in a time where women’s bodies were immodest, and pleasure was taboo, a goddess walked onstage and dared to love her self.
“my body is my home, my transportation, my instrument, the temple of my god and my sexuality.”
elizabeth burton
elizabeth burton was a performer, buddhist, teacher, activist, mother and hairdresser. her career began in sydney in the 60s, gogo dancing at night, hairdressing by day. she joined the rainbow show in 1968 performing for australian troops in vietnam. her work took her around the world stripping, dancing and delighting during the golden age of adult entertainment. in 1979 she came back to australia and joined the sideshow theatre company, and continued performing and teaching while she raised her daughter.
she lived in defiance of societies rules for women; she was unapologetically sexual, passionate and immodest. she performed late into her 70s in glorious defiance of youthful beauty standards.
the self titled ‘ol tart of surrey hills’ lived and preached radical self love, and taught us to find divinity in ourselves. her body was the instrument of her art and spirituality. burton found buddhism in a harlem chip shop; a chance meeting on one of her darker days. it helped her overcome abuse, addiction and ptsd through the idea of self determination.
“by sound i devote my mind and body as one to the mystic law of the universe which is cause and effect.” – you create your cause and you get your effect.
her work teaches us to take control of our own sexuality, sensuality and pleasure; everyone has the power to create a reality that they truly love.
her life was a devotion to sharing this love.
in her podcast she tells her daughter that she was put on this earth to remind people to love themselves; and tells us exactly how to do it.
whats her prescription? graciously she asks we remember just four words:
mobility, meditation, mastication and masturbation
mastication
“chew your food properly – that’s what you were given your teeth for. if you see what people do, they go chomp chomp swallow.”
elizabeth burton
the mouth is a very precious and important place. chewing your food properly is an act of gratitude, and means we can appreciate the blissful experience. the mouth is a highway to the gut and bloodstream, and the health of the teeth and gums are good indicators of whats happening elsewhere.
masturbation
take control of your pleasure, goddess! you are the most understanding and faithful lover you will ever have. self love, like anything, gets better with practice.
“orgasm is a profoundly important physical and spiritual experience. orgasm is the body’s therapy for relieving stress and tension; it is a naturally revitalising and healing experience. orgasm is our own personal little taste of the Great Cosmic Orgasm that connects us to All That Is.
barbara carrellis – author of urban tantra
many people, especially women, report that they have never experienced orgasm. carrellas teaches the concept of energy orgasms (ecstatic states caused by a buildup of energy and then a release) – and that there are no inorgsmic people, just those who have not yet experienced a genital orgasm. if you struggle to experience orgasm, or have in interest in getting better at it, learn more here:
mobility
“you’ve gotta keep moving. if you don’t move it, you lose it. whether it’s walking, or dancing, or playing a sport – whatever it is that makes you happy, keep that body moving.”
elizabeth burton
you may have heard the concept that ‘you are only as young as your spine.’ maintaining healthy joints by regularly moving them in a variety of ways maintains strength and flexibility. joints maintain self lubrication in response to load (which prevents arthritis), and contracting muscles release endogenous endorphins (the body’s own opiates) – which boosts mood and brain function.
meditation
to love yourself, you must embrace and accept your whole being. getting in touch with your inner self, as well as outer, negative and positive is a scary thing; but it is the only way we can be truly kind to ourself, or others.
“you need to love and respect who you really are, and know that you’re a good person as well as a bad person. we’ve all got that evil b*tch in us as well as that goddess.”
elizabeth burton
meditation is a state of full awareness in the present moment, being rather than doing. it can be anything that allows you to get out of your thinking mind, and into loving awareness.
ram dass (spiritual teacher, psychologist and guru) explains loving awareness:
we have to get out of our minds
our thinking minds I’ll tell you how
i do it
by using a mantra or phrase
i
am
loving
awareness
loving awareness is a name, for soul, which you really are
leads you to love everything you are aware of
the sky, the room, your body, other people
and then i ride the mantra into my heart
and in my heart, i see a doorway, or a veil to the next plane
soul land
i am loving awareness
elizabeth burton’s legacy nourishes the spirit of radical, joyful, defiant bodies the world over… may the 4 m’s remind you to live in pleasure and love.
read more:
mamamia interview with elizabeth burton
https://www.mamamia.com.au/74-year-old-stripper/
urban tantra by barbara carrellis https://www.penguin.com.au/books/urban-tantra-second-edition-9780399579684
be here, now by ram dass
domenica finch 