The Foundational Image of My Radically Embodied Concept of Human Being and Becoming There’s an image that keeps returning to me. Familiar. Simple. And yet, unbearably profound. The Cross. Not just a religious symbol. Not just a relic of history. But a cosmic archetype—a living axis of meaning. The Cross has become, for me, the foundational image of human being and becoming. It’s how I understand...
EMBRACING THE INGREDIENTS OF SOUL WORK In my previous post, How to Care for the Gay Soul, I explored the four masculine archetypes described by Robert Moore: Warrior, Lover, Magician, and King. Moore believed these archetypes were universal to all men—offering symbolic guidance on the path to masculine maturity. And in my own journey, these patterns have helped illuminate the terrain of...
THE SOUL IN INTEGRAL NONDUALISM Being soulfully gay means living at the crossroads between emotional depth and ecstatic spirit, self-acceptance and self-transformation, connection to nature and contemplation of timeless realities. But what is it within us that is constant through all of these things? Is it a “soul”? For some, the word soul sounds dated or theological, too burdened by dogma or...
THE AUTHORITARIAN AND THE INTEGRALIST Location: Austin Town HallParticipants: Rev. Ezekiel Burnham (a fictional composite of a Fundamentalist Baptist Preacher), Joe Perez (author of Soulfully Gay and Soulfully Gay II)Audience: Mixed crowd—churchgoers, spiritual seekers, skeptics, LGBTQ+ community members Rev. Ezekiel Burnham (stepping up after Joe’s opening remarks):“Mr. Perez, I appreciate your...
THE RADICAL FAERIE AND THE NONDUALIST Joe Perez is a spiritual philosopher, writer, and teacher of the Unitive Way, a contemplative path integrating nondual spirituality, queer mysticism, and integral philosophy. He is the author of Soulfully Gay and Nondual Recovery, and his work explores how gay love and eros can serve as divine metaphors for spiritual wholeness. Orion Starfire is a composite...
Participants: Joe Perez, M.Div. – Author of Soulfully Gay and Nondual Recovery, influencer in the LGBTQ+ community, and teacher of the Unitive Way. Roshi Ken’in Gendo – A fictionalized composite Zen master, grounded in a traditional Soto lineage, shaped by monastic discipline and historical Buddhist suspicion of sexuality. Roshi Ken’in: Thank you for coming. We do not often speak so openly of sex...
Participants: Fr. Thomas Rinaldi – A fictionalized composite Catholic theologian and seminary professor, deeply formed by John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). Joe Perez, M.Div. – Author of Soulfully Gay, blogger and influencer in the LGBTQ+ community, and teacher of the Unitive Way. Fr. Thomas: Joe, thank you again for sitting with me in this space. We began with the Church’s view...
By Joe Perez, M.Div.Sermon For Pride Sunday – Episcopal Church Service LOVE THAT GROUNDS: INTRODUCING THE DESCENDING CURRENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Some forms of love do not lift us upward but bring us inward and downward—into the body, into memory, into the palpable here-and-now. They deepen us. They help us settle into presence. They ask us not to rise above life but to be fully in it. This is what...
LOVE THAT GROUNDS: INTRODUCING THE DESCENDING CURRENT Some forms of love do not lift us upward but bring us inward and downward—into the body, into memory, into the palpable here-and-now. They deepen us. They help us settle into presence. They ask us not to rise above life but to be fully in it. This is the Descending Current of Love: the movement of spirit not toward escape or transcendence, but...
LOVE THAT LIFTS: INTRODUCING THE ASCENDING CURRENT Some forms of love don’t just ground us—they lift us. They set fire to our hearts and beckon us toward something higher, more expansive, more radiant than we thought possible. This is what I call the Ascending Current of Love: the movement of desire that draws us beyond the ordinary and into the sublime. It is not content with what is; it longs...
