Explore - how Gestalt Psychotherapy views sexuality. Try - a layered onion exercise to bring deeper self-awareness of your relationship with sexuality, illuminating areas of comfort and discomfort for further exploration — should you chose the adventure. Conclude - with deeper self-awareness and a discovery of new truths how your sexual self shows up in the world.

Are Onions Sexual? Let's Find Out Through A Powerful Exercise

<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*7C0-8LH8RSplpwFaIPTTUA.jpeg" width="785" height="524"><figcaption class="ix iy cz cx cy iz ja ce b ga cg fi" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Sexy farmer with onions | Image By <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/g/foto+infot" class="ck jb" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Anel Alijagic</a>, Shutterstock</figcaption></figure>Sexuality is not just about sex. Many facets impact the way we relate to sexuality within ourselves and with others. Consider the list through the lens of culture, sexual orientation, gender identity and, personal history. This article explores how <a href="https://gestalt.on.ca/" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Gestalt psychotherapy</a> views sexuality and follows with an exercise to bring deeper self-awareness of your relationship with sexuality, illuminating areas of comfort and discomfort for further exploration — should you chose the adventure.Gestalt psychotherapy views sexuality as energy. The <a href="http://thebristoltherapist.co.uk/rising-and-falling-the-cycle-of-gestalt-formation-and-destruction/" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Gestalt Cycle of Awareness</a>, seen below, is considered an entire flow of energy. In a later article, I will explore the cycle using a personal case study; however, the importance is knowledge of the cycle’s existence, and understanding sexuality is built into the process. We do not want to withhold or repress that energy, nor do we want to throw it around with complete unawareness. Allowing your sexuality to ‘be’ and be held lightly is of critical importance not only in the therapist/client relationship but also in daily life.<figure><img alt="Gestalt Cycle Of Awareness" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*VsDrbUPnp3Q9J_hA5cjLdw.png" width="680" height="427"><figcaption class="ix iy cz cx cy iz ja ce b ga cg fi" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Gestalt Cycle Of Awareness | Image from <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/medisex/ws4-gestalt-therapy-to-webiste" class="ck jb" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">slideshare.net</a></figcaption></figure>If challenges persist within the layers of sexuality, the issues may disrupt the connection we have with our sexual energy and, in turn, may impact how we relate to others.One example of this scenario lives within the therapist/client relationship. Given the interaction is co-created, as a therapist, I cannot ignore how I may contribute to bringing sexual energy into the therapeutic context. Sometimes the state happens on a subconscious level without any purposeful intention.Here is a conscious example. I like men who exude both male and female energy — what happens if one of my clients contains both of these parts? How will I behave? The opposite is true. What if one of my clients happens to like long brown hair and freckles? How will he (or she) respond? While I can’t answer to the latter, what is essential here, is my own embodied self-awareness and how I react.Our capacity to choose wisely about how sexuality emerges in our lives depends on how we’ve managed our issues around sexuality.How do we know if we have resolved or unresolved issues surrounding our sexuality? The following simple exercise brings key challenges into our force field of awareness.<figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*42_RZ7RvgxVR4TbjEQEP9g.jpeg" width="680" height="453"><figcaption class="ix iy cz cx cy iz ja ce b ga cg fi" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">The many layers and facets of an onion, much like our sexuality | Image By <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Katkami" class="ck jb" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">Katkami</a>, Shutterstock</figcaption></figure><h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">Peeling The Sexual Onion</h2>Can onions be sexual? Let’s find out. The onion exercise aims to source the layers of complexity surrounding our sexuality and discover what emerges into awareness. The activity also acts as a powerful aid to help prioritize challenges from least to most. Here are the simple instructions.<UL><LI>Find ten pieces of paper and a writing utensil.</LI><LI>On each piece of paper, write down what sexuality means to you — whether you conjure positive or negative images in your imagination. You can consider the first word that pops into your mind or write a short scene you recall from memory. If it helps, think about ideas or behaviors you inherited from your parents or the environment. Each consideration warrants one unique page; if you’re able to write 10, fantastic! If not, that’s OK too. When I performed the exercise, I identified five.</LI><LI>Spread out the pages. Now, rank the content on your paper from the highest priority or sensitivity to the least.</LI><LI>Next, take the highest priority sheet of paper and crumple it up into a ball.</LI><LI>Follow that by layering the second priority sheet of paper over the first and crumple that.</LI><LI>Continue to cover and crumple until you have the least prioritized piece of paper as your top layer. Consider the process like an onion with multiple layers and complexities.</LI></UL>Now that you have your multi-layered onion of sexuality, what do you do with it? Here are some considerations:<UL><LI>When you slowly unpeel the onion, observe your inner sensation with every unravel. Do your emotions change as you get closer to the inner core of the paper onion? If so, where do you experience feelings in your body?</LI><LI>Was there a new revelation that took you by surprise?</LI><LI>If you feel enough psychological safety, you are welcome to share the exercise with your partner, a friend, or you may even decide to communicate the sexual onion experience with a therapist.</LI><LI>How much work you decide to put into your sexual onion is up to you. You may choose to do nothing at all, wait for another time, or further process the exercise to determine if inner work is required.</LI></UL>The onion activity outcome demonstrates how sexuality exists in our lives and reveals how well we’ve managed our issues on the topic. You may discover new truths about yourself and how you show up in the world to others.More like this:

