Chick-flick backlash: The giddy, girly subject matter of movies like Sex and the City 2 and Eat, Pray, Love attacked by critics while embraced by women.

Brutal breakups: The same areas of the brain related to addiction and reward are affected by romantic rejection.

Gen X loyal to religion: Larger "religious marketplace" to choose from cited as reason for Gen X interest.

Why you want to be with a Mama's boy: Boys who are close to their moms and who ignore masculine stereotypes have better mental health.

How religious is your state?: Recent survey shows how your state measures up against the others as god-loving or god-less.

BY CYNDI INGLE — Remember the INXS song from the late 80’s, The Devil Inside?

Well I have a new take on the theme of that title: we all have an artist inside — and lately, I’ve discovered mine.

It all started when I got a new memory card for the sweet little Olympus digital camera I’ve been using for the past six years. Suddenly instead of being able to take 30 measly photos at a time, I could fire off a mind-blowing 3,500!

Not only did it give a new meaning to the phrase from American Beauty, Kodak Moment , it's opened up a whole new universe of artistic freedom and ultimately, self-realization, to me.

This purchase meshed perfectly with a recent resolution to get out of my office for an actual lunch break at least three times a week. With a renewed interest in self-expression, I decided to explore the city I work in, snapping images as I strolled.

Walking around the downtown core of a metropolis which is transitioning from a manufacturing economy to one focused on education, healthcare, and arts and culture provides for many surreal juxtapositions.

Point-and-click skyward: century-old architectural adorns buildings. Ground-level: hidden treasure (or not-so-hidden trash).

A brief collection of what I've discovered, courtesy of my fellow citizens:

* A pile of randomly arranged socks
* DVD porn, hidden in a snow drift
* A veritable panorama of “Beware of dog!” and one "Beware of Wife" signs
* The beautiful girls of Hamilton

Who knew that I’d also find a bong carved from an apple, or a culvert covered in obscene graffiti near my relatively upscale home?

My work-day photography journeys are really a form of meditation (although since I’m strolling around a city with crack issues, my mind watches my back

What I enjoy is the solitude of exploring at a natural pace. I’m present, and living for this moment, not dwelling on the past or thinking about the future.

Sometimes the scenes I shoot boost that sense. Recently, I visited a 200-year-old cemetery, which radiated an ethereal beauty and presence.

The photo at left shows one of its mournfully angelic statues, set among both blooming and decaying flowers.

This photo session sparked even more creativity.

Afterwards I used some of my cemetery photos, old jewelry, tarot cards, fabric and a metal box to create a shrine-like installation called “Say Yes to Everything.”

As I crafted, “Say Yes,” I realized that self-discovery creeps up when you least expect it.

A little self-truth: while I’m taking photos as a medium of self-expression, I’m also doing it to stroke my ego.  After returning from a photography pilgrimage my ritual is to rush to download the photos to my computer, post on Facebook, and email links to my friends and acquaintances. I enjoy the positive comments that flow back.

Developing a deeply-personal art has allowed me to rediscover an intimacy with my own curiosity and creative gene (a spark we all share). It doesn’t matter if we have formally studied art, are making money from it, or are defined by others as an “artist.” I believe an artist is inside of every living being.

Aboriginal people world-wide recognize this hard-wiring in humans much more than we in the industrialized world.  Each member of the tribe participates in singing, dancing and playing instruments.

Let’s embrace our birthright to express ourselves in the artistic form of our choice. As well as immediately making you more present, welcoming art into your life can be a healing experience that will propel you along a path to self-discovery. I’ve started to amble down that path, and it all began with a simple memory card!

Lately, I've been becoming more interested in taking photos of people, and on September 11, 2010 I'm hosting my first photography exhibit!  It's all a continuum of artistic expression that continues to grow.

Cyndi is the Community Manager for Soul's Code and also works at the Hamilton Training Advisory Board as a Project and Communications Coordinator.   She enjoys eating cheese, drinking wine and keeping it real in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Connect with her on facebook.

GUEST COLUMN: SARAH MCCLURE, read part 1 of this 2 part series — My path drew me like a magnet to the annual gathering of dakas and dakinis in May 2009 and again in May 2010, at the Sedona Temple , International School of Temple Arts, in Sedona, Arizona.

This experience opened me to a world where I was able to claim my path as Temple Priestess, as I gathered with like-minded and deeply sensual people dedicated to being of service in the world as sacred sexual healers expressed in a myriad of ways.

The past two years of my life have been an intensive period of self-examination, self-discovery, deep sexual healing and opening to the study of the temple arts.

I learned that most of the shamanic spiritual journeys I had experienced were all related to sacred sexual rites, and I was being called to take responsibility for transmitting these insights and offering this healing to other people.

