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SPIRITUAL:  Spiritual At-one-ment

Coins in the hand
Can be stolen,
But who can rob this body
Of its own treasure?

The last thread of clothing 
Can be stripped away,
But who can peel off Emptiness,
That nakedness covering all?

Fools, while I dress
In the Jasmine Lord's morning light,
I cannot be shamed --
What would you have me hide under silk
And the glitter of jewels?

So long as this breath fills your nostrils,
Why seek out fragrant flowers?
Peaceful, compassionate, patient, already your own master,
Why do you need to cross your legs to Know?

Once the entire world is yourself,
What could a life of solitude add?
O white Jasmine Lord --
                                   --Mahadeviyakka

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Love and Devotion

"Mystic love is experienced from soul to soul. 
We have to remember that we are not the body. 
In reality we are soul. 
When we become lost in the Master,
what is happening is that our souls are merging.
This is an experience that is independent of the physical body. 
It can be compared to two lights moving
closer and closer until they occupy the same space."

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, 1991

I am a sculptor, a moulder of form.
In every momment I shape an idol.
But then, infront of you, I melt them down.
I can rouse a hundred forms and mix them with spirit.
But when I look into your face,
I want to throw them in the fire,
Do you merely fill this drunkard's glass!
Or do you really oppose the sober?
Is it you who brings the ruin to every house I build!
My soul spills into yours and is blended.
Because my soul has absorbed your fragrance, I cherish it!
Every drop of blood I spill says to the earth:
I blend with my Beloved when I participate in love.
In this house of mud and water
My heart has fallen into ruins,
Enter this house, my Love, or let me leave.

--Jalaloddin Rumi

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Sexual Beliefs and Spirituality

 Keith Hall teaches Tai Chi, Tantra and Tantric Qi Gong in Rockville, MD.

Our fascination and fear stem from the fact that the energy of eroticism is the most powerful primal force within ourselves. The Ancients of all cultures revered and worshipped this force particularly in the form of the Goddess. Lilith, Astarte, Parvati, Isis, Hecate, Venus, Kerridwin, Freya, Ixchel, Tara, the Virgin Mary - all are Goddesses revered in antiquity for bringing forth life, divinity, and wisdom through the mystical power of  sexuality. Historically, Tantra arose from the worship of  these Goddesses and woman's innate link with the energies of creation.

As Tantra evolved in India, Tibet, Egypt, and
                   China, adepts of yoga and meditation tapped into
                   increasingly powerful and efficient techniques for safely
                   accessing the cosmic forces inherent in sexual energy.
                   What had begun as awe and mystery became a science.
                   Schools arose to instruct initiates in precise methods to
                   awaken this primal life-force and master it's use for
                   healing, ecstasy, and enlightenment. Later, as war and
                   other forms of technological manipulation increasingly
                   arose in civilization, patriarchal societies developed and
                   Man's awe of Woman's fertility and cosmic sexual capacity
                   turned to fear. Out of the desire to dominate rose the need
                   to subjugate and control that which they could not
                   understand - Woman's overwhelming power to create the
                   Universe as Goddess, her tremendous and mysterious
                   connection to " the starry dynamo in the machinery of
                   night".

                   As this Age of Darkness descended on the world,
                   persecution of those who possessed the secret of the
                   erotic/divine connection soon followed, and continues to
                   this day. From the 13th century Moslem invasion of
                   Tantric temples that resulted in the wholesale slaughter of
                  Tantrikas and destruction of manuscripts, to the burning of
                   the books of Wilhelm Reich in 1957 New York, our
                   left-brained patriarchal paranoia has until recently
                   succeeded in suppressing this knowledge. The resultant
                   war between our higher selves and society's prejudices in
                   this regard has led to our psyches being badly fragmented
                   and the entire planet's survival threatened.

              As a spiritual path for attaining union with God,
                   Tantra accepts the body, senses, sexuality, and emotions to
                   help us evolve spiritually. Tantra does not force us to make
                   a choice between being spiritual or sexual and encourages
                   us to fully enjoy the world we live in as a way to discover
                   our higher nature. As we begin to realize our own Divinity,
                   we can see the Divine in our beloved, in all people, in all of
                   life.

                   Paramahansa Yogananda, in Autobiography of a Yogi,
                   relates accounts of the Mahavatar Babaji and his disciples.
                   Recently revealed in its entirety, Babaji's Tantric Kriya
                   Yoga is probably one of the most advanced and powerful
                   spiritual discipline available on the planet. The central
                   practice of this rich tradition is the Cosmic Cobra Breath.
                   As it prepares the body for the conscious movement of
                   Kundalini (Life-force), this ancient breath technique was
                   long held secret because of its great power.

