I was honored and pleased when invited to review the book Tantra for Erotic Empowerment by Mark A. Michaels and Patricia Johnson. It is an excellent resource for the novice or seasoned practitioner, providing numerous exercises for personal empowerment at the end of each chapter (dala). I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants an experience of authentic tantric practice. I will share some of the notes I took while working my way through it:
One of the greatest insights of the tantric sages was that orgasm is a mystical experience. They also understood that, for many, it is the most readily accessible mystical experience of all. Tantra is the way of the hero who neither rejects nor fears any aspect of life. The tantrist seeks freedom through the sensation of life, not through abstinence. Liberation is achieved by using the body as an instrument of evolution.
Tantra is a confusing and paradoxical subject, in which you gain understanding through a process of shedding certainty and preconceived ideas. It is in the state of doubt or confusion that the greatest potential for insight lies. Truth can only be touched by embracing the paradoxical. In tantric cosmology, sexuality is the power that continually creates the universe. The ebb and flow of creation is a manifestation of sexual energy. It is what makes life possible. My conclusion: Everything is sacred. And Nothing (No Thing) is the most sacred of all.
By understanding and exploring sexuality, you can gain the ability to use it more expansively, in a conscious and directed way. This is the essence of tantric sexuality.
A sense of mutuality is important in a tantric sexual relationship. Sometimes partners escape into a private world of fantasy at the expense of being fully present in the relationship. This can be damaging if the urge to fantasize is born of a desire to avoid reality and intimacy. Monogamy is not required to explore tantric sexuality. But sexual openness is necessary, and the willingness to experience a full spectrum of feelings, including those that are not entirely comfortable or may not be socially acceptable. Tantra embraces the notion that the carnal can function as a gateway to the spiritual, right here and right now, because the body is the very heart of spiritual experience.
The anti-sexual stance of the modern nation-state originated as a tool for redirecting the energy of the masses into military service and factory work. And now it is time for us to gaze upon the flame of a candle.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mark and Patricia in London at the London Festival of Tantra. They are very knowledgeable and kind. I highly recommend their work to anyone interested in Tantra. Thank you!!!
Rafa
OmBliss Tantra Kriya Yoga Workshops and Retreats
Visit us at www.OmBliss.com
Posted by: ombliss | December 26, 2008 at 07:23 PM