FREE E-BOOK

To receive a free e-copy (PDF file) of my book NAKED BEFORE GOD: A Look At Healing, Self-discovery and Spiritual Growth Through Social Nudism, go to http://less-onsfortruth.com/ or email me ddziegler44@yahoo.com

NAKED BEFORE GOD

PROLOGUE

AWAKEN, COME WITH ME. Let us return to the Garden where we once lived naked. Take my hand as you disregard your fears, ignore your shame, withhold your judgments and come follow me. Let us go quickly as others are already there and await our return. At journey's end, we will uncloak ourselves and stand naked before God--in surrender and in celebration--recognizing our Truth and remembering what it means to be free.

EPILOGUE

WELCOME HOME. You have traveled far to come to this place and your journey has not been without peril and loneliness. But now, at last, you are with friends with whom you can rest. Sit in the cool grass, lie in the warm sun or bathe in the sparkling waters and soon you will feel rested and refreshed. A feast is being prepared, and soon you will be rejuvenated with nourishment for your body and soul. When you are ready, come join with those of us who have arrived before you and tell us of your many travels and adventures and of what finally has brought you to this place. Tell us what language the Universe speaks to you and what message It brings and share with us your truth. Then sit back and listen as others share theirs--while all heaven joins together standing naked before God in celebration--recognizing our Truth and remembering what it means to be free.

BODY-ACCEPTANCE AND THE SPIRITUAL PATH

"Poor attitudes about our bodies not only block our path to spiritual awareness but also interfere with our physical and mental health."

BODY-ACCEPTANCE AND THE SPIRITUAL PATH
By Daniel D. Ziegler

OUR SPIRITUAL PATH is the process of seeking self-acceptance at the highest level--the level of our spirit, our higher Self, our divinity. Spiritual awareness, then, is spiritual self-acceptance or acceptance at our highest level of existence.

The journey toward spiritual self-acceptance is precluded, however, by self-acceptance of our lower levels of existence--of our physical, emotional and mental bodies; and spiritual awareness is actually blocked if we hold negative judgments against these lower levels. Thus negative judgments against our bodies, such as shame, embarrassment and disgust, are barriers to self-acceptance of our higher self.

The path to spiritual self-awareness, then, must begin at the very beginning--with body acceptance. Unfortunately in our society, we are bombarded from early age by negative messages about out bodies. Religion, entertainment, the advertising industries, as well as other sources, contribute to poor body image and a lack of self-esteem and self-acceptance. Before we even reach an age of self-awareness, we have already developed deeply ingrained negative attitudes that cloud our self-image.

Poor attitudes about our bodies not only block our path to spiritual awareness but also interfere with our physical and mental health. By sending negative messages to our bodies and by mistreating them in the name of religion, fashion, or whatever, we cause our own dis-ease and illness. Body acceptance, then, not only removes the barriers to spiritual self-acceptance and awareness but also removes the causes of many health problems. A body that is fully accepted and loved thus opens the pathway to spiritual self-acceptance and awareness as well as serving as a healthy physical statement of that spirit.

THE PATH TO BODY ACCEPTANCE
Many self-help books suggest that in order to improve our self-image we should stand naked in front of a mirror, telling ourselves that we are beautiful. While this practice may indeed make it easier for us to stand naked in front of a mirror, it does very little to dispel the notion that our bodies do not fit within the normal range of bodies. That requires that we see other naked bodies.

Abraham Maslow, the famous psychologist, once made a statement to the effect that nudism--that is seeing other nude bodies--is a therapy in and of itself. Nothing is more healing to a poor body image than to see other real bodies because real bodies seldom look like Madison Avenue would have us believe. Real bodies come in such a wide variation that it's not hard to dismiss the idea that we don't fit in somewhere.

To see real naked bodies is definitely therapeutic, but to be seen naked by others is equally important AND necessary. Being seen and accepted by others is the final step in learning to accept our own bodies. Once the negative judgments that stood as barriers to higher awareness are removed, we are healed of our negative body image and we are now free to move to new levels of acceptance and awareness.

The path to body acceptance is often anticipated with a great deal of anxiety because it is thought that it may require years of painful therapy or some sort of traumatic psychological experience. Neither is true. The path to body acceptance is quickly and easily accomplished--and it is fun. Since nudity IS our natural state, so IS body acceptance our natural state. We are born with it and we are simply returning to it; and since we have already been there, there is nothing new to learn. It is simply a remembering of something we've already experienced, and is accomplished with great joy and freedom--and a sense of returning home. The path is social nudism or nude recreation.