                   Ipsalu Tantra is
                   the most accessible form of Tantric Kriya Yoga that is
                   taught in this country. In this lineage, the focus is on
                   Self-Realization, attention to emotional clearing, in addition
                   to techniques for safely activating Kundalini. Methods are
                   taught to amplify and transmute sexual energy, to learn
                   true intimacy, to balance our male and female polarities,
                   rejuvenate the body, clear old patterns, and live in the
                   present moment while being profound, yet playful.

                   Our sexual relationships can become fuller vehicles for
                   intimacy, self-knowledge, and spiritual evolution. As you
                   make love, look deeply into the eyes of your beloved. Feel
                   the electric heat of your union rippling upward with your
                   breath, transforming into Divine Ecstasy as you gaze upon
                   the face of God. Practicing sacred sexuality primes the
                   mind and body to accept and amplify the creative life-force
                   and ecstasy that is slumbering within us.

                   Stanislav Grof, in Beyond the Brain, speaks of this Tantric
                   ecstasy as being "characterized by extreme peace,
                   tranquillity, serenity, and radiant joy. The individual
                   involved...experiences a blissful, tension-free state, a loss
                   of ego boundaries and an absolute sense of oneness with
                   nature, with the cosmic order, and with God. A deep
                   intuitive understanding of existence and a flood of various
                   specific insights of cosmic relevance are characteristic for
                   this condition." In Tantra, we know that this ecstasy
                   derives from Love, and Love is sex energy transformed.
                   To know the elemental truth of love, we must first accept
                   the divinity of sex and learn to worship through the senses.
                   Total acceptance and surrender to natural energies leads to
                   the most sublime experience.

                    Keith Hall teaches Tai Chi, Tantra and Tantric Qi Gong
                   in Rockville, MD.

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Agape/Devotion/Bhakti

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Chakras

Wheels of Life : A User's Guide to the Chakra System      Anodea Judith
Eastern Body, Western Mind : Psychology and the Chakra System As a Path to the Self,
Anodea Judith
The Sevenfold Journey : Reclaiming Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Chakras  Anodea Judith, Selene Vega
                 Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation      Harish Johari
                 Chakras and Their Archetypes : Uniting Energy Awareness and Spiritual Growth      Ambika Wauters
                 Color and Crystals : A Journey Through the Chakras      Joy Gardner-Gordon
                 The ABC's of Chakra Therapy : A Workbook      Deedre Diemer
                 Your Personality, Your Health : Connecting Personality With the Human Energy System, Chakras and Wellness: Carol Ritberger
                 The Chakras      Charles Webster Leadbeater
                 Your Aura & Your Chakras : The Owner's Manual      Karla McLaren

Wheels of Light : Chakras, Auras, and the Healing Energy of the Body      Rosalyn L. Bruyere
                  Book of Chakra Healing      Liz Simpson, Teresa Hale
                  New Chakra Healing : The Revolutionary 32-Center Energy System      Cyndi Dale
Opening to Spirit : Contacting the Healing Power of the Chakras and Honouring African Spirituality Caroline Shola Arewa
 

"Wheels that Heal"

From the book Eastern Body, Western Mind — Psychology and The
Chakra System as a Path to the Self
 By Anodea Judith

                   WHEELS THAT HEAL

                   The chakra system is a seven-leveled philosophical model of the
                   universe. Chakras have come to the West through the tradition and
                   practice of yoga. Yoga (which means yoke) is a discipline designed to
                   yoke together the individual with the divine, using mental and physical
                   practices that join our mundane and spiritual lives. This goal is
                   achieved by passing through steps of ever-expanding states of
                   consciousness. The chakras represent these steps.

                   A chakra is a center of activity that receives, assimilates, and
                   expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally translates as
                   wheel or dish and refers to a spinning sphere of bioenergetic activity
                   emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the
                   spinal column. There are seven of these wheels stacked in a column of
                   energy that spans from the base of the spine to the top of the head.
                   There are also 11 minor chakras in the hands, feet, fingertips, and
                   shoulders. Literally, any vortex of activity could be called a chakra. It
                   is the seven major chakras that correlate with basic states of
                   consciousness, and it is these that we will examine in this book.

                   The chakra system originated in India, more than four thousand years
                   ago. Chakras were referred to in the ancient literature of the Vedas,
                   the later Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and most
                   thoroughly in the I6th. century by an Indian yogi in a text called the
                   Sat-Chakra-Nirupana. In the I920s, chakras were brought to the
                   West by Arthur Avalon with his book, The Serpent Power. Today,
                   they are a popular concept linking areas Of a the body and psyche
                   with associated metaphysical realms.

