

So deeply spiritual.

Yes,

Spiritual in a world where religion tells us the opposite.

We,

Gay people,

Are deeply spiritual because spirituality is all about love.

And it is the power of love that guides us to be authentic.

It is the power of love that gifts us the courage to swim upstream.

It is the power of love that inspires us to not care about the dominant social forces that constrict people to live in boxes.

And yeah,

Of course,

There are people from all walks of life living their lives courageously,

Swimming upstream despite oppressive forces.

But today,

I am just talking about the kind of oppression that is felt by gay people,

Where we are told that we are less than and not normal because of our sexuality.

And so right now,

I am sharing with you the voice I craved to hear as a child.

I hereby declare with my hand on my heart and my heart stretched open wide,

Vulnerable and strong,

That being gay in the society we live in is a superpower.

And that the very act of coming out and living an openly gay life is a constant demonstration to ourselves of our incredible powers.

And that we need only tap into this knowing to move beyond the negative effects of society's messaging and that we can direct and apply this power to all areas of our lives.

And this very neatly brings us back to the tree that I hugged today,

My favorite way to connect with nature.

Where I did,

I drew upon my up running ability to be able to do what my heart wanted to do because there were other people in the park and I needed to not care.

And it's this power within me that I always draw upon to be able to do the things that I love,

Like tree hugging,

That require a little bit of not caring.

We can miss out on experiencing so much bliss because of the boxes that we are supposed to stay in.

And this is what I mean by being able to draw upon our power whenever we need it.

Even finding the courage to write this piece for Insight Timer required me to draw upon this upstream of love that flows through me.

Will some heterosexuals feel left out or offended as I dare to celebrate the power of homosexuality?

Will some religious listeners leave hateful comments as I dare to call homosexuality spiritual?

And how thrilling the fear felt because I know and trust that fear is my divine guide,

Always,

Always leading me in the right direction.

And so,

My dear beloved sisters and brothers,

Whenever you are feeling ground down by heteronormative values,

Let it be a loving reminder of your superpowers,

That you are always,

Always plugged in to the stream of love that held you in its arms and taught you how to be authentic,

That the power of love is ever-present and that the scent of home rests deep within your heart,

Allowing you to be brave,

To walk through waves.

Thank you so much for listening today.

It's an absolute honour to be able to connect with you through this amazing platform of love that is Insight Timer.

I am just like heart smacked to be able to connect in this way and to be able to share such a positive story for us gay people,

For our gay community,

Because we really don't get to hear enough.

So until next time,

You are amazing.

I love you and bye for now.

Reviews

Thank you for your talk! My friend Peter shared this with me! How blessed and lovingly you gave this meditation...I myself am Gay...I was brought up in a very strict pentecostal family and church...I love God...the teachings of Jesus was all about love... I know that I was fearfully and wonderfully made by God in my Mother...all of us Gay people are made by Him...so freeing to know that science backs us up... It wasn't easy being gay all my life..we live in the shadows..not wanting to be..because it's "sin" by religion and church...what they don't understand they FEAR...we're unnatural..in there eyes...
I am a blood bought LGBTQ Christian ✝️ belonging to believers like me Desert Oasis Chapel... our church is all inclusive as it should be straight people are there with us all...We Worship God...that's what we do... you just reaffirmed what I feel and believe...we all need each other praying for each other supporting and lifting up! You are such a blessing...I have you already in my Playlist! GOD BLESS YOU! HUGS 🫂
Donald James Dodge

Wow! So powerful. I have always been spiritual and it has carried me through so much. Hearing you breathe this talk enabled me to appreciate myself more. Yes yes yes- the power of LOVE is everything.
Thank you for sharing your gift… we all need this now more than ever. May your rewards be bountiful!
In gratitude and love …Peter

Excellent and much appreciated. Thank you for highlighting and naming the power and muscles I / we have by virtue of simply choosing to live our truth. It’s something I take for granted because I couldn’t imagine living life without being gay or an out queer woman / lesbian. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful because I still make the choice in every moment of every day. Thank you for reminding me of my superpowers. 🙏🏿💜

Oh my goodness, this is exactly what I think I need to hear daily! Your strength, openness, honesty and kindness are so inspiring. Yet your voice is soothing on my heart and soul. I am an active tree hugger, but always look around to make sure no one notices. I have battled with my inner voice about being queer my entire existence, I am still trying to navigate my gender identity, several gender therapists later and I still struggle with being brave and allowing the true authenticity of myself to show. This talk has made me feel less guilty, alone and shameful. Namaste, my queer sister. 🕉️💜🫶🏽🐛🦋🌈

Thank you for sharing your voice
EDIT: I love listening to this meditation every year during Pride month ❤️

Thank you very much for this positive and empowering message, which is also a really important one these days... 🏳️‍🌈💖

Beautiful - thank you so much for this powerful reminder.

Thank you so much beautiful soul ❤️I truly vent some big shifts inside be listening to this meditation you gave me strength and courage I didn’t know I needed and im truly grateful thank you so much I love you.

Also I just wanted to say I also love huging trees it’s my favourite thing to do to feel like myself after a busy day

Any time I need a little boost to step back into my power I return to this… Beautiful. Many many thanks…

Wow! Thank you for this potent, crystal clear & generous talk Jac!! Amazing: You are too!

Wow, that was absolutely amazing. I appreciate your words so much and believe them and really needed to hear them so thank you. The idea of being gay as being spiritual, and of being a way to help not miss out on blissful and peaceful moments in life by not caring about conformity really resonated with me.
I'm going to show this to a friend who I think needs it and will absolutely it.
Thank you, much love 🙏💘

I really needed this reminder. I will pay it forward. Thank you.

💜💙💚💛🧡💗

Thank you for your courage to write this and put it "out" for the world to see! So inspiring!! 😊 I am so excited... another Super Power! 🙏 Namaste 🏳️‍🌈🤗

Thank you for this amazing meditation. Your words are powerful.

Love it, Jacs 🙏💙❤💜🤎🖤💛🙏

I love you too, Jac! Thanks for this mitzvah.

Thank you, thank you! So uplifting! We need more spiritual voices from our community!

Empowering and inspiring. Jac has a wonderfully gentle voice and lovely Aussie accent.

Thank you Dear Jac. I am th free Mother of a beautiful non-conforming person who struggles with shame and doubt and fear yet they persevere or "walk thru the waves. " Thank you for shining a light on their super power. Thank you for showing this is spiritual. Keep shining your light.