When you think of Tantra, what comes to mind? Most people may not have the foggiest idea what it is, and those who have heard the term before more often than not have images of wild sex orgies bubbling up in their minds. And YES: this can be part of it, but it’s by no means the most important thing. If you have had a chance to watch my short YouTube series on Tantric massage, you will have heard me talk at length on the subject of physical touch, sensuality, sexual energy, visualisation and energy work. Tantra involves such a wide range of elements that it can be hard to make sense of it all: receiving a lingam massage can feel like arousal that will lead to sex, but the intention is very different – raising energy and shifting it with broad massage strokes over the torso, arms and legs is very different from giving a hand job. Similarly, a lot of practices may seem odd at first, until it becomes apparent that they serve a similar purpose: raising energy, shifting it, generally helping with the focus on specific parts of the body or mind. So if you see people flailing their arms or screaming like banshees during a workshop, don’t think of it as a purely physical exercise, but rather a means to an end. It’s all about energy and its flow in particular directions. Speaking of energy, have you heard the expression “energy follows thought”? Never forget how much our mind plays a role in the shifting of energies in our bodies: visualisation and meditation are as important as the physical side. If yoga exercises are combined with intention and conscious meditation or visualisation, energy flows in that direction. This is why tantra has such a varied number of practices: from sitting quietly in meditation, through yoga, dance, touch, music, rhythm, touch and play to full on sexual activity – all of them serve a single purpose: raising and shifting energy. Why create and shift energy at all? What is the ultimate goal? It’s bliss and enlightenment, of course! All those exercises are meant to change how our mind perceives our surroundings and how we see ourselves in them. This brings us back to the question if sex is just a distraction from something else. The answer is ‘yes and no’: it all depends on the intention and what you do with the sexual energy. If the goal of your engagement with someone else is orgasm and all you do together is meant to reach that point, sex is a distraction! If, however, you use that sexual tension with your partner in order to create a shift in both your perceptions of yourself, your mind and the universe at large, it becomes a beautiful tool after all. You probably start to see why tantric teachings are big on stopping short of a physical orgasm: the worry is that with the orgasm you’ll expend all that juicy energy that could be used much better on your spiritual path… Find your intention and stick with it
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September 2021
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