                   Chakras are not physical entities in and of themselves. Like feelings or
                   ideas, they cannot be held like a physical object, yet they have a strong
                   effect upon the body as they express the embodiment of spiritual
                   energy on the physical plane. Chakra patterns are programmed deep
                   in the core of the mind-body interface and have a strong relationship
                   with our physical functioning. Just as the emotions can and do affect
                   our breathing, heart rate, and metabolism, the activities in the various
                   chakras influence I our glandular processes, body shape, chronic
                   physical ailments, thoughts, and behavior. By using techniques such as
                   yoga, breathing, bioenergetics, physical exercises, meditation, and
                   visualization, we cam, in turn, influence our chakras, our health, and
                   our lives. This is one of the essential values of this system—that it maps
                   onto both the body and the mind, and can be accessed through either.

                   Thus the chakras are said to have a location, even though they do not
                   exist in the physical sense. These locations may vary slightly from
                   person to person, but remain consistent in their overall relationship to
                   one another.

                   While they cannot be seen or held as material entities, the chakras are
                   evident in the shape of our physical bodies, the patterns manifested in
                   our lives, and the way we think, feel, and handle situations that life
                   presents us. Just as we see the wind through movement of the leaves
                   and branches, the chakras can be seen by what we create around us.

                   Based on their location in the body, the chakras have become
                   associated with various states of consciousness, archetypal elements,
                   and philosophical constructs. The lower chakras, for example, which
                   are physically closer to the earth, are related to the more practical
                   matters of our lives—survival, movement, action. They are ruled by
                   physical and social law. The upper chakras represent mental realms
                   and work on a symbolic level through words, images, and concepts.
                   Each of the seven chakras has also come to represent a major area of
                   human psychological health which can be briefly summarized as
                   follows: (I) survival, (2) sexuality, (3) power, (4) love, (5)
                   communication, (6) intuition, and (7) cognition.
 

                   "Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, and the Activation of the Chakras"
                                from the book Spiritual Sex by Nik Douglas

                                  In India today, mention of the word Tantra
                                  inevitably leads to the related Sanskrit
                                  words mantra and yantra. Tantra-mantra,
                                  Tantrayantra, or Tantra-mantra-yantra are,
                                  in modern Indian culture, virtually
                                  synonymous. These three very similar,
                   related words tell of the subtle and immensely potent
                   interconnections between ourselves and the universe we
                   inhabit. A person who perceives and can apply the
                   interconnectivity of Tantra, mantra, and yantra has access
                   to tremendous personal power and unlimited spiritual
                   potential.

                   The sound of our breathing and our heartbeat are our most
                   personal mantras, as is our most intimate name. Mantras
                   are the keys to our identity; in Tantric tradition, they are
                   used to unlock our personal power. They are power words
                   or phrases, loaded with energy derived from spiritual
                   realms. When they are repeated with willful spiritual intent,
                   they focus, empower, and transform the psyche.

                   A mantra is by definition a protection of mind. It can be a
                   personal prayer or chant, used in meditation, in ritual, and
                   in all types of magical acts. All archaic spiritual traditions
                   used them. In traditional Tantra, mantras are primordial
                   vibrations, revealed originally as spiritual insights, then
                   passed on from one initiate to another. By repeating such
                   mantras, following initiation, minds are protected and
                   connected, mental processes purified, and the spirit
                   liberated.

                   The Kalarnava Tantra, an important Hindu text, explains
                   how a mantra gets its power:

                        The perfection of a Mantra is caused by the
                        power of transmis-
                        sion, by the teacher's grace, by the natural
                        effect of the Mantra, and by the reciter's
                        devotion.

                   The first, simplest, and most potent Hindu mantra is om,
                   which is comprised of three sounds: aah, ou, and mm,
                   transcribed as aum. The threefold nature of aum or om
                   reflects its triple interactions on every level, from the very
                   subtle to the gross. From om follow all the other mantric
                   seed-syllables, which, by their subtle and gross vibrations,
                  manifest and define the invisible and visible universe.

                   The word yantra means "instrument." Our
                   body is our sacred yantra, through which
                   we communicate spiritually. In traditional
                   Tantra, yantras are viewed as mystical
                   diagrams, the tools of Tantra that define,
                   contain, and channel what is normally considered
                   undefinable and uncontainable.

                   In some traditions of Tantra, special postures, generally
                   derived from Hatha Yoga, are used as yantras and are
                   dedicated to specific tasks or functions. By a process of
                   resonance with spiritual energies or divine powers, created
                   through use of the human body as a yantra, the whole
                   process of spiritual evolution can be sped up.

                   The use of mantras in conjunction with yantras enhances
                   the whole process of spiritual evolution. This is a secret
                   science and an occult art. It is an authentic ancient teaching
                   derived from shamanism. For success in the use of
                   mantra-yantra interactivity, initiation is key.