To receive a free e-copy (PDF file) of my book NAKED BEFORE GOD: A Look At Healing, Self-discovery and Spiritual Growth Through Social Nudism, go to http://less-onsfortruth.com/ or email me ddziegler44@yahoo.com

VESTURISM NO MORE

"...I will see in my lifetime when we will be able to walk down the streets of some cities and see a mix of people of both genders, of all races and religions, some wearing clothing and some not."

VESTURISM NO MORE
By Daniel D. Ziegler

Let me add a new word to your vocabulary and to the dictionary--vesturism, based on the word vestures, which means clothing or apparel. I define vesturism as: prejudice based on whether or not one is wearing clothes.

We already have the word racism, which is prejudice and discrimination based on race, and we have sexism which is prejudice and discrimination based on sex or gender, but until now we have not had a word for prejudice and discrimination based on the wearing or not wearing of clothing. Up until now this has not been a public issue and so we have not needed a word for this but there is a growing movement now for clothes-free recreation and clothes-free living and a word is needed to describe those fighting against this movement.

This movement I am talking about is not just about nudists and naturists, either. The nudists and naturists have their movements based on their organizations and beliefs and are pretty much content to stay in their private parks or otherwise designated areas. They seem to be operating alright and not really bothering anybody. We seldom hear about them. So the need for this word hasn’t arisen from their activities, although many of them are involved.

The need for this word is based on a movement made up of people who feel they should have the right to be nude anywhere, anytime they please, even in public places. They call themselves Body Freedom and their numbers are growing. The participants in this movement feel they are being discriminated against by laws that mandate that clothing be worn outside private nudist parks or other legally designated areas. They feel that they should not be forced to segregate as such, hence the word vesturism—prejudice based on their not wearing clothes. (The word nudism, based on the word nude might be a better word here but it is already taken with a different meaning.)

One might think that on the surface the idea of this word may seem a bit trite. I mean, come on, this doesn’t carry the same weight as the words racism or sexism do, behind which we understand their significance, does it? Vesturism, come on, isn’t that carrying it a little too far?

I posit that it is NOT carrying it too far, and that we need to take a serious look at the issue of prejudice and discrimination based on the wearing or not wearing of clothing, because many of the same issues and reasons that made racism and sexism morally wrong are equally at work here.

Before we compare these issues, however, let me first say that the argument for clothes is often based on the highly questionable idea that people can be offended, shocked, and even psychologically damaged by seeing naked people. The concern is particularly intense with regard to children. The idea is that we must protect children from seeing nude bodies at least until age 18 (somehow designated as the age when it will no longer harm them). The truth is there is no proof that any damage actually occurs to adults OR children by being expose to the nude body. The idea that nudity is harmful is not based on research but rather on preconceived ideas and learned behavior that have no logical or scientific basis. On the contrary, there is evidence, as the psychologist Abraham Maslow presented in his work in the 60's, that seeing and being in the presence of nude bodies promotes body-acceptance which promotes self-esteem and good health.

Now, as a comparison, let’s take a look at our past history regarding racism. Prior to the civil rights movement in the early sixties (and prior to the word racism), many white people living in segregated areas of the south (but not exclusively in the south) felt that association with African American people (then called Negroes) was wrong and degrading, even harmful. Many whites certainly would not live in the black neighborhoods nor risk having their children suffer trauma by attending the same schools as black children. These were very strong beliefs, and political leaders such as George Wallace, as well as even some religious leaders, fought hard and were willing to put their lives on the line for their beliefs.

But we know that these beliefs were based on nothing but learned behavior. They ideas were simply passed down from one generation to the next and there was no inherent substance to them, however, to those who fostered them, there seemed to be. We now know they were largely based on ignorance and fear--fear of each other and fear of the unknown. It is a human trait to fear the unknown, and since we had not ever known a totally integrated society, we were afraid of it. Today, we see the fallacy of these beliefs and all you have to do is look around in our schools to see how children of all races get along. While we still have room for improvement, things have changed. We live in a different world and are no longer afraid, and even many of the George Wallaces acknowledged that they were wrong.

A similar comparison can be used with the women suffrage and feminists movements. Today we know that many of the ideas and beliefs used to keep women down in the past no longer hold water. They were simply learned from those who came before us.

Many of our beliefs that are passed down to us from prior generations have strong roots but that does not mean they are morally right or valid. To evolve as a species and to create a peaceful world we must be willing to look at our beliefs and continue to test them to find out which are false and holding us back, and then let those go.

