In the Arms of a Goddess

In the Arms of a Goddess

Her breath caresses my neck,
But it is my heart that is warmed,
Her fingers touch my skin,
But it is my spirit that is embraced,
Her eyes look deep into mine,
But it is my soul that I reveal,
Her body gives me pleasure,
But it is healing that I receive.

Mike Chandra
January, 2009

There Are No Rules

When I first started in Tantra I wanted to experience all the rituals I heard about exactly as they were written or how they were portrayed on the videos. My wife resisted a little as some of these rituals didn’t really interest her. If we did them differently I would be disappointed. This created some tension between us…exactly the opposite of what Tantra was supposed to be about.

It took me a little while to relax and figure out that the rituals were there to serve us and not the other way around. The form that these rituals take is not important it is their intent and purpose that must be preserved. The rituals are supposed to remind us of how important we are to each other and to remind us of the sacredness of the pleasures we are to share. They help us focus on the moment and each other. For some a bath ceremony may be just the right thing, for others the act of preparing a sacred space together may be right. It doesn’t matter what form the rituals take so we have made up our own that we both enjoy. We may not find them in any books but they are right for us.

Different Perspectives

Ok so my last post provoked a few people to e-mail me, which I greatly appreciated. I was not entirely surprised that, even on this subject, there was a difference of opinion amongst people who are quite knowledgeable about Tantra.

The one thing I’ve learned in my studies is that Tantra and its related fields are quite a vast subject, filled with many different points of view. It isn’t math. The right answer, if it can even be called that, is not the same for everyone. There are concepts and points of view that resonate with me and I integrate them into my understanding and framework, there are concepts that I just don’t understand and I put those aside for the time being and there are concepts that don’t feel right for me and I leave those alone.

One e-mail I received said that the goal of Tantra was to live every moment in total blissfulness. Although this may be right for some, this just did not feel right for me.

Another point of view expressed to me was that living in the moment does not mean that every moment is perfect. There will be moments of great joy and in these moments we should try to integrate that positive energy and let it nourish our spirit. Other moments will be painful and that is when we should breathe away the negative energy and seek healing. Every moment though can help us grow and learn and connect. For how can we connect to others if we don’t share some of the same experiences? So, good or bad we should never deny our emotions and we should take the time to truly feeeeel. Thanks for your inspiration Kelly.

PAIN!

When you open up your heart and spirit to more abundance, do you also open up to more pain? It would seem to follow that if you can feel greater joy than you can also feel greater pain. Something to meditate on.

Emotional Freedom

In my studies of Tantra I have read countless articles, visited tons of websites and viewed hours of videos, but I have found the greatest treasures just by talking with other practitioners.

It was during a chat with a fellow tantrika that I received another piece of the puzzle toward my expansion. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t really remember what we were talking about when she said “I am more than my emotions”. This phrase really resonated with me and provoked a lot of introspection. It sounds simple and obvious, but for me this was a revelation.

Society has programmed us to repress some of our emotions or that we must act a certain way given the emotions we feel. We are taught that some emotions are good and some emotions are bad. For instance, married people are taught to feel guilty if they have feelings for anyone besides their spouse and to bury these feelings. We are taught that feeling jealousy is bad and to ban lustful thoughts.

None of these emotions, however, are inherently bad. It is what we do as human beings that define us, not just the emotions we feel. I am defined by more than just my emotions…there is the choices that I make, my sense of morality, my intellect and my spirit. Feeling love, lust, anger or jealousy doesn’t make me a bad person. It is what I do that counts. I am therefore free to fully experience all my emotions because they are only a part of who I am.

This emotional freedom has allowed me to more fully connect with others as I am unafraid of what feelings might emerge. I no longer feel the need to repress feelings as it is not a jealous moment that defines me. Experiencing my emotions without guilt or fear allows me to better experience each moment of my life.

Worship

Worship, the concept and the word itself have their roots in faith and religious beliefs. We worshiped gods by offering whatever they desired, be it sacrifice or adoration or anything else they wanted. The mere fact that it was a desire of a god made it beautiful and worthy.

In Tantra we offer our partner worship. Part of Tantra is the elevation of the sexual energy which is then combined with our hearts energy and merged with our consciousness, a concept we will be discussing in the future. Everyone has different desires that excite them and raises their sexual energy. For some it may be a soft kiss, for others a firm spanking. Offering our worship to our partner means that we will accompany them in their exploration of those desires, without judgement and while maintaining reverence and respect. The mere fact that they desire them makes them beautiful and worthy of exploration. It is this acceptance that provides them with the safe place they need to truly explore their eroticism and raise their sexual energy.

I would also recommend this article: www.tantrabychandra.com/Ancient.html