Sex Magic: Manifesting Maya

Part narrative, part documentary, part unintentional comedy, due to its odd subject matter. I'm not talking about Tantric Sex, I'm talking about Baba Dez, sacred sexual healer - the epitome of a crunchy granola,chakra balancing, free loving, Sedona AZ living, hippie Guru.

Sex Magic was originally intended as a documentary on Dez's teachings at his Temple in Sedona; However, filmmaker Jonathan Schell requested Dez open up his life to create a film narrative instead, with a focus on the rocky relationship between Dez and "his beloved" Mya. Mya had come to Dez from a very broken and abused place in her life; while teaching her the art of sexual healing they fell in love. Mya becomes a skilled sexual healer in her own right and believes in intimate contact with clients, but Dez also practices polyamory, which basically is a fancy name for being extremely promiscuous (Dez has lost count as to how many lovers he's had, somewhere between 1000-2000) Mya isn't comfortable with this aspect of their relationship. On top of that, Dez gets accused by a colleague of being inappropriate with his female clients.

The term Sex Magic is the art of manifesting tangible desires through the sharing of sex, while holding the image of what you are trying to accomplish in your mind during the act. Schell said Dez practiced Sex Magic to conjure people willing to participate in sexual healing sessions on film. It worked, be prepared to see quite a bit! The whole thing makes for a very entertaining and enlightening 77 minutes. "Hold a space" for this movie if you get a chance to see it!

I've never before seen such an unrepentant scumbag as the subject of this film. A con man with a serious sex addiction along with several other possible mental illnesses who has remade himself as a sexual "healer" he takes money from those poor women out there who are lonely and/or gullible enough to buy his never-ending line of gibberish. He's a gigolo ,essentially, but unlike male prostitutes who provide an honest service to paying customers, this guy actually thinks he's rehabilitating, awakening the dormant, and generally doing the work of a saint.

The only woman in the movie who sees "Baba Dez" ("Dez" is short for Desert, even the guy's name is nauseating) is a woman named Mya, Dez's soon to be ex girlfriend. She never comes out and says it but it seems obvious she knows a grifter when she sees one. A thought occurred to me towards the end of the film: perhaps some the other women in the film see him as pitiable enough to let him think he's truly found his calling in life and is actually helping them. In other words they'll go along with his schtick as long they get pleasured well enough in bed. It's possible but unlikely - everyone here is so sickeningly earnest that any kind of untruth crossing their lips would surely cause an emotional breakdown.

I really have nothing against new age philosophies and practices, everyone needs to find their tribe, and I have no bias against prostitution when it's within the confines of consenting adults. My big objection with BD is the inherent dishonesty in his hustle. He's selling snake oil to damaged people without a trace of conscience, a reprehensible and vile human being. Despite my strong negative reaction to BD, the film is quite good. The directors see their subjects clearly and do a nice job of tying it together, creating a unified portrait of an interesting topic. I will seek out others they have directed.

Reviewers often make claims - whether the film is pure fiction or more-or-less fact - that do not answer the question a potential viewer would ask: will I be interested? You WILL be interested, even if you're a little repelled by the people. Baba Dez may be a con man or he may be sincere, but the filmmakers do not moralize or comment; they present Baba and all the rest in the spirit of "Here they are - make of them what you will". Baba's pain at losing Maya certainly appears authentic, even though he uses the very same behaviors that drove her away to attempt to win her back. Confusing? Certainly it is, but this documentary is fully entertaining.

I had never heard of this film when I chanced upon it on the Sundance Channel. For at least the first 30 minutes I had the impression that I was watching a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary, maybe along the lines of "A Mighty Wind", with its playful (and not necessarily always condescending) treatment of familiar stereotypes. The problem was, however, that it just wasn't all that funny (not that all of Guest's films are, either). In fact, the only real laugh came when I looked it up on the web and discovered that this loosely strung together collection of New Age clichés (set in Sedona, AZ!) was actually intended to be taken seriously. Incredible!

I found this documentary to be intriguing as it's a topic I had very little previous knowledge about.

Baba Dez, Maya and the others all appeared to be very genuine and sincere in their beliefs, wanting to do good in the world. The reality portrayed is more nuanced and mixed. Dez' behavior was frequently narcissistic with confusing justifications involving his role in life as a polyamory Sex Magic teacher. Even when talking about other's needs, everything circled back to Dez and his own needs (which are usually sexual). I actually feel pity for him.

Their polyamory culture felt a little bit like a cultish, although cult is too strong and therefore not accurate. But it did feel like there was a serious lack of questioning and common sense. Every mundane problem translated into Sex Magic Mother Earth mumbo jumbo. When the reality is that Dez and the others are just humans making normal, human mistakes with each other. Many times their mistakes were the result of polyamory and the ensuing jealousy. Someone needs to inform them that their problems are common, and the solution to life's challenges isn't having sex to create more "Sex Magic". Getting grounded in the real world, not a microcosm silo, and perhaps having a day job, is what they appear to be lacking and which having more sex can't solve.