Australian Natural Health
Magazine
 What
is Tantra? The Ancient Indian way of love
By Diane Riley
Extract from Australian Natural health – Spring 2005
In Tantra, the goddess, Shakti was the consort of Shiva. Together,
they represented the divine couple. She was creativity and
he was pure consciousness. Sacred sexuality teaches that as
male and female come together in sacred union, bliss can be
created.
Sometimes, during heightened lovemaking experience, we move
into a transcendental place, a timeless space where we feel
totally connected to our partner, ourselves, and the whole
universe. Some would say they have a tangible experience of
the Divine. In Tantra, such a state is called bliss, or nirvana.
When these spiritual experiences happen, it is a gift.
How can we create this in our busy hectic lives? It seems
only a dream for a lucky few who have lots of time, energy
and whose energy is in sync with their partners at the same
time. Partners often struggle with being in the mood and ready
for love when the other is! Add careers, children, extended
family and other commitments, both emotional and financial,
to the equation then we might be lucky for everything to fall
into place in a ‘blue moon’. And the time between
these beautiful connected lovemaking spaces often widen as
the relationship matures and the business of life demands
priority.
Contemporary tantra can enhance modern relationship in simple
and profound ways. Sacred sexuality and tantra can give us
a few lessons on opening up to love with
Copyright Spectra 2000 P/L 2005
a partner on all levels – body, heart and soul. The
magic of love and connection can be helped along. We are never
too old for openness, wonder and playfulness to ignite our
senses on all levels and bring us the benefits of a potent
aphrodisiac.
Thus, one of the first practices you can adopt from Tantra
- the attitude that sex can be sacred. That lovemaking is
a renewal of energy, inspiration, creativity you can acknowledge
this to yourself when you’re in a state of sexual bliss,
that it is a spiritual experience connecting you to the Divine,
which includes your own inner Goddess.
One of my favourite tantric practices is including rituals
to help transform sex into a tantric infused experience, where
the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. Of course a goddess
requires a special place of love!
Setting up a place of love- golden space
Make your bedroom an expression of your sensuality. You can
start with a vase of flowers, a feather, a shell, and an antique
perfume bottle on a small bedside table, anything that symbolizes
the feminine. Perhaps put new curtains and new pillows in
the room and place books of love or erotic poetry next to
your bed. It can be a place that when you step into it, you
feel transformed. By doing this, you are creating a world
of your own choosing, an expression of your innermost self,
where you feel relaxed and beautiful. Let that aspect of your
inner goddess come forth, for she is the Goddess of Beauty,
creating beautiful surroundings that soothe the spirit and
please the senses, a place where your sensuality is an expression
of your divine self.
For a special, sacred lovemaking session, start a collection
of essential oils such as rose to open the heart, sandalwood
for sensuality and massage oils. You may like to have things
of significance to you, a special bell, a beautiful shell
that you fund on the beach while on holiday, candles for romantic
lighting or incense as a seductive fragrance. Often, sacred
lovers will have special robes, underwear, jewellery and sarongs
reserved exclusively for their private time together s. Try
robes of sensuous fabric with perhaps a degree of transparency
or a scarf to be tied around the body, or you may enjoy leather
or mesh materials, whatever makes you feel special! Introduce
this idea to your partner. It's certainly fun to shop for
some special things together. It allows the softer side to
develop in both of you.
When you’re in your own sacred place, you can feel
safe to let your inner Goddess free. If you're not in your
own place, then before practicing Tantra, I recommend that
you envisage a protective bubble around you, like a sphere
of golden light in which you and your beloved are totally
immune from the cares and worries of the outside world. Within
this imagined globe, you and your beloved can relinquish your
daily existence and embrace the Divine in yourselves and each
other.
For more please see the Tantra Home Course, Secrets of Tantric
Sex video, or the book Tantric Secrets for Men’ on the
products page.
Copyright Spectra 2000 P/L 2005
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