Patrik Olterman
Differentiating the mature and immature feminine
Read more: Differentiating the mature and immature feminineContinuing this trek exploring the masculine and feminine the time has come to look at the immature and mature feminine. First a caveat: I am not a woman so while it is entirely possible for me to be in my immature or mature feminine it is not how I am wired. Robert Bly writes that…
The divine feminine
Read more: The divine feminineIn the tantric tradition everything hinges on the polarity between the divine masculine, awareness and consciousness and the divine feminine, energy and life force. Everywhere we look we see this polarity between the outward and inward movement, the tension between the two. This is reflected in the Taoist tradition and we see it in pagan…
The divine masculine
Read more: The divine masculineAs I was contemplating the mature and immature masculine yesterday I realised that in our confusion (or perhaps in my confusion, I don’t know how universal this is) we have lost the divine masculine. I have always been under the impression that we had lost the divine feminine but I think maybe I have gotten…
Differentiating the mature and immature masculine
Read more: Differentiating the mature and immature masculineContinuing the conversation about the mature and immature feminine and masculine. I will start looking at the masculine. In todays society we have a lot of the immature masculine going around. In fact there is a public caricature of what the masculine is that is solely based on the immature masculine and so for boys…
The masculine and feminine
Read more: The masculine and feminineIn the wake on my post on feminism a conversation has started whether or not it is worth our time to even talk about masculine and feminine. Here in Sweden at least it’s a loaded topic. There is a large group of people claiming that the differences in masculine and feminine are simply social conditioning…
Feminism?
Read more: Feminism?The other day I attended a beautiful concert at the Malmö Festival, being able to really enjoy the festival rather than work for the first time in 6 years. It was a nice show and the artist on stage had a very clear message of women liberation and empowerment. What struck me is that as…
Suppression or sublimation
Read more: Suppression or sublimationAccording to the Enneagram there are three instinctual centers: Intellectual, emotional and instinctual or mind, heart, gut. In the same way we have many different bodies, a physical body, an emotional body and an energetic body. I could probably list more but lets stop there. Let’s have a look at the heart and the emotional…
Being queer – The censored post
Read more: Being queer – The censored postThis post was originally posted in september 2012 and taken of the blog that same month as requested by the Salvation Army national leadership. I am now reposting it as it was an important step on the journey. This post in itself was an experiment in being open, authentic and vulnerable. The post pushed a…
Have you no shame?
Read more: Have you no shame?In my opinion shame is a disease in our modern society, it is a terrible evil that plagues most people whether they will admit to it or not. The first chapters of the holy scriptures used by all the abrahamite religions paint a beautiful picture of the first humans who where: “naked and not ashamed”.…
What now? Oh, that’s what!
Read more: What now? Oh, that’s what!As I have been at this crossroads for a while now, the dust seems to settle and maybe there is a clear path ahead. It feels scary and thrilling at the same time. I have for some time followed a path led by the divine spirit whispering in my heart the way I should go.…
In my power
Read more: In my powerIt has been a long Journey for me to come from childhood to manhood. And then I am not talking about just getting old enough to call myself a man but to actually come to a place in life where I can truly say that I have come of age, and stepped into my power…
Owning my desire
Read more: Owning my desireBeing Swedish, it has always been quite a challenge for me to really own my desire. In the church desire is in general frowned upon if not outright demonised, unless of course it is the desire for god. All other desire has at least in my mind been a temptation from the dark one. A…
Get lost!
Read more: Get lost!The mind is a curious thing, every time we think we know something or someone the knowledge becomes cemented, static and we file it away for storage. The trouble is that life is change and anything cemented, static is dead. This is why life can only be found in our unknowing, changeable and in the…
The kiss that never was
Read more: The kiss that never wasA kiss that never was burns brightly on my lipsLuscious lips filled with love and lifeBouncy Laughter leaps in my heart and soulPositive bouyancy builds, I soar.Carefully I hide my treasure away and in the darkI longingly I bring it to my lips again and again The kiss that never was.
I can swim!
Read more: I can swim!I have spent most of my life being afraid of my emotions, not consciously as I have always seen myself as a sensitive guy, but rather unconsciously. Instead of feeling sad I have been thinking that I am sad. Instead of feeling joy, I have been thinking I am happy. Living in my head.…
Slow down!
Read more: Slow down!This is my new refrain, Slow down! We are rushing through life (some more than others) at such a breakneck speed that we are missing it completely. Being and Enneagram seven, I can be so preoccupied with whatever is just over the horizon that I completely miss the now. With so many things going on…
I love you, now get out of my bed!
Read more: I love you, now get out of my bed!In most of my conversations with couples or persons in a couple relationship the subject of polarity comes up. It seems one of the hardest things to do is to keep polarity in a couple relationship. Partly this is simply biology. We are biologically programmed to lose sexual desire for anyone we live in close…
This is the end
Read more: This is the endSo this is it, the last day at the Malmö Salvation Army, the last day as a Salvation Army officer. We are spending the day clearing out the office, which is almost like moving house. It’s been six hard years with a lot of opposition and slow progress, but has also been the most transforming…
Truth
Read more: TruthI am the truth, the way and the life — Jesus It is funny how even though this statement of Jesus makes truth rather singular we still have so many different bids on the truth from different religions and different churches. Somehow we as humans seem to think that if we believe it hard enough…
Not a Christian anymore?
Read more: Not a Christian anymore?It’s funny what people will read out of my posts. I am getting the question if I am not a Christian anyomore. So I thought I would take a minute to adress this question. What is a Christian? To answer the question we must agree on what it is to be a Christian. There are…
Losing my religion
Read more: Losing my religionAs we are walking away from organised religion there are a lot of interesting conversations going on around the dinner table in our house. Yesterday Hanna said something about the death of her ministry and how maybe she never felt quite comfortable with the title minister of religion. I think I can echo that thought.…
Sex: A highway to god!
Read more: Sex: A highway to god!I confess I have borrowed the title from Johan Ekenberg but it is true. God gave us the wonderful gift of sexuality not as a racy past time and not only as a means of reproduction but rather as a gateway to experience oneness and higher states of pleasure, bliss and consciousness. As Dossie Easton…
How could I not
Read more: How could I notHow could I not fall as I teetered at the brink of your soul How could I resist a heart as open as yours How could I not awaken at the gentle touch of your hand You uncovered my soul You read my deepest secrets as if they were written on my skin You sailed…
We need permission…
Read more: We need permission…A friend of mine commented on a post that I wrote saying that it sounded like a request for affirmation. I responded that while I am not aware that I am looking for that affirmation I think that it is crucial for us as humans to be validated, to be affirmed. What we need is…
Basic instinct
Read more: Basic instinctAccording to the Enneagram there are three basic instincts (subtypes) that govern our behavioural patterns. These basic instincts operate underneath the ego and all the strategies of our personality. The three instincts are: 1) Self preserving (sp) 2) Social (so) 3) Sexual (sx) There are simply three types of people. Imagine you walk into a…