Sexuality is not just about sex. Many facets impact the way we relate to sexuality within ourselves and with others. Consider the list through the lens of culture, sexual orientation, gender identity…

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Sexuality is not just about sex. Many facets impact the way we relate to sexuality within ourselves and with others. Consider the list through the lens of culture, sexual orientation, gender identity and, personal history. This article explores how <a dir="ltr" href="https://gestalt.on.ca/" rel="noopener nofollow">Gestalt psychotherapy </a>views sexuality and follows with an exercise to bring deeper self-awareness of your relationship with sexuality, illuminating areas of comfort and discomfort for further exploration — should you chose the adventure .

Gestalt psychotherapy views sexuality as energy . The <a dir="ltr" href="http://thebristoltherapist.co.uk/rising-and-falling-the-cycle-of-gestalt-formation-and-destruction/" rel="noopener nofollow">Gestalt Cycle of Awareness </a>, seen below, is considered an entire flow of energy. In a later article, I will explore the cycle using a personal case study; however, the importance is knowledge of the cycle’s existence, and understanding sexuality is built into the process. We do not want to withhold or repress that energy, nor do we want to throw it around with complete unawareness. Allowing your sexuality to ‘be’ and be held lightly is of critical importance not only in the therapist/client relationship but also in daily life.

If challenges persist within the layers of sexuality, the issues may disrupt the connection we have with our sexual energy and, in turn, may impact how we relate to others.

One example of this scenario lives within the therapist/client relationship. Given the interaction is co-created, as a therapist, I cannot ignore how I may contribute to bringing sexual energy into the therapeutic context. Sometimes the state happens on a subconscious level without any purposeful intention.

Here is a conscious example. I like men who exude both male and female energy — what happens if one of my clients contains both of these parts? How will I behave? The opposite is true. What if one of my clients happens to like long brown hair and freckles? How will he (or she) respond? While I can’t answer to the latter, what is essential here, is my own embodied self-awareness and how I react.

How do we know if we have resolved or unresolved issues surrounding our sexuality? The following simple exercise brings key challenges into our force field of awareness.

Can onions be sexual? Let’s find out. The onion exercise aims to source the layers of complexity surrounding our sexuality and discover what emerges into awareness. The activity also acts as a powerful aid to help prioritize challenges from least to most. Here are the simple instructions.

<ul><li>Find ten pieces of paper and a writing utensil. </li><li>On each piece of paper, write down what sexuality means to you — whether you conjure positive or negative images in your imagination. You can consider the first word that pops into your mind or write a short scene you recall from memory. If it helps, think about ideas or behaviors you inherited from your parents or the environment. Each consideration warrants one unique page; if you’re able to write 10, fantastic! If not, that’s OK too. When I performed the exercise, I identified five. </li><li>Spread out the pages. Now, rank the content on your paper from the highest priority or sensitivity to the least. </li><li>Next, take the highest priority sheet of paper and crumple it up into a ball. </li><li>Follow that by layering the second priority sheet of paper over the first and crumple that. </li><li>Continue to cover and crumple until you have the least prioritized piece of paper as your top layer. Consider the process like an onion with multiple layers and complexities. </li> </ul>

Now that you have your multi-layered onion of sexuality, what do you do with it? Here are some considerations:

<ul><li>When you slowly unpeel the onion, observe your inner sensation with every unravel. Do your emotions change as you get closer to the inner core of the paper onion? If so, where do you experience feelings in your body? </li><li>Was there a new revelation that took you by surprise? </li><li>If you feel enough psychological safety, you are welcome to share the exercise with your partner, a friend, or you may even decide to communicate the sexual onion experience with a therapist. </li><li>How much work you decide to put into your sexual onion is up to you. You may choose to do nothing at all, wait for another time, or further process the exercise to determine if inner work is required. </li> </ul>

The onion activity outcome demonstrates how sexuality exists in our lives and reveals how well we’ve managed our issues on the topic. You may discover new truths about yourself and how you show up in the world to others.

More like this:

The Sexual Onion Exercise; Unpacking Our Multiple Layers

Are Onions Sexual? Let's Find Out Through A Powerful Exercise

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