Joe Perez, M.Div.

5 months ago

Homosexuality and the Mystery of God’s Presence

6 Min Read

14May

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...

5 months ago

The Descending Current of Love: Presence, Immanence, and The Depth That Heals

By Joe Perez, M.Div.

5 Min Read

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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...

5 months ago

The Ascending Current of Love: Eros, Transcendence, and the Light That Can Burn

By Joe Perez, M.Div.

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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...

5 months ago

On the Mountain with Kalen: A Dialogue on the Two Currents of Love

By Joe Perez, M.Div.

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ASCENDING WITH HETEROPHILIA, DESCENDING WITH HOMOPHILIA The sun was just beginning to descend behind the western ridge, casting golden light across the rocky plateau where Kalen O. Tolán and a small group of students had gathered. They had hiked together in silence most of the afternoon, breathing in the clarity of alpine air and the vast stillness that comes only at high elevation. Now they...

5 months ago

Is Being Soulfully Gay an Ascending or Descending Path of Spirituality?

By Joe Perez, M.Div.

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INTRODUCING THE TWO RIVERS OF SPIRIT Spiritual seekers have long moved along two great rivers of awakening. One flows upward, reaching beyond the world toward the formless, the infinite, the pure light of Spirit. The other flows downward, diving into the body, the heart, the Earth—seeing the sacred not beyond the world, but within it. Ken Wilber calls these two rivers the Ascending and Descending...

5 months ago

Being Gay Means Being Already Complete In Yourself

By Joe Perez, M.Div.

6 Min Read

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ALREADY WHOLE: THE INNER TRUTH OF BEING GAY In Soulfully Gay II, I explore a spiritual truth that may sound paradoxical in a world that still teaches queer people to doubt themselves: being gay means being already complete in yourself. This isn’t a feel-good slogan. It’s a radical spiritual insight with roots in centuries of philosophy and mystical wisdom. It’s based on the principle of self...

5 months ago

A Note on Terminology for Same-Sex Love and Desire

By Joe Perez, M.Div.

7 Min Read

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13May

THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE Language is never just about precision—it’s about poetry, power, and presence. At Soulfully Gay II, we take the words we use seriously, especially when they touch on something as intimate and sacred as same-sex love and desire. And so today, I want to share a few thoughts about the terminology we’ll be using throughout this project. Let’s begin with a simple observation: our...

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