I hope my answer will give you a taste of what is to come in this blog; an insight into the healing potential of tantra; and how learning and training in Tantra has changed my mindset and way of showing up in the world.
For me an important aspect of Tantra is cultivating awareness.
Awareness of self, awareness of others and awareness of our environment.
Tantra is often described as ‘Experiential’. But what does that actually mean?
Tantra workshops and retreats are made up of a variety of exercises which are
designed to give you the opportunity to put yourself in a situation and notice how you feel. You are encouraged to reflect deeply on your experience which can result in you seeing yourself and your 'stuff' with greater clarity. Personally I became aware of the extent of my patterns and was able to pursue and receive a formal diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Once you have awareness, you have the choice to do something about it.
This is one way that tantra creates the possibility of healing and change.
Since starting on this path I have greater self-awareness and self-knowledge. But that is not the only benefit. As within, so without -
In Lak'ech Ala K'in.
Learning about tantra has made me more sensitive to my own experience and how I experience the world around me. As I opened my heart and allowed myself to feel greater subtlety of energy and touch, in turn, my experience of the outside world became more alive, more electric.
I began to notice things.
The dew on a cobweb on a misty morning, the iridescent glimmer of a rainbow and the way the light sparkles on a body of water.
Becoming more sensitive is not always sunshine and rainbows. Being able to perceive more of the beauty around us has a flip side. We are more likely to notice when things do not feel good for us, physically or energetically, and this can sometimes be inconvenient!
But I believe that cultivating this relationship with ourselves is how we become more authentic, and learn to live in alignment with our true selves and with integrity.
Isn’t that what we are all seeking?
For me, this is the evolutionary potential of Tantra.
With increasing self-awareness and sensitivity, awareness of others feelings and energy naturally follows. My honed ability to notice enables me to read cues in the tone, body language and facial expressions of others. I am therefore more likely to pick up on things that I may otherwise have missed completely.
Through Tantra I have developed my ability to be attuned to those around me, which is a key ingredient in intimacy.
Overall, Tantra has been a path of cultivating a greater degree of self-awareness and sensitivity which has resulted in tangible changes in the way I choose to live my life.
The Tantric path invites us to be brave and feel it all and in so doing, chart a course towards a life of greater choice, freedom and integrity.
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