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!

Sex Magic follows Dez and the sexual healing community that he lives and works in. What starts off as an examination of a little known community turns into a character study of Dez himself. Aspects of the community seem genuine and very uplifting for its members. There seem to be a number of individuals who genuinely believe what they say and genuinely care about their clients, friends, and lovers.

Dez, the sexual healer who becomes the focus of the documentary, is a little more complicated While Dez professes being a healer and being there to meet his students needs first, he comes off as almost a sex cult leader. He has a certain amount of control over those around him and does not seem above manipulation to get what he wants. As the film continues the film makers find individuals who are willing to speak out against Dez and cite several instances of sexual harassment and even assault that he has committed.

While a little slow at parts, overall I would suggest this documentary to anyone who wants to learn more about polyamory, sexual healing, or likes character studies. There's also a decent amount of full frontal male and female nudity if that does anything for you.

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.

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!

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.