MojoNude

A spirit without fears, or embarrassment, or shame is a soul that has progressed beyond the human form, while still in the human body.

Becoming a nudist is a way for a person to turn back into their true selves, which is the spirit who lives in confidence with whom they truly are underneath all of the facades.

To be oppressed is to stifle the freedom of the soul to reach divine consciousness. Oppression thwarts the soul’s path to their divine nature. Having the freedom to think for one’s self is the path that opens the conscious mind to all sorts of spiritual experiences. Performing rituals in the nude is a right of passage to a greater path of knowledge. To perform the rituals in clothes, would take away from their true message.

Excerpted from Buddhism and Nudism by J. Blum, Young Naturists America

Buddhism and Nudism starts out relating the story in Genesis where God asks Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?” If I remember my reading of Genesis correctly, no one told them they were naked. After taking a bite from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, I’m surmising they suddenly became aware of their nakedness and that they had disobeyed the one commandment God had given them. Perhaps they somehow link these two realizations together. Or maybe over the years, religious teachers made this connection.

I see the coverings they made for themselves as symbolically covering their shame for having disobeyed. Their sin was disobedience not being naked. Up until that point, nudity wasn’t a problem. I believe the problem lies in the common interpretation of this story. Perhaps God should have asked them, “Who told you that you had to cover your nakedness? Who said that what I created and called good should be hidden in shame?” It may well have been the serpent who told them that the bodies which God had created and declared good were inherently evil and a source of shame.

One possible interpretation of the story in Genesis might be that the transition from being “naked and unashamed” to covering themselves in shame was because the serpent (representing evil) told them they should be ashamed of their nakedness. Given that interpretation it then follows that to be ashamed of your body is doing the Devil’s bidding while to be “naked and unashamed” is to follow God’s original intention for us.

That’s only one possible interpretation and I’m sure many will disagree with it. I’m just offering up the idea. I try to stay away from Biblical arguments for or against nudity. My personal naturist philosophy is derived from what I have tested or observed to be true and influenced by traditional naturist ideals and philosophy.

Why be ashamed of our own bodies?

Today I read about a person who was embarrassed to be seen nude accidentally. How sad it is that anyone should be ashamed of their own humanity! Is this what we have come to? How is there shame in being human? It is simply being ourselves. Us. No additives. Just us.

I understand that some do not want to be seen nude and I respect that. But when accidents happen – and they will – there should be no embarrassment. No shame. It’s like being embarrassed that when you had surgery the doctor noticed that you had a spleen! It would be silly. It’s just us.

Reposted from Thoughts on Naturism

It is deeply rooted in our culture, going back to Biblical times, that Nature is inherently evil and dangerous and that it must be subdued tamed, conquered, or corrected. As a society we regard everything that is natural about ourselves—our bodies, our odors, our intuition, our instincts— as flawed and as a source of shame. We are led to believe that these things must be fixed, covered, or repressed, none of which are healthy in a physical, mental or spiritual sense. From birth we are taught that we must conform to the rules of our society or the rules of our religion (often the same) and to repress all that is natural about ourselves. I’ve observed that whenever something is repressed it will eventually manifest, usually in some terrible and harmful form. We only need to look around to see the results of our repressed society.

Body shame originates in our minds with our thoughts and perceptions. Neither our religion nor our culture makes us ashamed of our bodies, only our belief that we should be ashamed. Shame comes from our own thoughts which we have the power to change. If we perceive no shame then there is none. No one can make you feel ashamed without your permission. To fear and loathe the human body (especially your own) must be a truly wretched state.

Our religions and our cultures may tell us that we should be ashamed of our bodies but we don’t have to believe what we are told. What I have learned and experienced in my life has often been in direct contradiction to many of the ideologies, rules and standards I was told by so-called authority figures.