We acknowledge intellectually that the human body is a marvelous creation, and yet we as a society still believe that if certain parts of it are exposed in public, it would destroy society. This is one of these beliefs that seems inherent in us but simply has been passed down to us and is now so firmly ingrained in our thinking that people actually feel they have been violated and traumatized if they see another human being nude. Well, there are probably many people still around who believed that society would tumble if our schools and the rest of society were integrated, too, and may still even believe that their children were irreparably harmed by attending school with children of other colors, but we know that did not happen. In fact, most would agree that we have a better society today.

In the same vain, there are many of us who belief public nudity would not cause our society to crumble, either. On the contrary, we believe, based on our experience and understanding of the human spirit, that simply being able to be ourselves and not hide behind clothing will lead to a higher levels of self-esteem and self-acceptance and therefore to happier, healthier and more tolerant human beings AND a better society.

So, let’s take a serious look at vesturism, and be honest with ourselves. Are we being vesturists, that is, are we irrationally discriminating against those who feel free enough to be themselves, and not wear clothing? Or are we simply reacting irrationally out of fear of the unknown again?

Just like with the women suffrage, racial equality and feminist and movements, it will require a lot of brave people doing a lot of work before changes are made and we as a society overcome vesturism. But the work is already ongoing and slowly things are changing again. I believe I will see in my lifetime when we will be able to walk down the streets of some cities and see a mix of people of both genders, of all races and religions, some wearing clothing and some not. We will look at each other no longer afraid and realize that, as with racism and sexism, our previous fears were unfounded. And we will look back and know that we have really progressed in making a better world by freeing ourselves from another irrational and harmful prejudice, from vesturism—a word that will no have meaning in our society. * * *

To receive a free e-copy (PDF file) of my book NAKED BEFORE GOD: A Look At Healing, Self-discovery and Spiritual Growth Through Social Nudism, go to http://less-onsfortruth.com/ or email me ddziegler44@yahoo.com

SEX, GOD & ET's

“Misinterpretation of ancient texts describing extraterrestrial activities forms our present misconception of God which, in turn, creates our outmoded views on human sexuality...."

SEX, GOD & ET'S
By Daniel D. Ziegler

Whether we are aware of it or not, we in the Western world live under severe sexual repression due to socially imposed religious moral codes. Therefore, most of us have fairly negative attitudes toward our sexuality. Even if we don’t consider ourselves to be religious or sexually repressed, we still are under the influence of these codes because they mold our society. A clear example of this is our laws requiring us to wear clothing. As a result, for the most part, we live in a constant state of embarrassment, shame and guilt over our sexuality and our bodies in general. In the presence of others, we pretend to be asexual, that is we hide our sex lives, we are uncomfortable talking about our sex lives in most circles--especially to our parents and children--and, in general, treat sex as something private at best and evil and dirty at worst.

The effects of this sexual repression are deeply ingrained in us. Wilhelm Reich devoted much of his life’s work to showing the devastating effects of repressed sexuality in the form of neuroses in individual lives as well as in the form of oppression at the societal level. Several of his books including The Function of the Orgasm and The Mass Psychology of Fascism are devoted to these topics and are definitely worth reading. It is clear from his work and worth remembering that how we see ourselves and how we react to the world around us are both heavily influenced by our conscious and unconscious sex-negative attitudes stemming from sexual repression. It is refreshing to see, however, that at least some attempts are being made by some community groups, such as Seattle Washington’s Sex Positive Community Center, to create and provide a positive environment for people to learn and interact with others in sex-positive ways.

We, as a society or as individuals, will not completely be free of these imposed religious moral codes or change our attitudes about sex, however, until we change our old fearful religious conception of God, for it is the deeply ingrained and often unconscious fear of God that restricts much of our sexual behavior. And we will not change our fearful conception of God until we increase our understanding of many of the ancient religious texts, particularly the Old Testament, which seem to speak of a God full of wrath and eager to punish.

Based on works such as those of Zecharia Sitchin and others, we can begin to re-examine these ancient religious texts in a new light--as records of extraterrestrial influence on early civilizations. This is not a new idea, but it is one whose time has come in light of mounting evidence of UFO's, extraterrestrial life and of ancient extraterrestrial influence on humanity’s origins (and on the mounting evidence of subsequent and obvious cover-up of such information). We have been led to believe that these documents, such as the Old Testament of the Bible, are a record of "God's" work on earth. The truth is it is not "God" but oppressive extraterrestrial beings posing as "God" or gods and attempting to control us of which the texts speak. It is this misunderstanding of events described in these early texts has led us to our present religious concept of a vengeful and wrathful God who punishes us for enjoying "pleasures of the flesh and forms MANY of our present limiting belief systems.

