The Tao of Poo
In the ecology of both our microcosmic life and our macrocosmic universe, there is a balance of sacred and profane. This duality is actually born from our limited human perspective – which creates judgments that split reality into right and wrong. If we could see from a greater vantage point, we would realize that our understanding is skewed because a higher perspective always transcends ideas of good and evil.
When I learned to integrate the dirty side of my psyche with the sublime, I found an amazing wealth of compassion arise. Before that, I was very judgmental of the darkness within myself and others. To avoid my own condemnation, I strove to lead an impeccable life in my thoughts and actions. It was definitely idealistic but impossible to sustain. And even worse, it was impossible to find anyone else who could sustain it either. Ironically, it was in fully accepting that I am capable of the best AND the worst things imaginable, that I freed myself from the duality and saw the divinity present in all things. When we release fear and judgment, a greater truth can emerge from our brilliant hearts. Embracing the sacred and the profane is a key part of Epic Evolution and while it certainly makes us wiser and freer, it also gives us the capacity for “reverent irreverence” – which is the cosmic humor available in every experience. One playful example of this is the Tao of Poo.
On a profane and mundane level, poo is relegated to a lower class of existence by our modern societies. Words like “bullshit or crap” are used to denote nasty conditions or behaviors and being compared to an anus is usually not a compliment. Though our ancestors lived in villages where the dung of humans and animals persisted in all corners, most societies now try to channel it out of sight and out of mind. In polite conversation, we are asked not to speak of it in any way. Be it the “ethereal” nature of a fart or the more substantial presence of excrement, we either laugh uncomfortably or cringe at the smell or sight of it.
Where we do seem to enjoy some scatological fun is in the form of toilet humor, with friends who don’t mind some crass comedy. It brings about a special kind of innocent yet base laughter. South Park is not the only place to find this type of humor (with a piece of talking poo as a recurring character) – it seems to exist in nearly every culture I’ve encountered. Children especially get a kick out of it but many adults are just as partial to this lighthearted profanity. Whenever we can joke with someone in this way, there seems to be a peculiar camaraderie and a comfort zone we’ve reached. Even my normally stoic grandmother will giggle when I make fart jokes in Cantonese with her.
On a sacred and epic level, poo is the measure of our health and a crucial catalyst in our food chain. Our daily bowel movements reveal how well we are processing nutrients and how efficiently we are detoxifying. In our waste is encoded our wellness. In most health systems, a ritual of observing the contents of our daily “dump” is imperative to the early detection of illness. “Check your stool, don’t be a fool” says Mr. T of a healthier generation. And “it’s a shitty job but somebody’s gotta do it” might be the quiet mantra of farmers who grow our food with this most fundamental of all fertilizers. Even though we call it “solid waste”, Mother Nature may prefer to call it “solid gold” as it is received by the earth with warm welcome in the cycle of life.
It’s telling to note that our most basic biological functions are wired for pleasure. When our bodies are healthy, it actually feels incredibly good to “shit and piss”! There are many nerves found in the rectum and sphincter which allow pleasurable or painful sensations. The woman’s G-spot and the man’s prostrate can be indirectly stimulated via the wall of the rectum so although anal sex may still be taboo in some places, it has long been an option in the “annals of sexual history”. Freud’s psychosexual stages of development include an anal stage where the retention and expulsion of feces provides unique pleasure for the toddler. One theory I’d read stated that various trauma around potty training can lead to obsessive behaviors like “anal retentiveness” or cause sexual associations with urination or defecation. This latter phenomenon is shown in the uncut version of “Team America” (a marionette film by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame). If that is too far out for some to even contemplate, then the universal pleasure sensation that all people are familiar with is at least the “orgasmic” release of a good bowel movement!
If we want to get really personal, then my own brief history of going to the loo would be an evolution from discomfort to pleasure. I was often “irregular” as a child – dealing with constipation that made this basic life function somewhat of a “pain in the ass”. Once I was a young adult and had gained my personal autonomy, it changed into “lightning poo” where the peristalsis was strong, the poo was well-formed and it would shoot out like a torpedo. This change in my bowel constitution paralleled the change in my life situation: from being stuck as a child and unable to move, to being freed as an adult and able to go where I pleased.
My positive poo associations took another leap in 2001 when I decided to try colonics at a clinic in Vancouver (Vestta Whole Health). It was at the “tail end” of a 5-year exploration of alternative health modalities I’d undertaken on my holistic journey into wellness. Here, I would receive a series of professional enemas that included specific herbs and supplements to facilitate the cleanse of my intestinal tract. After 5 treatments spread out over 1 month, I lost 10 pounds of intestinal goo – or what they call “mucoid plaque”. I looked the same so it was not body fat I lost, it was old waste compacted against the intestinal walls! Apparently, most people have lots of mucoid plaque buildup but are not aware of it. Many of us are carrying around “old shit” that we no longer need.
However, the biggest gift from that experience was meeting my bestfriend Dhyanna. She was the wonderful colonic hydrotherapist who did the sessions with me. It’s pretty intimate to have someone put a tube up your bum and massage your belly as you watch ancient debris release from your body. Every time something came out, she would cheer me on. As my friend John cunningly joked: with friends like that, who needs enemas? While ‘shootin the shit’ together, I felt a very special resonance with her soul. We’ve since cultivated the most amazing relationship – supporting each other through all kinds of joys and sorrows over the last decade. Dhyanna now lives in the States but we are closer than ever.
As I write this article in January 2012, I see that a similar experience is happening. A decade later, I have come to do a major cleanse which involves colonics as part of the program and I have again met a kindred soul! This time, it is not my colonic therapist but the founder of this Ayurvedic retreat centre. He won’t be in the treatment room with me but he too is not averse to speaking about the health of my bowel movements. Again, the frankness or lack of taboo topics is a special aspect of intimacy. We can really become close with someone when we can talk about anything: from the sacred to the profane. I am enjoying the great cosmic joke for it appears that even the Universe likes a little toilet humor…
As my friend Andrew has joked – maybe my nickname should be “little poo” – at least whenever my potty humor emerges. Here is a little poem I wrote for him a few years ago when we got into a rowdy exchange of poop jokes:
There is much ado
About a mountain of poo…
Oh why do we love to
talk about poo?
There are even those who
would like to know you
through a close view
of what you leave in the loo
if hard like a shoe
or small like a cashew
then one will need to accrue
more fibre and chew
If soft like fondue
or sticky like glue
one might have the flu
or need a new menu!
One can find great value
in spending a moment or two
at the feet of the guru
that is this mountain of poo
Blessed by Vishnu
may we drink the cosmic brew
which will make us spew
a primordial brown goo
From whence will issue
a world without taboo
yet all manner of virtue
amidst our mountains of poo…