Hair and Spirituality

Hi everyone,
My name is Julie, I am a Chinese-American woman from the San Francisco Bay area of California. what i am interested in is people`s opinions about spirtituality and hair.

For centuries people, men and women, have had religious and spiritual associations with their hair.
Thr ancient Jews believed that women should have long hair and men should wear beards. Many Ancient Native American Indian groups believed both men and women should grow their hair long. East Asian Buddhists often shaved their heads, especially the male monks and female nuns. In India, Sikh men are never supposed to cut their hair, they sometimes grow it to the ground!! In ancient Egypt men and women shaved their heads, the same is true today in parts of Africa. Viking and Germanic tribal men in northern Europe grew their hair and beards long, the northern European women sometimes wore their hair long, sometimes cut it very short. The ancient Esscences in the Middle East, both men and women wore long hair and men wore beards(Jesus was supposedly of this group according to the Dead Sea scrolls). All of these groups of people had religious ideas about hair and treated their hair with care and devotion as part of their spirituality.
Even the practice of curling hair or straightening hair had spiritual as well as fashion implications.

While it is true, hair fashions are for beauty, fun, as well as sexual and sensual appeal, many people even today feel a certain spiritual affinity with their hair and when taking care of their hair or the hair of others. Love, devotion, care, gentleness, and kindness as well as a feeling of spiritual devotion sometimes goes into hair care, looking good is only part of it!

I am 27 years old.When I was in my late teens and early twenties I had hair past my waist, and took loving care of it, I felt a spiritual devotion to it. I also loved taking care of my boyfriend`s hair, which was also long past his shoulders. But I ialso had a very strong feeling towards the love, devotion, humility, modesty and sacrifice of the Buddhist nuns who shaved their heads. I was a shy girl, deeply religious and always meditated, prayed and worked for awile at a soup kitchen and homeless shelter, I was looking for spiritual service and devotion.

After cutting my hair and wearing it in a short bob style, I recently shaved my head bald. I have a boyfriend I am planning to marry(he is not a Buddhist like me, he is a European-American Christian), and I don`t plan on being celibate like Buddhist nuns are, but in every other way I want to lead a life of devotion to God and spirituality in my Buddhist faith. My man understands this and is very supportive. I do feel sexual and sensual, my shaven head has those attributes to myself and my boyfriend, but the most profound reason why I shaved my head was a sense of spirituality, a sense of humility, modesty, submissiveness and feminine sacrifice!

Are their other men and women reading this who have had these feelings about their hair, whether their hair is past their waist, bald or any other style in between. Do you feel a sense of calm, love , gentleness and devotion when taking care of your hair, or a loved ones hair? I would love to read your replies.

May God bless you and peace, love and goodness be with you.

Sincerely and with love, Julie