Female

Founder of the Temple of the Red Lotus, Inara is a Qadishtu priestess who believes in the sacredness of sex and pleasure. Inara describes herself as a bisexual, polyamorous, eclectic pagan. A teacher and lifelong practitioner of yoga, she follows a path of finding enlightenment by healing the mind-body-spirit split that occurs in Western society. Ecstatic dance, drumming, sex, yoga, ritual, energy manipulation and healing, research and reflection are the avenues Inara uses and encourages for spiritual expression and development.

Inara runs several online discussion groups on sacred sexuality and offers workshops and classes on yoga, breath work, sacred sexuality, teenage sex education, menstruation reclamation, and Native American drumming/singing. She has been a guest instructor for the Indigo Village Summer Camp, and a guest lecturer at the University of Redlands in California and at St. Patrick's Cathedral School in Pennsylvania. Additionally, she has performed private yoga demonstrations for select audiences around the country. Inara is a published author, with articles and poetry appearing in SpiritOne ezine, The Common People magazine, Atlanta Rising magazine and the Carolina Spirit Quest newsletter.

Inara organize the Village of Greenwood at Dreaming in 2004 and 2005. She also coordinated the Adult Play area at FireDance 2004 and DayDreaming: Greenwood in 2005, a day-long sacred sex intensive. Inara presented a three course seminar on sacred sexuality at Bio-Buzz in Albany, GA. She created the Temple of the Red Lotus as an organization devoted to promoting and practicing sacred sexuality and the Qadishtu path.

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The Temple of the Red Lotus, based in Atlanta, GA, is devoted to recognizing and promoting the sanctity of sex, the body, love, relationships and other connections. We believe that enlightenment can be attained by learning to integrate all three aspects of our being: the mind, the spirit, and the body. We also feel that one of the most powerful ways to integrate all three is through the practices of sacred sexuality. Many religions teach enlightenment through transcending the body. The Temple of the Red Lotus teaches that enlightenment and bliss can be achieved through embracing the body and all its sensual pleasures.

MISSION

To promote positive, healthy, sacred attitudes toward sexuality. To educate about the interconnectedness between sexuality and spirituality. To facilitate the integration of mind, body and spirit. To celebrate our oneness with divinity through reclaiming the sanctity of our bodies and our sexuality. To train others to follow the Qadishtu path.

VISION

To provide a safe and comfortable atmosphere for learning, healing, exploring, and honoring one's sexuality, body image, and relationships. To provide a structure and process for training others to walk the Qadishtu path, and to provide a home base of operations for trained Qadishti.