Research into these texts now clearly shows them to be records of extraterrestrial visitations and activities. They tell of ancient astronauts, technically more advanced than us who visited earth hundreds of thousands of years ago and “created” (today we would say genetically engineered) humankind as a slave race. Then, as one of the methods to control us, they forced unnatural and unreasonable restrictions on our sexual activity. This predictably produced frustration, poor self-esteem and all sorts of dysfunctional behavior, including violence among ourselves; and thus, as can be inferred from Reich’s work, that is how they managed to oppress and control us for their purposes. Their negative influence deeply affects our thinking and behavior yet today.

But in order for us to evolve into the magnificent, loving, and yes, sex-positive creatures we are capable of becoming, we must discard our beliefs based on old interpretations of these texts and form new beliefs based on new information, which we now have. Coming to this new understanding of ancient religious texts forces us to confront and challenge some of the most basic moral and religious precepts upon which modern life in the Western world is based (as well as our government's official position that there is no evidence of extraterrestrial life); and if we are to save ourselves from self-destruction, if we are, indeed, ever to evolve into enlightened beings and experience a golden age--an age free from hate and violence--we must confront these issues NOW before it is too late.

We can begin doing this by first considering that our old paradigms may no longer be valid (if, indeed, they ever were), and then continue by seeking new ways of looking at our world and ourselves being one. We must also come to understand God (or Creative Intelligence, Source or whatever one wants to call the Universal Creative Force) as a God of love and creativity, not of wrath and destruction, and when we do this, we will see that human sexuality, in its MANY expressions, is a gift to be enjoyed and celebrated. Then, we must build a society based on our new concept of loving ourselves, and loving--not fearing--each other.

To many of us it is self-evident that a God that creates life through sex and creates us as highly sexual beings, intends us--all of us, at any age--to enjoy sex and to use sex as a celebration of life itself. It is this self-perpetuating characteristic of sex that demonstrates its grandeur and suggests that it is of the highest order of magnitude and magnificence of all creations. It is an expression of life itself. To hide it, to unnaturally restrict it, to misuse it or to be embarrassed about it, is to degrade it--as well as to degrade life, and even worse, to degrade the Creative Force.

There is one final step in the progression of this discussion and it is a thought definitely worth contemplation. I mentioned at the beginning of this article that the work of Wilhelm Reich clearly points out that how we see ourselves and how we react to the world around us are both clearly influenced by our conscious and unconscious negative attitudes toward our sexuality stemming from our repressed sexuality. It is further suggested by one writer of UFO and related material, Michael Mannion, that the view of some modern extraterrestrials, presented by some contactees/abductees, as being uncaring, unloving and asexual may indeed be a reflection of our own sexual repression. If this is the case, how does this all tie together? Quite clearly. Our thinking, then, seems to be trapped in a completely closed circle which may be holding us back from entering the cosmic era: Misinterpretation of ancient texts describing extraterrestrial activity forms our present misconception of God which, in turn, forms our outmoded views on human sexuality which, in turn, influences our present view of some modern ET’s who may be attempting to interact with us in friendly ways.

It goes without saying, then, that before we can objectively understand and intelligently interact with beings more advanced than us, it is imperative that we somehow break this negative cycle, clean up our violent tendencies and get our thinking straight about how to get along with each other here. Then and only then will we be able to advance ourselves as a race of magnificent and sensual beings ready to join other beings in this cosmic era and possible golden age.

Do we have a good reason, then, to examine our present attitudes and ideas about our sexuality and make efforts to heal from the embarrassment, shame and guilt most of us live with? I would think so! * * *


For further reading on extraterrestrial influence on humanity and religion, one might begin with GODS, GENES, AND CONSCIOUSNESS by Paul Von Ward, PROJECT MINDSHIFT by Michael Mannion, THE GODS OF EDEN by William Bramley, HUMANITY'S EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIGINS by Arthur David Horn and THE EARTH CHRONICLES series by Zecharia Sitchen. For reading about the connection between violence and sexual repression, in addition to the above mentioned books by Wilhelm Reich, The Function of the Orgasm and The Mass Psychology of Fassism, see SAHARASIA: The 4000 BCE Origins Of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare And Social Violence, In The Deserts Of The Old World by James DeMeo.
Copyright 2004 Daniel D. Ziegler

To receive a free e-copy (PDF file) of my book NAKED BEFORE GOD: A Look At Healing, Self-discovery and Spiritual Growth Through Social Nudism, go to http://less-onsfortruth.com/ or email me ddziegler44@yahoo.com