                   As can be seen here, oral evocations are inherently
                   powerful and are used prolifically in Tantric practices.
                   According to Tantric tradition, the five principle Chakras
                   are activated by five seed-sounds (known as bija mantras).
                   These are the sound lam in the sex center, vam in the
                   assimilation center, ram in the navel center, yam in the
                   heart center, and ham in the head center. In Tantric rites
                   devised to awaken the Kundalini Shakti and guide the
                   potent evolutionary energy through these five principal
                   Chakras, these five seed-syllables are used. They are
                   evoked at each of the centers.

                                  The whole procedure of awakening and
                                  channeling the Kundalini energy is a
                                  mystical process, not a physiological one.
                                  Tantras teach different methods, some of
                                  which are closely guarded secrets. The
                   identity, however, of the five primary Chakras and the
                   seed-sounds used to evoke and transform the Goddess
                   energy at each of them remains consistent. The overall
                   picture of the relationships among the parts of the fivefold
                   Chakra system looks like this:
 

                    Head
                                 Space
                                               Hearing
                                                           Ham
                    Heart
                                 Air
                                               Touch
                                                           Yam
                    Navel
                                 Fire
                                               Sight
                                                           Ram
                    Assimilation
                                 Water
                                               Taste
                                                           Vam
                    Sex
                                 Earth
                                               Smell
                                                           Lam

 

                   These five principle Chakras and their "correspondences"
                   are of prime importance to the Tantric practitioner and to
                   anyone earnestly desirous of practicing spiritual sex. The
                   elemental and sensual correspondences of these five
                   Chakras are key to taming the "wild horses" of
                   consciousness and empowering one's spiritual evolution.
                   These are easily accessible truths that can be applied in a
                   straightforward manner, with just enough mysticism to
                   make spiritual sex interesting rather than mechanical.

                   The fivefold correspondences aid the process of
                   self-realization, steering the raw sexual energy through the
                   various stages of refinement down the Tantric path. These
                   correspondences help focus the mind, help structure and
                   organize the normally disorganized, and by the powers of
                   resonance, speed up the evolutionary process.

                                        "What is Spiritual Sex?"

                     from the book Living Life In Love by Peter Rengel

                       But isn't Enlightenment the realization that all the
                       Universe is contained within the infinite depths of your
                       Heart? And doesn't all the Universe include your
                       sexuality and your lust? Are you supposed to somehow
                       cast out an integral part of your own humanity in order
                       to become a fully-realized person? Celibacy may occur
                       in a natural, organic way as you embrace all aspects of
                       your sexuality and go through to the other side. But to
                       try to force it upon yourself is destructive. It may be a
                       by-product of your evolution, but it is not the goal.

                                          Celibacy

                                       The spiritual vow
                                         To give up sex
                                       Creates repression

                                      Instead of celibacy.

                                    Lust no longer smolders
                                     When the hot name of
                                      Your sexual desires

                                     Easily and effortless!,

                                     Becomes a cool breeze
                                   When sex is nonflammable

                                   Celibacy will surprise you.
 

                       Sexuality can be a vehicle into spirituality rather than an
                       obstacle to it. One way to express your desire to be
                       reunited with God is by merging with another person
                       through sharing your sexuality. The more deeply you
                       feel the longing to return Home, the more deeply you
                       may want to free your sexual nature. And that very
                       expression, when realized as such, adds fuel to the most
                       significant fire there is: the burning up of the human ego
                       and the subsequent dissolving of the illusion of
                       separation. The gift of your sexuality is that it is a
                       profound modality for the ecstatic affirmation of human
                       Love. Why not include sex and God in the same
                       breath? Why would you ever want to see them as
                       opposing forces rather than as partners?

                                        Sex and God

                                  Transcending your sexuality
                                  To become more spiritual is
                                   An Enlightenment illusion.

                                 When God touches your Heart,

                                  Your sexuality is awakened.

                         Your body lights up and Your life lightens up.
 

                       Sexual expression can be frightening. It is a movement
                       from everyday limited levels of consciousness into an
                       expansion of your energetic aliveness. Two activities
                       that challenge the ego structure down to its very core
                       are meditation and sexual/emotional expression. Both
                       require letting go of the negative mind's usual control
                       over you. The mind/ego has power over you whenever
                       you make negative thoughts real by focusing on them.
                       In meditation and in sex, in order to become the master
                       of your mind, you must escape from its traps that keep
                       you absorbed at the level of thought. You achieve
                       ultimate freedom if you can access a place inside
                       yourself that lives only in the present tense, not trying
                       to go anywhere or to accomplish anything. In this
                       receptive state, Love happens. Fulfillment happens.
                       Happiness happens. Union happens.

