Most traditions that purport to offer a path of spiritual realisation most generally present sexuality as a dissipating element, the place of which should be strictly reduced. Indeed, it is considered a powerful source of energy, a vital fire that can be devastating. Accordingly, because of the potential risk of deviation involved in sex, all dominant religions mention it as an activity that takes us away from God. In the same way as Augustine who combined sexuality with the flesh as opposed to the spirit, religions warn human beings against the pitfalls of sexuality that would too radically move them away from what they consider to be the original purpose of sex: procreation.

Most spiritual paths, whether they are related to traditions of the East or of the West, advocate asceticism to attain liberation from suffering in this world, since human nature is not strong enough to resist the power of dispersion that sex contains.

Nevertheless, for one who wants to bring a sacred dimension to sexuality, different paths do exist, although they may seem somewhat complex and difficult to approach; and in some cases, sexual energy may even be considered a possible cause of progress in a human being's self-realisation and elevation. As those paths were sometimes labelled dangerous when evoking the conquest of and mastery over sexual energy, they have long been kept secret or confidential because they always involved a long and difficult initiation process before tackling sexual practices likely to lead to illumination.