There's a scene in "The Godfather Part II" in which Fredo takes Michael and an entourage of important people to a nightclub in Cuba. On stage, there's a woman tied to a pole. She's wearing a sheer, flimsy slip. Drums beat in the background. A man wearing a long cape is led on stage by other flimsily dressed women. When they position the man in front of the women, they tear away his cape. The audience gasps. One of Fredo's entourage says, "I don't believe it!" Another says, "It's got to be fake." And Fredo says, "That's why they call him 'Superman.'"

The obvious insinuation is that the man has an enormous penis and it's his enormous penis that makes him powerful.

The real source of sexual power for both men and women is chi. Chi is also called prana, shakti or kundalini. In tantric traditions, kundalini energy lies dormant at the base of the spine. When kundalini is awakened, it works its way up the spine, through the seven energy centers called chakras, to merge with the totality of universal energy. In mystical traditions, this is the union of the inner feminine with the outer masculine. In Hebrew, this indwelling energy, the inner feminine presence of the Divine, is called the Shekkinah. On the Sabbath, the Shekkinah is greeted as Queen. The Godhead, or King, is also welcomed.

The Sabbath King and Queen metaphor for the union of Divine feminine and masculine is the highest level of sexuality. It only occurs when each partner is in perfect alignment with universal energy; when the energy channel flowing along the spine is completely open. In this kind of union, distinctions between masculine and feminine disappear; lovers share the rhythm of the ebb and flow of the tides. This is a state of pure ecstasy and bliss. It's a state of non-being. This is an experience of God.

This experience is stunted by energy blocks found in the chakras. Chakras have a psychospiritual function. To a certain extent, they represent a hierarchy of spiritual development that corresponds to Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

At the base of the spine lies the root chakra. The root chakra is concerned with survival.

The second chakra lies at the level of the pubic bone. This chakra is concerned with sex and sexuality and power. "Superman," described above, definitely had an overdeveloped second chakra in the sense that the sex act was all about dominance and submission.

The third chakra, lying just below the navel, represents the personal will. In Chinese traditions, this is the power center. Someone with low self-esteem would have a blockage in the third chakra.

The fourth chakra is the heart chakra. The heart chakra is the opening to the higher chakras. It's at the level of the heart that the sensitivity to feel what another is feeling is experienced. It's at the level of the heart where you learn to walk in another's moccasins.

At the base of throat lies the fifth chakra (throat chakra). This chakra is concerned with expression and communication. Depending on the openness of your heart, your communication will be based on love or on fear.

The sixth chakra is located at the pineal gland between the eyes. This chakra connects people psychically.

The seventh chakra, which sits about six inches above your crown, is the portal to the Divine. This is what Maslow would call self-actualization. Paramahansa Yogananda called it Self-Realization.

The chakras are envisioned to be wheels of whirling energy. All the chakras can work in service of lower or higher order needs. When your chakras are open, your dynamism radiates, because you're working in the service of the Divine. When the chakras are closed, the energy is stifled and your focus stays on the lower order survival-oriented needs.

Understanding the energy of the chakras can make you a much better lover. The kind of sex "Superman" was having in the nightclub is about power and control. Power and control is second chakra sex. In this kind of sex, you're conquering something. This kind of sex leaves you empty in the long run.

Real sexual prowess has nothing to do with power. Real sexual prowess comes from making yourself ready to receive the full in-flow of universal energy. Yogis spend hours, days, weeks and years working on keeping all the chakras open so that their bodies are truly instruments that are in tune with the universal flow. A genuine experience of love-making, in which you allow yourself to be the instrument of Love, saves time. Open-hearted attunement to your mate is open-hearted attunement to God.

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Dr. Sorah Dubitsky, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, teacher and healer. She conducts workshops and seminars on love, marriage, sexuality and spirituality. She also offers individual and couples counseling. She is also a fellow at Florida International University's Center for the Study of Spirituality. Her book "A Chorus of Wisdom" is available at Amazon.com and all major online and retail book outlets. Visit her website. Send an email to {email dr.sorah@drsorah.com}dr.sorah@drsorah.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Dr. Sorah Dubitsky.