Understanding Climax Versus Orgasm
This blog is part of a series; its original title was Heilkunst Basics : University, 4th Year (climax versus orgasm)
Having cleared through and de-armored all seven of the segments in the third year curriculum, we’re now ready to put the healthy segments to a more practical use. As you know, the armoring involves a lock-up of the autonomic nervous system, and is displayed through a rigidification of the musculature, as well as the mental and emotional faculties.
Freeing up the natural function of the autonomic system leads us into one of its highest functions. At all levels, the autonomic nervous system governs all types of reflexes in our body — just think of the doctor tapping your knee to test for that reflex — and one of the higher goals of health is to make sure that it is working as it is supposed to. At the psychological level, the healthy autonomic nervous system produces a state of relaxation, and an ability to engage with our life from a basis of engagement and loving participation, rather than a compulsive or neurotic or anxious drive which is so pervasive in our modern “rat race” style of work and life.
As Reich discovered, it is the autonomic nervous system, and the whole reflex system which are clues as to our overall state of health, and it is the orgasm reflex in particular which represents the “master” regulator in our system. One of the key parts of the fourth year curriculum, then, is to begin to understand and then master the difference between climax and orgasm.
The former has more to do with a peripheral release in terms of the central nervous system, and is a lot more localized in the genitals, whereas the latter is a more direct expression (and regulation) of the autonomic system, where the energy circulates throughout the whole body. Another way to look at it is that the climax may be a somewhat pleasurable release, but on its own, actually reinforces the more superficial part of our mind, which has to do with (ego) awareness. The orgasm, in contrast, connects us to our deeper and truer self, which is the basis of a deeper ‘consciousness’ (based on love), as opposed to a more superficial ‘awareness’ (based on fear).
In terms of sex, itself, we start to look at the difference between the typically friction-based style of sex (stimulates central nervous system), versus a more ‘pression’ based approach (stimulates autonomic nervous system). The book The Multi-Orgasmic Couple: Sexual Secrets Every Couple Should Know by Mantak Chia goes into great detail about how to develop a capacity for this ‘other’ type of sex (non-ejaculatory, in the case of men), and provides many practical exercises and descriptions for each step along the way. He even provides specific details about focussing the sexual energy towards healing particular organs, if that is what you have an interest in learning about. At its most basic level, it is the most practical textbook to use at this point in the curriculum, to help shift from the CNS- to ANS- centred sexuality.