Who am I serving in this work?

I work with men who have a deep awareness that sexual expression and aliveness is vitally important in their lives and who wish to engage with the world in a truly powerful, free, healthy and spiritually aligned way. These are men who wish to structure their family lives, work lives and love lives in a totally passionate and sacred way. It is a new way that has never before been lived in history – where the Divine Masculine is deeply honored in complete harmony with the Divine Feminine.

Is this possible?

Yes. . .totally! And the pathway is being revealed to us all, if we are willing to step up.

I have created the Penis Heart ceremony, a magical and simple ritual where there is loving attention offered to remind the man of the sacred joining of the energies of the lingam (sanskrit word for penis) and his heart.

When this connection is strong and secure, the man is able to trust his penis and live passionately, knowing he is connected to his heart and hence, the Divine. I know one man, with whom I have worked, who now uses his penis as both barometer and compass to lead him in a passionate life.

How does the magick work?

It is simple, mysterious, and efficient.  The key ingredient is love.  In the sacred body-work, I am playing as the wind, the water, the fire, the earth. This sacred elemental healing work is deeply sensual and creative, highly nurturing, can be wildly erotic, and of utmost importance — performed in deep safety.

I am creating a safe container for the man to allow the energies to move through, clearing any blockages, for him to open up and awaken to a new space for love to live the new paradigm — free of sexual shame. When our sexual energy is connected with our heart and LOVE, the point of our connection with the Divine, no harm can ever be done.

Very simply, I would say that the people like myself who are doing this work in the deepest integrity, are the ones who are constantly clearing themselves and are using their hands simply to bring love and light as they sacredly touch and remind the person of who they really are.  They are reminding them that they are worthy to be touched and to touch with love and respect — they can be allowed to make sounds, allowed to be free and wild, allowed to weep and to flow with tears.

Am I “making love” with my clients?  No, I am not engaging in sexual intercourse with my clients, although I have heard that some sexual healers do appropriately engage in this level of work when called to.

My Penis Heart ceremony is prayerful and sensual and nurturing. I am opening to deep communication with another’s Spirit. So, in fact, our Spirits do merge as one. So, yes, this is “making love”. I am using my body as a love channel. Yes, I almost always receive deep pleasure through this work. There are some folks who don’t understand or who degrade my work.  My response to this challenge, from my heart, is that experiencing deep joy from one’s work is a sure sign this is one’s heart-work and is of great service.

Read part one of this series: The life and times of a sacred prostitute.

Sarah is a sacred sexual healer, enchantress, and dancing temple gypsy, with fairy roots who lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.  If you are interested in learning more about Sarah’s work or have questions please send her an email with Penis Heart in the subject line.

Visit her site to find out more.

GUEST COLUMN: SARAH MCCLURE, part 1 of 2 parts — Over time I have learned that sex has been a tremendous energetic focus in my life and one that I kept quite secret, even shamefully hidden.

During much of my adolescent and adult life I used my sexual energy to hook men’s attention — my way of searching for love in the world.

I eventually became aware that this was hugely depleting to my energy and created confusion and harm to myself and others.

When studying Tai chi with master Duff Doel, of Dundas, Ontario in the late ‘90s, I learned that there were some movements that I simply could not master due to my body posture. My teacher, who was also a Reiki master, offered to do Reiki on my sacral area.

In what seemed to be a very brief healing a huge shift occurred, one which changed my life. Up until this point, it felt normal for me to be in a state of constant subtle sexual stimulation. No wonder then that so much of my energy was spent on seeking gratification to relieve myself from this state of overstimulation.

Freedom from the "itch" of sexual desire

That summer, to my surprise, and relief, I experienced the first extended period of my life where I felt free from being driven by sexual desire. At the time I was in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, pouring myself passionately into the dance of the Celts.

When I questioned Doel on what the root of this manifestation in my body might have been, he stated that for some people, this stems from actual physical sexual abuse, and for many, it can simply be created by being in a sexually threatening environment.

For example, being in the presence of an uncle who spoke inappropriately can send our bodies into a protective mode, tilting the pelvis and subsequently creating a posture which produces constant sexual stimulation. Ironic, is it not?

What was spoken seemed to ring true for me. I had no memory of being sexually abused as a child.  Interestingly enough, the example Doel chose to illustrate his point did connect with my family history.  I have a memory of being in the presence of an uncle with whom I did not feel safe, and also I had concerns about my mother’s safety.

Could it be that I took on empathically through my little pre-pubescent body, my mother’s fear or subversive sexual titillation by my uncle?