                       The mind wants you to be at its every beck and call. It
                       becomes very threatened if you surrender into the flow
                       of sexual energy. Therefore, it tells you that sex is
                       wrong, or a waste of time, or an addiction, or not
                       spiritual enough. Or it starts a fight with your lover
                       when the possibility for a new level of sexual intimacy
                       is available. Listening to your mind's negativity has you
                       miss the bliss that you could be experiencing if you
                       were to truly let go into the formless. Dive in
                       underneath the superficial motivations of your sexual
                       desires to the deepest stirrings within your Soul.
                       Approach lovemaking with an attitude of reverence and
                       awe because untainted sex is the sharing of divine
                       nectar. With the safety created by this underlying
                       context, all avenues of pure sexual expression open to
                       mutual exploration.

                                    The Lovers' Dance

                                   Sexual seduction can be
                                    A lovely dance between

                                    Tension and relaxation.

                                      If you frolic together
                                      In a free form flow,
                                       You start waltzing
                                       With your divinity

                       What, then, is "spiritual sex"? Take a moment to
                       envision your ideal of two people engaged in "spiritual
                       sex." Do you picture candles and incense burning? Do
                       the lovers bow to each other, kiss one another's feet,
                       and then sit in the yab-yum position (cross-legged, one
                       on the lap of the other)? Do they see the whole
                       Universe in each other's eyes? Do they gently breathe
                       together, barely moving? Have they transcended the
                       trappings of hot, animal lust? Are they beyond the need
                       for genital orgasms?

                       Whether your pictures are similar to these or not, notice
                       if you do have any ideas of what spiritual sex is
                       supposed to be. What experiences are spiritual lovers
                       supposed to have? Just notice what your beliefs are.
                       Then, see if the following questions challenge those
                       ideas.

                            What if spiritual sex has little to do with how
                            spiritual it appears to be?

                            What if spiritual sex is much more
                            encompassing than you have envisioned?

                            What if holding on to your pictures of
                            spiritual sex limits the possibilities of other
                            profound experiences?

                            What if spiritual sex has more to do with the
                            intention of the lovers than with the activity
                            itself?
 

                       Spiritual sex arises out of both partners' desire for union
                       through uninhibited self expression. What if you are
                       here on earth not to transcend your humanness, but to
                       revere yourself exactly as you are right now? You are a
                       fascinating combination of a heavenly
                       angel/god/goddess and an earthly animal/beast. As you
                       let go into the formless with the intention to become
                       one with your lover, what can emerge is a dance back
                       and forth between your god/goddess and your animal
                       urges. As your animal nature releases into an
                       uninhibited expression of lust, perhaps the absolutely
                       perfect spiritual union becomes available to you in that
                       moment. Then, in another moment, when you are
                       softly touching and looking into one another's eyes, you
                       have included your human, animal lust rather than
                       trying to bypass it. As you surrender to your lover's feet
                       in devotion, you can worship each other's divinity and
                       each other's humanness. In fact, as you let out your
                       lust, you create the foundation upon which to build
                       your temple.

                                        Spiritual Sex

                                    When your sexual roots
                                    Explode into the Earth,
                                    Your spiritual wings can

                                     Fly freely into Heaven.
 

                       Are lust and Love enemies waging war against one
                       another or friends complementing each other? When
                       sexual energy begins to flow, you can be overpowered
                       by your genitals if you let them sweep you into actions
                       that you regret later. You need not do anything about
                       your sexual arousal unless your Heart is in agreement
                       with your genitals.

                                             Lust

                                  Lust disguises itself as Love
 

                                   Only when you have failed
                                   To know Lust intimately.
                                     Enjoy the burst of Life
                                     From Lust's explosion,
                                      But do not be fooled
                                      By a fickle turn-on.
                                      Lust needs no Heart,
                                     But Love is enhanced
                                     When it includes Lust.

                       Sexuality can be a doorway into bliss instead of a
                       stumbling block to be overcome. Embracing both soft,
                       cool sex, and hot, lusty sex creates more colors with
                       which to paint a richer self-portrait. "Spiritual sex"
                       includes the entire spectrum from Life's rainbow, such
                       as:

                            Diving into each other's eyes.
                            Tenderly touching each other's face.
                            Experiencing the pain of having any walls
                            between you.
                            Holding each other Heart to Heart and
                            letting your energy flow.
                            Being of total service to your lover.
                            Rutting like wild animals.
                            Crying as new doors open to deeper levels
                            of intimacy.
                            Following your sexuality's own expression
                            without preconceived pictures.
                            Allowing yourself to be created into whoever
                            your partner wants you to be.
 

