Asceticism and Hedonism
Most people's responses to the physical world are somewhere on a continuum between asceticism and hedonism. At one extreme, the ascetic avoids the sensual pleasures of the physical world, even inflicting pain on himself or herself to deny interest in physical pleasure. At the other end of the continuum, the hedonist pursues physical pleasure compulsively.
Most people have elements of both the ascetic and hedonist. They believe they must abstain from certain behavior because God wants them to or it is a sin, but yet they pursue other sensual behavior with abandon. Some religions actually have injunctions against sensual pleasures but escape routes so the believer can enjoy them without "sinning."
This explanation shows why the two are actually, at their roots, the same inappropriate responses to the physical world.
Asceticism
Denial of the physical world and separation from it have been practiced throughout the history of religion. The image of monks, nuns, hermits, gurus, and others living a life with few or no physical pleasures is common in our culture.
For the extreme ascetics, the physical world is bad; God is good. To be closer to God, a person must deny the physical world. The more the person denies the physical world, the closer to God or more pleasing to God the person is.
The average person's view of the physical world is not as extreme, but is still tainted by the ascetic influence in religious teaching and tradition. In our culture, we have been reared to have the sense that the more pleasurable something is in the physical world, the more a sin it must be. And so, we have a sense that if we're having too much fun, it must be wrong; we must be separating ourselves from God and doing something that would displease God. We continue to do it, but with a sense of guilt.
On the other hand, if something lacks pleasure or even inflicts pain, it most be more godly or righteous. And so, the faithful endure physical pain, self-mutilation, and sitting through hours of dull church services. Since it isn't fun, it must be good for the soul.
As a result, this first response to the physical world is characterizied by denying the physical world and its pleasures--in effect, moving away from the physical world.
Hedonism
The alternative response to the physical world is hedonism, characterized by the pursuit of sensual pleasure--in effect, moving toward the physical world.
The hedonist seeks out and enjoys sensual pleasures wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself. This response to the physical world is to embrace it wholeheartedly.
Hedonism appears to be ungodly or sinful or bad to us because of our strong common religious backgrounds that have taught us that anything sensual cannot be godly or in God's pleasure, not because there is something inherently good or bad about it. That is difficult for us to comprehend because of the pervasiveness of the Judeo-Christian point of view in our perceptions of life. Sex, for example, is not inherently good or bad, godly or ungodly, righteous or unrighteous, spritual or physical: it simply is. We overlay the judgment on it.
As with asceticism, we all have some elements of the hedonist. We indulge ourselves when we can give ourselves permission to do so. Marriage, for example, makes sex permissable. Fat Tuesday makes revelling permissable.
Balance
Both asceticism and hedonism are obsessions with the physical world. The ascetic obsessively denies the physical world; the hedonist obsessively indulges in it.
The response is analogous to a person's response to control, especially teenagers. When a teenager is controlled by a parent, it is as though the parent were, figuratively, holding the teenager in a tight embrace. The teenager will either go limp and do whatever the parent wants, or struggle and rebel, pushing away with great force.
Both responses are dominated by the parent's control. Neither allows the teenager to explore his or her own identity and find a satisfying relationship with the parent or directions in life. The parent's control is dominating the teenager's life as strongly for the one who rebels and refuses to do anything the parent requires as it is for the one who does anything the parent requires. Both are obsessions with the parent's control; both stunt the teenager's ability to grow to responsible adulthood.
Similary, the ascetic and hedonist are both obsessed with the physical world. One's obsession is to deny it; the other's is to embrace it. However, the obsession with the physical world stands in the way of both growing and finding a more satisfying, balanced relationship between their spiritual being and physical being.
What makes the obsessions of the teenager, ascetic, and hedonist identical is the fact that all are assigning responsiblity for their well-being and contentment to things and people outside of themselves. None are taking responsibility for their own lives and finding the well-being and contentment in their own resources.
The ascetic believes that enjoying the sensual nature of the world will make him or her deny God or lose contact with God. The hedonist believes that embracing the physical world wholeheartedly will make him or her happy and content.
We are meant to both enjoy the physical world and grow in unique ways our Higher Selves and God have in mind for us. We are meant to be responsible for our own contentment and bliss. Expecting anyone or anything outside of ourselves to provide contentment and happiness for us or believing they can deny it to us, results in the obsession with the physical world that will continue to keep us from having the joy and peace that is ours for the taking. We cannot become more responsible when we assign responsibility to things and people outside of ourselves.
We are always in balance with God and our Higher Selves, whatever we are doing and whatever the circumstances in our lives. We are all we are meant to be. However, we can grow to understand our spiritual nature and enjoy the bliss that understanding brings. Our perspective on the physical world will moderate and mellow. Its slings and arrows won't have the effect on us they have when we are invested wholly in the physical world.
As we live in the physical realm, we can choose to do anything and still be in balance with God. By accepting responsibility for our own contentment and well-being, we allow ourselves the opportunity to grow in the richness of our relationship with God, those around us, and the sensual universe.
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