BETONY VERNON UNPUBLISHED IMAGES FROM ISSUE003

/ BETONY VERNON WEARING PARADISE FOUND HORSEHAIR BRUSH RING & JEAN PAUL GAULTIER ARCHIVE CORSET




/ BETONY VERNON WEARING VILSBOL DE ARCE BEIGE LEATHER DRESS

MONIKA BIELSKYTE / THERE IS THAT INCREDIBLE PHRASE BY YUKIO MISHIMA THAT I LOVE SO MUCH, ‘THEY ARE VERY WELL AWARE THAT ONLY THROUGH SEXUAL DESIRE MAY ONE APPROACH GOD; THAT IS, BEAUTY’.

BETONY VERNON / I AGREE WITH YUKIO MISHIMA; THE ORGASM IS PROBALBY THE CLOSEST WE CAN COME TO ENLIGHTENMENT WITHOUT MEDITATING. IN FACT, THE TAOISTS CONSIDERED SKILLFUL LOVEMAKING THE BEST ROUTE TO SPIRITUAL ILLUMINATION NEXT TO MEDITATION ITSELF. THINK ABOUT IT: YOU CANNOT REALLY REACH THE HEIGHTS OF AN ORGASMIC IMPACT IF YOU ARE NOT COMPLETELY DETACHED FROM REALITY, FROM EARTHLY MATTERS, FROM WORRIES AND STRESS AND ANXIETIES. IN FACT, IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU FORGOT TO DO OR ABOUT HOW MUCH CELLULITE YOU HAVE, OR HOW FAT YOU FEEL AND THINGS LIKE THIS, YOU ARE NOT LIKELY TO GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR SEXUAL ENDEAVOURS. IN ORDER TO ELABORATE THE SEXUAL CEREMONY, YOU HAVE TO FORGET ABOUT REALITY FOR A WHILE AND ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT TROUBLES YOU TOO. THE CEREMONIAL DIMENSION IS A MOMENTARY TRANSITION INTO ANOTHER REALM. IT IS A FEW DEGREES REMOVED FROM ‘REALITY’, AND IT HELPS US TO TRANSCEND THE EARTHLY REALM AND TO COMMUNICATE ON ANOTHER LEVEL… PERHAPS EVEN WITH THE GODS! WHY NOT? SEXUAL ECSTASY DISSOLVES, HOWEVER MOMENTARILY, THE EGO. MAKING LOVE IS THE GREAT ESCAPE, IT DISSOLVES REALITY. THE GREEKS CALLED THIS STATE ‘ÉXTASIS’, AND IT IMPLIED NOT ONLY ONENESS WITH ONESELF AND WITH ONE’S PARTNER, BUT ONENESS WITH GOD.

/ EXCERPT FROM A CONVERSATION BETWEEN BETONY VERNON & MONIKA BIELSKYTE / A PREVIEW OF THE FEATURE IS ONLINE / ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLY IN THE PRINTED EDITION OF SOME/THINGS MAGAZINE ISSUE003