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What is Tantra or Tantric Sex?
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What is Tantra or Tantric Sex? Someone asked me if we touch one another in Tantric sex. I guess there are some who practice Tantric breathing and nothing else, but that's not the kind of Tantra I'd choose to practice on a daily basis. We are human. We have bodies. Our bodies like to connect with other human bodies. Tantra offers techniques for connection that are intensely pleasurable. But, Tantra is more than a set of sexual techniques or positions. Tantra is about intimacy. Tantra is about connection. Tantra is about energy. Tantra is about a union with The Divine, of ecstasy, right here on earth. In that way, Tantra is a set of practices, a meditation, like yoga, chanting or, um, meditation. If I'm gonna meditate, my body insists on being involved. Besides, the "postures" are more fun than sitting za-zen for hours. Monks can sit and chant. I'd rather fuck my way to ecstasy on Earth. Seriously, though, Tantra is a practice. It's about using sex as an access to one's own spirit and to The Divine within each of us. Tantra offers a union of spirituality and sexuality. It also allows for a deep level of intimacy and connection of energy between humans who practice it together. Because it is a meditation, it is as necessary to health as twice-daily tooth brushing. If one practices Tantra, it becomes necessary to connect with one's partner or one's own sexual energy on a daily basis. Not just when one feels like it. Not just when one feels horny. And, the amazing thing is...if you practice even when you don't feel like it, the energy is there when you feel like going wild, deep, high, ecstatic. All of these words express what I've experienced with sexual connection. None of my past experiences, though great, equal to what I know is possible. That's exciting to those of us who would climb a mountain just because "it's there." I know it's there. I'm climbing. According to the Hindu beliefs from which Tantra developed back in 5000 B.C., the Earth is created through an erotic act, a union between the male Shiva (consciousness) and the female Shakti (energy). If I'm going to believe a creation myth, I'd like it to be one that involves sex, wouldn't you? It's a sexy spin on the Big Bang. A friend of mine who is an experienced practitioner of Tantra said that though it dates back to Hindu traditions, currently Tantra is really a Left Coast (and Hawaiian) phenomenon. As such, there's no wrong way to practice Tantra. Da kine. I like that there are no rules except a commitment to regular sexual connection with one's Beloved. Tantra grew up as rebellion against the powerful Brahmin priests whose ascetic approach was to "deny the body" to access enlightenment or The Divine. Instead, Tantra is about diving straight into the body of humanity, sexuality, embracing it and encountering The Divine in the midst of sex. Okay, now here's the challenging part. Because it is about connection, Tantra actually involves intimacy with another human being. Not just sex, which can be bodies going through pleasurable motions. Tantra is about using one's body for connection even when one is angry with the Beloved. Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. (Read here a string of four-letter words. I'm working on cleaning up my language a bit.) I'm cursing because intimacy means you have to deal with another annoying human being. Face it. We human beings are annoying. We all do stupid stuff. We don't communicate clearly. We disappoint one another. We lie. We say bad words. And, yet. And, yet. We want to be together. So we keep trying. Well, Tantra offers a way to keep trying that involves using one's body, one's energy as the bridge. Speaking solely for myself, I'll keep building that bridge, and I'm quite sure the bridge will take me to the mountain, and I will climb that mountain. Why? Because it's there. Because I'm human. Because I wish to encounter The Divine. (c) 2006 AskAphrodite |
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