                       More magic happens if you allow yourself to be seen as
                       an archetype. You can be the most beautiful or
                       handsome person in the history of humankind, or the
                       sexiest, lustiest human on the planet, or a Greek God or
                       Goddess, or more in Love than any couple has ever
                       been. As you surrender into the unknown, new
                       possibilities arise from the innocence of your creativity.
                       The reward for your risks is a surprise that delights you
                       and relights your Love.

                       If you let go of your thoughts about how sex should be,
                       new experiences become available to you. Pure
                       sexuality arises out of a more fundamental core within
                       your Being than your mind. You can enhance your
                       arousal by using energy from thoughts. For instance,
                       you may turn yourself on with phrases like "I love
                       you!" or "This is really hot!" or "This feels great!" or
                       "Jesus!" With an enticing mental image, "Shazam!" - an
                       orgasm is triggered. As you further explore the dance of
                       sexuality, you may be blessed with orgasms that arise
                       from a place beyond thoughts. There, you touch the
                       source of all Life.

                                    Ultimate Orgasms

                                Profound orgasms unfold when
                                "You" dissolve into Love's void.
                               If you allow a thought-free energy
                               To pulsate throughout your Being,
                               You are swept into a Reality where
                               Time is not and Perfect Silence is.

                       Do you know the tantric secret about orgasms? While
                       releasing into orgasm, you can perform "white magic"
                       by visualizing ways you would like Life to be, You can
                       picture anything, such as being deeply in Love forever;
                       or money flowing abundantly in your life; or the healing
                       of a friend or relative; or finding relief for the hungry or
                       homeless; or the whole world living in harmony.

                       What you envision at the moment of orgasm plants a
                       seed within that level of consciousness. Because you
                       are so open, your picture filters down through all the
                       other layers of consciousness. It eventually shows up in
                       your outer world, if you do not let doubt get in your
                       way. You can actually change your everyday Reality
                       through this "white magic."

                       With this additional incentive, what are some ways that
                       can you take yourself deeper into Love and into sex?

                            By embracing all sexual acts.
                            By integrating the lust-filled, sex-hungry
                            animal and the soft, gentle angel.
                            By being sexually creative and not settling
                            for a sexual routine.
                            By being sexually curious and discovering
                            what you want to explore next.
                            By being willing to ask for 100% of what
                            you want without expectations.
 

                       By allowing the energy to freely dance between talking,
                       emotional vulnerability, soft, cool sex, and hot, lusty
                       sex.

                       What are the actual experiences that are available out of
                       diving into intimacy? They are boundless and infinite.
                       Donna and I feel more in Love than any other couple in
                       the history of humankind; and we want every other
                       couple to have this same feeling. We are head over
                       heels in Love with each other about 99% of the time
                       (or is it "heels over head in Love"?). After ten years of
                       intimate sexuality, we feel like we are at the very
                       beginning of exploring infinite realms of relating. We
                       have psychic experiences which indicate that we are
                       attuned to one another in the natural way that all of us
                       are meant to be. We are often moved to tears of
                       gratitude for being in each other's lives and touching
                       each other's Soul. We know that at least one other
                       person on this planet accepts us completely, loves every
                       deep, dark corner of us, and lets us feel absolutely safe.
                       We sometimes see each other as all men or all women,
                       so that we can fall in Love with all human beings
                       through each other. Through our respect for each other,
                       we feel a sense of reverence and awe for all human
                       beings as gods and goddesses. We have the opportunity
                       to worship another god/goddess disguised as a human
                       being from a place of true surrender and devotion.
 

                       As you fully embrace your animal nature, a profound
                       integration of Heaven and Earth emerges. As you
                       celebrate the gift of your sexuality's unique expression,
                       you discover that you do not have to wait until you die
                       in order to be liberated. As your Hearts and your sex
                       soar together, you free yourself to celebrate in
                       Heavenly bliss while still in your body.

                       With Love, there is nothing to free yourself from.
                       There is no place to try to get to nor anything to
                       accomplish. Love includes and embraces the entire
                       Universe. Nothing is an obstacle to overcome because
                       you have already arrived.
 

The classic descriptions of the Tantric orgasm talk about a

                   The "oneness" of any real Tantric experience, however, is
                   radical oneness. It rips your mind off. It alters your view
                   of reality. It forces you to reconsider the purpose of your
                   life and who and what you are. It takes you closer to
                   answering the question "Who am I?"

                   If your intent is to do Tantra, then the bottom line is that
                   you need to have a regular meditation practice or similar
                   self-discipline for self-transcendence that gives you the
                   all-important reference point. Then your involvement in
                   sex means you are bringing an enhanced awareness via
                   meditation to your sexual experiences.

