Spirituality and Nudism

There may be no inherent connection between spirituality and nudism, but for me they go hand in hand. Before I go further, I should define what I mean by spirituality. Webster's dictionary defines spirituality as "the quality or state of being spiritual", and defines spiritual as "of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit".

Taken in context with those definitions, nudism has been a spiritual experience for me. It uplifts my spirit, just as meditation does. And just as regular meditation gives me peace of mind, the ability to focus and a general state of wellness, nudism does too. Empirically proving that meditation helps me in the ways I've described is easy - if I stop, I see the benefits gradually diminish, and if I start again, I see the benefits kick back in. Similarly, if I cannot be a nudist for a while, I see the benefits diminish, and vice versa.


I concede that it may not be easy to make the connection between cause and effect. We are after all human beings with complex variables that continually affect us, so narrowing down the specific cause and the specific effect is not easy. I have however found a correlation in my state of mind and nudism, just as I have with meditation. Of course, I combine the two whenever I can, as the accompanying photograph shows ...

Talking To Others About Being a Nudist

In the past, I haven't told too many people that I'm a nudist. I've wanted to, but I've hesitated. Lately I've mentioned it to some friends by steering the conversation towards the topic and there has always been acceptance, which has been mildly surprising.

From now on, I plan to speak about my being a nudist openly if it comes up in conversation, but not go out of my way to bring the subject up. Hesitation, worrying about what others will think, and bringing it up as though it is unusual will only lead to others thinking that I myself believe there is something wrong with nudism. Talking about it as a matter-of-fact will show others that it really is something normal; it's just another life choice. I guess this is part of my evolution as a nudist. Unless I fully accept my decisions myself, I really can't expect others to accept them, can I?

This WILL be a Happy Nude Year!

This is a fairly long post, and at first glance it may seem to have nothing to do with the title of the post ... but stick with my long-winded thought process ...

2009 was a year of transformation for me. At the beginning of 2009, my mind was a mess. I had hit an all-time low personally and professionally. From the outside, things might have looked the same as they always had - I lived in the same house with the same family, I interacted with mostly the same folks, and I worked at the same job. But internally, it all came crashing down. One year later, at the beginning of 2010, my life is looking better than it ever has!

As part of the transformation, I discovered who I really am. I discovered that I really do like simplicity, I really do want to leave a small footprint, I really am a vegetarian, I like to read a lot, I am comfortable with quietness, I function best when I have routine in my life - from meditating and exercising regularly to sleeping early and getting up early - and I really am a nudist. I sometimes wondered if some of these were just silly notions, but now I know that they are really who I am. Discovering, embracing, and accepting who I really am has given me peace of mind and calmness. As a result I also have a better relationship with my family and I am more productive at work.

A few good friends, and many good books helped me through this year. A couple of books had an especially large influence on my transformation - The Three Marriages by David Whyte and Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. I read them both twice in 2009, and didn't get bored the second time around!

I also started to write in 2009. I had intense feelings that I just had to express, and decided to do so in a journal. To my surprise, they came out as poems. I had never written poetry, and had never thought myself capable of it, but there is was to my surprise. I also started writing this blog.

2009 started with sickness; not your normal definition of mental sickness, but it was sickness all the same. Let's just say I had a problem with all kinds of relationships - with others, with my work and with myself. Nudism turned was the key to my recovery. Initially, there was one problem with it - the problem of acceptance by my family. Patience and perseverance has finally led to their acceptance, and that's why I think 2010 is going to be a Happy Nude Year! On the 3rd of January, I went to Black's Beach for the first time with no reservations on their part, and it was a more beautiful and peaceful feeling than ever before.

The future seems bright and clear since the present is the only thing that really matters. Here's to many happy days at the beach, and continuous progress!