My release into dance

When I began to believe that I couldn’t trust myself sexually, dance became my safe way of expressing my sensuality, moving my energy, and connecting spiritually. It felt so deeply safe and free of confusion. I poured myself into flamenco, modern, African, Cape Breton step, contact improv. This became my new focus that honored my sensuality, my rich and wild feminine expression.

When I became a teacher and leader in dance facilitation, I noticed that many people were experiencing very deep healing through my work with them. When I looked at it closely, I became aware that actually, it all seemed to be connected to sexual healing.

It would not be unlikely for a woman to break down and gush tears during some of the partner exercises I was leading.  For some, this was such a powerful reminder of how they wished to be touched and held with such love, respect and tenderness. For some, the tears were about the sadness of leading a life devoid of sensuality when they knew deeply that this meant so much to them. For many, shutting down was the only known safe way.

Over time, I found out that I was actually using dance as a safe substitute for deep sexual intimacy, which I determined was hugely important in my life. This admission to myself was huge.  My path led me to find ways to structure my life to invite in sacred sexual living that would be healthy and life-enhancing. I was being called to clear lifetimes of sexual guilt and unhealthy, destructive patterns related to sexual oppression and suppression.

My journey led me to answer the following questions: How could one live a life fully alive sexually, and be in alignment spiritually, and not cause harm to myself or others? Could this be possible in our modern day world so full of sexual taboo?

Read part two next week as Sarah explains her journey to creating the Penis Heart ceremony, a ritual that aids men in the joining of the energies of their penis and heart.

Sarah is a sacred sexual healer, enchantress, and dancing temple gypsy, with fairy roots who lives in Nova Scotia, Canada.  If you are interested in learning more about Sarah’s work or have questions please send her an email with Penis Heart in the subject line.

Visit her site to find out more.

Dr. Philippe Goldin, a psychologist who heads the Clinically Applied Affective Neuroscience Group at Stanford University, runs a National Institutes of Health-funded lab that studies adults with social anxiety disorder, and offers training in mindfulness meditation.

We caught up with Dr. Goldin, who spent six years in India and Nepal studying various languages and Buddhist philosophy.

Soul's Code: What's the appeal of Buddhism for you?

GOLDIN: Androgyny. The goal— the ultimate goal — of mental development is to become completely inclusive of all qualities, and I thought that was incredible . . . That was a model of being that I had not been introduced to before — the way you could develop wisdom and compassion and skillfulness, that it's not abstract, and that there are actual steps towards being able to train your mind. And that other people had done it, and you could do it too if you're willing to make the effort.

Soul's Code: Is that your personal spiritual practice?

GOLDIN: I lead meditation groups. I also try to practice every day — a little bit, formal and informal. What I call meaningful pauses, to redirect my attention to notice what's happening in my mind, my body; observing habits and trying to let go.

Soul's Code: Does your work confirm studies that have shown how monks have apparently boosted the capacity of their brains through thousands of hours of meditation?

GOLDIN: The people who are the superstars? Yeah, we do expect them to be different in some of the tests and measurements. But I'm more interested in how you can take the regular person and teach them skills to work with themselves. To me, that's how you get at the masses.

I'm working with the regular Joe, with Joe the plumber. I'm really interested in the regular person, people who are suffering from depression, anxiety, stress and how you can teach them skills that they can learn to implement so that they can have their own direct experience working with their mind, introspection.

Soul's Code: Is there heightened interest in your field now, given the stressful economic times?

GOLDIN: Now — and in fact, always. Our current culture is set up to induce fear. Most of the signals we have are about, 'It's not okay to be the way I am.' That causes tension, anxiety and stress — be it economic, the fashion models in magazines, or how we're supposed to be parents, or how we're supposed to be children.

Our culture is really not very healthy, and the demands placed on people at work — inter-personally — is huge right now. There is tremendous stress and a real lack of training in how to be okay with oneself.

Soul's Code: Is that the type of training you are doing at Google?

GOLDIN: Last spring I was contacted by them about doing a research study, and I just started more and more projects with them. Google is doing some fantastic work on developing programs to train employees in emotional balance and emotional intelligence. Everyone there is super intelligent, so pure IQ is not the issue.

They're actually addressing how (to help employees) be able to be skillful with their own emotions, for their own benefit and for the benefit of others. Lots of companies recognize that if a person feels anxiety about coming to work, or has incredibly low self-esteem, or suffers from anxiety or depression, that that's completely counterproductive.

Soul's Code: Can people control how happy they feel?

GOLDIN: You could consider happiness a trait, but I think it's a trainable skill. And that skill rides on psychological flexibility. And part of that is being able to be emotionally aware, and to be able to work with or regulate and modulate you're emotions . . . To me, psychological flexibility is the basis for being happy and well.