                   In yoga, it is recognized that there are three levels of
                   energy: tamas, rajas and sattua. Sex that is crude, violent,
                   selfish, unredeeming, where people are treated as if they
                   are objects without feeling, is tamasic. As the sensitivity of
                   the partners is undeveloped, they resort to gross stimuli in
                   order to "get off." Tarnasic sex is symbolized by the color
                   black.

                   Rajasic sex, which most people would call good or great
                   sex, is passionate, thrilling, romantic, exciting. As it has the
                   qualities of fire, it is symbolized by red. While far superior
                   to tamasic sex, it often leads to frustration unless sattvic
                   consciousness is introduced as the relationship matures.

                   For example, a hot-cold involvement, as in the expression
                   "the fire went out," may develop. A typical response is
                   either to find a new partner or keep the relationship but
                   have an affair. If the conflict further degenerates, then the
                   classic love-hate relationship results. Tamasic behavior
                   such as verbal or physical violence tends to dominate.

                   Sattvic sex, which is the Tantric or sacred sexuality path,
                   incorporates the qualities of openness and space so that
                   lovemaking is experienced as beautiful, meditative, healing,
                   serene, flowing, peaceful, heart-felt, profound, blissful,
                   harmonizing, mystical, spiritually beneficial. No longer a
                   problem, sexual energy now contributes deeply to your
                   personal growth path and overall sense of fulfillment.

                   Through sattvic, Tantric loving, the sex energy is
                   harmonized with the spiritual life and its powerful energies
                   made available for love, healing and self-transcendence.
                   Sattvic sex is symbolized by the brilliance of the rising sun
                   which, when it reaches its zenith, radiates a dazzling white
                   brightness that burns away the ego.

                   In practice, most loving couples will find they tend to
                   alternate between rajasic and sattvic lovemaking. They
                   may even go through times when sex seems unimportant,
                   only to emerge a few months later into a period of fiery
                   passion where lovemaking is fresh and exciting again.

                   The intelligent desire to make love and experience a
                   meaningful union should be allowed to arise from within as
                   a spontaneous flowering. Rigid rules for spiritualizing sex,
                   even if well intentioned, tend to backfire, obstructing the
                   natural inner flow which knows the best way intuitively
                   without thinking.

                   The point of sex meditation or Tantric sex is that it will
                   take you out of your head and down into your body and
                   your heart. As Fritz Perls said, "lose your mind and come
                   to your senses." Tantra is all about learning to let go of the
                   mind and discover your supreme Self hidden deep in your
                  heart.

                   Paradoxically, by going deep into your familiar, physical
                   body in a conscious, loving manner, as a yoga, you
                   discover a deeper, truer body, a body that is pure presence
                   and has no form. When you are lost in love, when you are
                   swept away by the current of ecstasy during lovemaking,
                  when you are melting into the clear light space above your
                   head during the orgasm, when you are fused as one via the
                   Tantric energy climax, you experience this.

                   Tantra is about the lighthearted joy of bodylessness, of
                   formlessness. Admit it. During your really great orgasms,
                   you completely lost track of who you are, of your body, of
                   your partner--it all just simply melted away, overwhelmed
                   by the power. Usually, we are very wary of this idea of
                   having no body. But in Tantra we discover that it is; fun!

                   Ultimately, lovers have as their nature joyous, open,
                   luminous oneness. In Tantra, we go through the body to
                   the source of the body, to the true body. By totally feeling
                   the body, we actually taste a purity that is fully spiritual.
                   Yes, the body is the temple, but we must go deeply into it
                   and explore it completely if we are to find the inner shrine.
                   Awake and aware, we celebrate the formless ocean of
                   cosmic joy.
 

Lama.Yeshe:Control of kundalini energy (=libido, sexual energy, naga energy) is important even in ordinary orgasm. You cannot have a perfect orgasm if you cannot control your energy. It is the same in tantra. You cannot experience perfect bliss  if you cannot control your energy. The fact is that if we lose our energy, we have to energy to utilize. In order to use energy,   we need energy. If we don't have it, we cannot use it. This is logical, and you can see it clearly from your own experience.   When you concentrate well and control your energy, you can experience more bliss, which you then unify with the wisdom of nonduality.

If kundalini starts to flow uncontrollably during your meditation and you begin to experience orgasm, try as much as possible to hold it and have it expand inside the secret chakra. Try to hold the energy there as long as possible. The longer you can  hold it, the more pleasure you will experience and the more possibility you will have of utilizing that pleasure by unifying it   with the universal reality of nonduality. In this way, you learn to control your body as well as your mind.

Lama Yeshe: further reading

 Introducation to Tantra - A Vision of Totality (from various lectures given between 1975-83, ed. by J. Landaw, 173 pp,  Wisdom Publ./USA 1989);

Lama Yeshe: The Tantric Path of Purification (from various lectures given between 1974-82, ed. by Nick Ribush, 311 pp, Wisdom Publ./USA 1995).
 

