This is the eternal question to anything related to the spiritual plane: what is the ultimate goal of the rituals and actions, and why bother? When it comes to tantra, the ultimate goal is simple: feeling at one with what surrounds you. If this sounds too trivial, try this on for size: “being one with all” or “being one with the universe”. For the sake of not putting off those of a less oogie-woogie persuasion, let’s stick with “feeling at one with what surrounds you”. Tantra is based – amongst other things – on the belief that the person you call ‘I’ does not really exist, but is just an expression of something much bigger, something that includes everything. It is rather difficult to keep both those concepts in the mind at the same time: being a person, distinctly different from other people and the universe (distinguishing between “me” and “not-me”), and being a small part of a unit that is represented by ‘everything’ (not distinguishing between “me” and not me”). Tantra tries to open your eyes to the possibility that both of those can be true at once, leading to a spiritual advancement and a sense of connection with everything. In order to get there, many different techniques can be used, including meditation, yoga, singing mantras, sharing yourself with others in an attempt to experience communion with other perceived as ‘not me’, dancing, raising energies, rituals, … and many others. Some tantra lineages focus on one or several of those. When it comes to physical touch as a means of connection, this can include sensual and sexual practices (example: Kamasutra), which can lead to certain misunderstandings. Sensual and sexual engagement with others is not perceived as a sexual act per se. These practices involve the raising of sexual energies/Kundalini energy, including erotic touch, massage, used to induce heightened sensitivity, relaxation and receptivity. Energy flow and distribution is often encouraged through massage and bodily contact, but with the sole goal to heighten the receiver’s experience. Once the sexual energy has been absorbed and accepted, things can move into further spiritual practices, or you and your partner(s) can move into a sexual experience, or it could simply end there, with the receiver processing their experience on their own. As you can see, even if you end up having a sexual encounter, there is a huge element of energy work and philosophy behind the practice. Live your experience fully and you will learn from it
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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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