Most people I see at nude beaches appeared happy and carefree. They’d be standing around smoking weed and sipping seltzer tonics without so much as an eye dart down to that Prince Albert piercing. Astounding!
As for me, I’ve always been more partial to Genesis 3:7 when Adam and Eve realized their nakedness and stitched together some fig leaves to cover themselves. As such, whenever I’ve been to a nude beach, I have always worn my bathing suit over my birthday suit. Which is kind of like being the only one not dressed up at a custom party — it’s those in bathing suits that awkwardly stand out the most. Why’d you come if you weren’t going to take part, brah? I don’t know...the sand is nicer, the beach is better or maybe, subconsciously, I actually just want to be naked and free?
Recently, there has been more, shall I say, “exposure” about the alleged benefits of letting the sun tickle your balls, perineum, yoni and butthole a little each day. Correspondingly, all the magazines and blogs that have been written about this have also covered their own ass (pun intended) by sharing that “the experts” don’t agree with these claims.
On one hand, healers and those who habitually enjoy a few minutes of the ancient Taoist practice of “perineum sunning” a few times a week, cite increased creativity, healthier libido, better and deeper sleep and increased testosterone by as much as 200% (that later benefit has been studied but not repeated or peer reviewed); on the other hand, other experts say it doesn’t work and can give you cancer.
According to @MetaphysicalMeagan, who went viral worshiping the sun butt-ass naked in a happy baby yoga pose, said, “The practice draws in prana, (and) solar energy, to replenish life force. The tradition stems from a Taoist belief that the perineum is seen as the ‘Gate of Life and Death.’”
Naturally, being a curious person who tends to run in the other direction from most “experts” these days, I tried sunning my own bits! A few mornings each week, as I sit on the front patio of my farm getting that good ole Andrew-Huberman-recommended early-morning sunlight into my eyes, I’d sheepishly reach down and untuck my boys and release them to all the sun’s glory.
Not to cast shade on @MetaphysicalMeagan’s post, but my inspiration for doing this came from a different source. Ironically, I have my experience of sourcing fabric in Asia to thank for this. As I mentioned in my Naked Revival Origins blogs, the purveyors of fabric I know like to cut loose and live well. And while in Vietnam and Taipei I was invited to join them at bathhouses but only allowed a towel about the size of a fig leaf to cover myself. So, I basically had to bare it all. Admittedly, the first time I was abashed, timid and awkwardly trying to hide the family jewels every which way I could. The second time, in the mountains of Beitou just outside of Taipei, where mineral waters bubble up to the surface to create the most incredible natural hot springs I’ve ever visited, I was, to my surprise, far less uncomfortable.
Soon, I looked forward to getting naked and jumping into an ice-cold river while hunting or camping up in the mountains. And, while on the deck at home, instead of just pulling out Richard and the twins on top of my pajama shorts, I’d just sit there totally naked. Granted, my full monty was done in the backyard, not the front.
What’s the result of my own non-expert experience? My dick and balls feel fucking incredible when the sun hits them. I feel energized and crave my wife in primal ways. When we do this together, she feels the same way and almost always have delightfully powerful sex after sunning our sexual organs. I wonder what the “experts” have to say about that?
I’d like to posit another benefit that is, for me, really at the heart of all this nakedness. The reason I personally didn’t like being Naked in front of people. Do you ever feel the same way?
Why did I feel ashamed? Well, we’re told most of our lives, sometimes for very good reason, to hide our genitals. For heaven's sake, they’re called “private” parts. Where nakedness and shame are concerned, there is a long history of metaphor, parable and body shame that I’m not going to unpack here.
Let’s go another way instead.
In essence, the “edge” is where we stop short of a fuller expression of our potential, our life experience, and gift to the world.
Being naked in front of people, or even just being naked by myself, offers me the unique and spiritual opportunity to lean into that shame and overcome it. This is what spiritual teacher and world-renowned best-selling author David Deida refers to as “living on your edge.” He says,
“In any given moment, a man’s growth is optimized if he leans just beyond his edge, his capacity, his fear. He should not be too lazy, happily stagnating in the zone of security and comfort. Nor should he push far beyond his own edge, stressing himself unnecessarily, unable to metabolize his experience. He should lean just slightly beyond the edge of fear and discomfort. Constantly. In everything he does.”
In essence, the “edge” is where we stop short of a fuller expression of our potential, our life experience, and gift to the world. So, for me, being naked was akin to Tim Ferriss’s sage advice. He asserts, “A person’s success in life can be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.” I just exchange a few words for myself so it reads: A person’s happiness (or success) can be measured by the number of uncomfortable situations he or she is willing to be in.
The point Ferriss and Deida both make is not to overcome discomfort, but to embrace it instead. This is more or less where I stand on the spectrum of public nakedness. And although I’m not quite like the in-the-buff beachcombers freely talking world affairs with their balls dangling, I hope to join them some day. After all, even if none of those potential benefits get you excited, at least you won’t have tan lines!
