It may sound unexpected to be talking about your daily routine in the context of conscious sensuality, but it is not so strange at all. After all, tantra is not only about sensual experience during sex or similar encounters with a partner, but about living your life with the inclusion of all that tantra offers on the path to enlightenment and bliss. Since the ultimate goal is much wider in scope than just the sensual sliver that is covered in your interaction with others, why not look at ways to enhance the way you live your daily life as well? The way to do this is to find regular activities and go about them in a more conscious way. Having breakfast, taking a shower or commuting to work can be tedious, repetitive tasks that have become so ‘normal’ that you don’t really give them a second thought. However, if you just focus a little, these times can be made into something much more meaningful and healthy. Let’s take breakfast, for example. If you are the type of person who barely sits down and rather runs around with a cup of coffee or tea in your hands while you wolf down some random food, you may want to think again! Not only is this bad for your health, it also increases stress levels and does create any level of calm at all. Why not take a moment to sit down and actually enjoy your drink and food, and try to take your mind off anything else? And YES: this involves stopping that damn multitasking thing you do in the morning. Having breakfast while sorting out your paperwork or packing your bag for the day does nothing for your inner peace! If, on the other hand, you are a sit-down person to start with, this still leaves room for experiments. Why not try and make the whole experience into something more akin to a Japanese tea ceremony than a bench outside a takeaway diner on the motorway? Spend a moment to set the table properly (cutlery, cups, etc.) and bring to the table what you need (butter, spreads, bread or rolls, etc.), then sit down properly and make this your quiet time before the storm starts to rage again outside. If you wonder about the time it takes, maybe it’s worth considering to abolish the snooze button and getting up 10 minutes earlier for this? For advanced students: why not place that vase of flowers or a piece of art in front of you to meditate on? I know, you want to read the newspaper or a chapter of your current novel. That is absolutely fine! As long as it calms your mind and takes it off the humdrum of daily life, it’s good. Draw a doodle if you need to, as long as it’s not part of your ‘production cycle’. Let this time be reflective, relaxing, and give your mind the freedom to roam. These ideas can be applied to any part of your day, as long as those moments create a conscious return to your centre and leave the roar of obligatory tasks behind for a while. Let there be unproductive times during each day
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These are my own thoughts on aspects of my work I feel strongly about. Archives
September 2021
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