Sex and Spirit
Through the erotic, we gain access to the direct experience of
energy, a higher power that motivates and inspires. Erotic energy
empowers us to integrate spirit at a cellular level. Coming home to
our bodies, experiencing waves of arousal, we enter the sacred
mystery of a living world that lives in us. Giving and receiving
loving attention to this aspect of our being – one that is so often
deeply wounded and shrouded with shame – we mend the shredded fabric
of our selves, becoming more and more whole. With time and healing,
we learn to expand our capacity for joy, experiencing more and more
deeply what it is to be fully alive. Interacting with love and
mindfulness while making deep connection from this most secret,
withheld part of the self, we become numinous. We experience sacred
presence in others and in ourselves.
Tantra
Tantra is a complex practice that invites us to become more present
with all that is, and to learn to dance with the energy outside and
inside us. The Tantric traditions of ancient India and other
cultures viewed sexual energy as the source of life itself and as
one of the most powerful forces available to us as human beings.
Sexual ecstasy was seen as a taste of the divine.
see the video "What is Tantric Sex?" in the
Online Learning
section
In the West, the word “tantra” is increasingly used as shorthand for
the diverse panoply of practices that integrate sex with spirit.
From Margo Annand:
"Sex is first of all a matter of energy. The more energy you have,
the more blissful you can be, and the better sex becomes.... You can
learn to contain the energy, relax into it, and expand it. Ecstasy
happens when you stay relaxed and aware in high states of sexual or
nonsexual arousal. You can experience this state with or without a
partner, for long periods of time. This is not....an alternation
between arousal and relaxation, but a simultaneous resonance
between them. You allow the energy to rise to higher and higher
levels, while at the same time relaxing into the excitement, letting
it spread throughout the body, and containing it for longer and
longer periods." (from The Erotic Impulse)
Valley Orgasms
Sacred sexual traditions teach both women and men to become
readily, multiply orgasmic. To cultivate this capacity it is useful
to distinguish between peak and valley orgasms. Peak orgasms depend
on a active build-up of excitement. And it feels wonderful! But
pursuing a peak orgasm can make sex into a goal-oriented
activity, with lots of action and tension - during which we might
miss subtler joys. A valley orgasm is different. It arises in a
relaxed body. Rather than a destination we can pursue, it is an
ecstatic unfolding - an orgasmic state we enter. Bring awareness and
sensitivity to internal movements of energy, and fully appreciate
the small thrilling sensations that course through us. Relaxation
(even if briefly) invites the expansion of energy. It leads to more
inner awareness, increased bodily sensitivity, and more
psychological openness. When we are in this state of relaxation,
heart wide open and fully aware of all the joys we are feeling, we
may not exactly "have an orgasm" but rather, we become orgasmic.
Diana Richardson writes, "Orgasm is not necessarily a huge
explosion, a volcanic eruption. It can also be a cool, peaceful,
calm, relaxing valley where the body floats as light as a feather,
dissolving into love-drenched nothingness. It can be the experience
of eternity, beyond time, suspended in space by breath, one with the
pulsation of life. It also happens as if by miracle, that from this
depth of relaxation a peak of energy arises, but without any effort
at all. A subtle force rises slowly and steadily from the depths
moving into a sexual dance, as if choreographed by a divine energy
passing through the bodies." (from Tantric Orgasm
for Women)
Taoist Erotic Massage
Taoist Erotic Massage is full-body massage that can
include prolonged and creative genital stimulation. Recipients are
encouraged to breathe deeply, relaxing into the sensation. The
massage is typically climaxed with a staccato breathing pattern, a
full-body clench and release, and a period of meditation.
Taoist Erotic Massage strokes explore the range of sensation that is
possible, waking the neural network. Such touch can assist us in
bringing aliveness to this core part of our selves, expanding the
capacity for feeling, and giving erotic energy an honoured role in
our bodies and our lives.
Experiencing full-body touch without having to be concerned about a
partner’s pleasure, the person receiving reaches a deep state of
internal awareness. Practitioners of this art can access an inner
certainty, along with profound pleasure and ecstatic states. For
partners, sharing this practice can be deeply bonding, allowing
those with divergent desires to meet in a place of bliss.
For survivors of sexual abuse and others who feel cut off from
erotic empowerment, navigating desire and communicating choice in
highly charged sexual exchanges can feel impossible. Taoist Erotic
Massage provides an arena in which the person receiving can stay
safe and focused. All touch is directed by the receiver, who is
encouraged to breathe into body sensation and decide, moment to
moment, what their body wants.
Pleasure itself is healing. Learning to choose pleasure instead of
suffering is the first key to erotic empowerment. Pleasure is also a
pathway to spirit. As the body relaxes in a full-body massage it
releases hormones that facilitate feelings of love, bonding and
trust. With sexual stimulation we produce a cascade of powerful
endorphins that build a feeling of bliss. This is the biochemistry
of ecstasy. With prana pumps engaged by prolonged deep breathing,
the heart opens, energy spirals through the chakras, and we can
experience ecstatic unity with the divine in ourselves and others.
“This is about integrating spirit at the cellular level,” one of my
teachers says.
Taoist Erotic Massage was first developed in the1980's by Dr. Joseph
Kramer of the Body Electric School. Combining the ancient wisdom of
Tantra and Taoist sexual cultivation with the insights of western
sexology, psychology and neurobiology, this is a powerful practice
that can evolve and integrate body, mind, spirit and emotions. No
matter where you are on your personal journey of erotic empowerment,
Taoist Erotic Massage is a technology that can assist you in knowing
and experiencing your capacity for joy.
from Caffyn's
Monday Magazine article on Taoist Erotic
Massage.
For extensive video and text resources on Taoist Erotic Massage, see
the New School of Erotic Touch.
Energy Orgasms
What is orgasm? Is it possible to have an orgasm without being
touched?
Annie Sprinkle shows you how.
See also Breath Work and Medibation (Masturbation as
Meditation) in the "Erotic
Aliveness" section of this website and the video
"Circulate Erotic Energy" in the
Online Learning section