Through the process of identification and Assuming the Godform, it becomes "as if" were embody that Divine archetypal Spirit in either male or female form.  In the case of tantrikas, it is the assumption of the vision of one another as Shiva and Shakti.

According to Jungian psychology, the gods exist in a symbiotic relationship with humanity.  We serve them and they serve us, providing we learn how to cotnact them consciously.  Both Magick and Yoga provide remedies which allow the soul to begin its journey home.  The magicakal tecnique begins with the following:

1).  Rigorous practice in the development of visualization ability.

2).  Thorough study of the characteristic god-forms, powers, functions, and attributes of each sphere.  This research is enhanced by outing to museums and art galleries, viewing aesthetic representations of the god in great paintings and sculpture.  Literature make a wide range of references to the gods.

3).  The astral god-form is contemplated in creative imagination daily until its radiant form takes on dynamic life to the aspirant.

4).  Presuming the rite is absolutely necessary for the aspirant, s/he now proceeds to the ceremony of invocation, the calling-in of the form into the magickal circle.

5).  The aspirant then becomes identified with the force he desires to manifest.  Using will and imagination, he picttures the astral form permeating his Body of Light.  This coincidence of form transmutes the aspirant, inbuing him with the qualities of the god.  They are unified through this vivid realization.  For a more detailed account and examples, see Israel Regardie's Tree of Life.

6).  The aspirant moves in an ordered sequence through identification with the rulers of each planetary sphere.  Each moves him one step up the ladder of the planes, until he embodies perfect realization of the qualities of all these entities.  He arrives at the One through the Many.

alchemy - sublimation (ennobling)

merging as god/goddess

http://www.iol.ie/~taeger/yesheque/yesheque.html

Lama.Yeshe:The nuclear essence of tantra is that the human being is the deity. The human being is the god; the human  being is the deity. I have to emphasize this. We have the qualities of the deity within us. You always think that the deity is  something rarefied and inaccessible, but through tantra you can touch the deity, recognize yourself as the deity. That's why it   is very powerful.   Buddhism teaches that the basic human problem is the ridiculous thought that we are hopeless. This way of identifying ourselves damages our human quality. Therefore, we need to discover the divinity within us, the divine qualities that are   already there. Buddhism is really so realistic, so scientific, so down-to-earth, so clean-clear: human beings do have a pure nature and divine inner qualities, so they should recognize and unify with them. And according to Lord Buddha, the way to   recognize our divine qualities is not simply to know that they are there, but to act, to act. The way to act is to practice tantra. Tantra is not about words; the essence of tantra is action.

unification with the Beloved

meditation and mysticism -- divine melody, celestial music, at-one-ment

The Supreme Understanding, Osho
                                                  112 Meditations in the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, Osho
         Sexual Secrets, Nik Douglas & Penny Slinger
                                                  From Sex to Super Consciousness, Osho
           Spiritual Sex, Nik Douglas
                                                  The Art of Sexual Ecstasy, Margot Anand
         The Function of the Orgasm, Wilhelm Reich, MD
                                                  Jewel In The Lotus, Sunyata Saraswati & Bodhi Avinasha
           Sacred Sexuality, Mann & Lyle
                                                  The Great Book of Tantra, Indira Sinha
         Tantra Spirituality & Sex, Osho (Rajneesh)
                                                  Ecstasy Through Tantra, John Mumford
         Stranger In A Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
                                                   Proposition 31, Robert Rimmer
           Tantra In Practice, David Gordon White
                                                  Art of Tantra, Philip S. Rawson
           Introduction to Tantra , Lama Yeshe
                                                  The Path of the Mystic Lover, Nik Douglas & Penny Slinger
           Tantra: The Indian Cult of Ecstasy, Philip Rawson
                                                  Sacred Orgasms: Teachings From The Heart, Ken Stubbs
           The Essential Tantra, Kenneth Ray Stubbs
                                                  Taoist Secrets of Love, Mantak Chia
           Shaktis in Search of Soul, Bobbi Janson, Ron Lopez
                                                  The Art of Sexual Magic, Margot Anand
           The Yin-Yang Butterfly, Valentin Chu
                                                  Sexual Energy & Yoga, Elizabeth Haich
           Tantric Sex, E.J. Gold & Cybele Gold
                                                  Kama Sutra, Sir Richard Burton
           Tantric Mysticism of Tibet, John Blofeld
                                                  Tantra the Yoga of Sex, Omar Garrison
           The Tree of Ecstasy, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
                                                  The Love Keys, Diana Richardson
 

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