adventures of a fearless (mostly) globe trotting seeker...
wondering, wandering, barefoot, nomadess

Showing posts with label goddess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goddess. Show all posts

Thursday, June 28, 2012

"What is the role of a woman in tantra?"

TANTRA FAQ: "What is the role of a woman in Tantric meditation?"
I thought I would share a very good question that was emailed to me this morning:

Q:
in one of your talks, you mentioned "playing roles". 

within the context of a tantra partner meditation, is there a role that a woman plays?
or is it a crapshoot of experiences?  or both?

or when a woman softens to the energy of her partner, 

is her experience that of his energy and how that energy flows and what it needs?  
the sit then becomes a cutting through all the external structures to
a deeper understanding of how your energy interacts 

with the energy in front of you.
I woke up today wondering ;)


A:

well...the masculine and feminine dynamics are fluid in both males and females
some sits with a man i find they move more towards the shakti feminine energy expression and i sit in the grounding shiva masculine position
think of the male/female sacred energy dynamic like the positive/ negative ends of a battery
and then think of that range as being fluid, no one is entirely feminine or masculine energy

the "role" of a woman in the sit, i think is to be in self-enquiry of the experience happening inside herself and awareness of the play and exchange of energy with her partner

when i have sat with a very solid "base" male partner, i find that the serpentine energy really begins to flow and move because it is grounded in safety, and i really enjoy this feeling of flow in my body and appreciate being based to have that experience

there is a lot to look at here, when we think of the "role" of a woman both in tantra sitting partner meditation and in how we live in the world...
in relationships, i think that the feminine needs to be able to surrender to the masculine, but that it is difficult as a woman to surrender to men who are not stable or safe
of course we are all evolving, so there is no "perfect partner" who makes us feel perfectly safe
but as i travel the world and see so many communities where the women have become the bread winners and the mothers, and there is a wounding in the masculine causing alcoholism and abuse, i see a deep pain in the soul of the world
a deep pain in the sacred masculine soul and the sacred feminine soul
i hope we are finding ways to mend this deep soul pain mirrored in the masculine and feminine

the "role" of a woman in these tantra practices is not the old idea of woman= passivity
i have been told before that i can be masculine, because i can be very directed and dominant
but look at the tantric goddesses, they are very powerful, so i think there is a place for a very powerful woman to meet with a very powerful man
and both give and take the dominant position in a natural flow
this dynamic calls both partners to be in their power, to face their weak places and to be humbled and grow
but what do i know?

Monday, February 13, 2012

Tantrik temple ritual


photo by julianne reynolds taken in Jan during the tantrik india pilgrimage

Devipuram Temple, India

KAMAKHYA...temple of the mothers genitals...

there is internal and external puja ritual worship to the Goddess
external temples can be built on the earth, but the internal temple is in the body

we can have bhoga and moksha, pleasure and freedom
the Mother is happy when we work and loves us when we play

a ritual bath is given to awaken kundalini at the root and send the shakti sleeping there to meet her lover shiva at the crown, their twinning opening the mystical central channel shushumna, called "the bridal chamber" by gnostics.

shushumna doesn't open except by love and longing, that's why it is called the bridal chamber, first they must be married two as One, red and white channels of the sun and moon become rose petal pink at the third eye, the pineal gland.

the energy of their maithuna union flows with amrit (nectar of immortality) and overflows, making the thousand petal lotus at the crown of the head blossom, connecting form to formless, two becomes the mystic One, and Sri, grace, rains down to feed the root and begin the never ending cycle again.

Through desire we manifest to experience ourselves as god in form. Through desire we experience ourselves through playfulness. The serpent devours her own tail to begin again.

tantra has a history of secrecy from the uninitiated.
why throw pearls before swine? you will only be ridiculed and punished the saying goes...
those who know do not speak...but if we do not speak how can we share the light we have seen through this path?