Here is your October 2007 Tantric Arts Institute Newsletter.

 

Greetings on the approach of Samhain!

 

(Rhymes with "how-when," Samhain celebrates faith in the return of the sun as the nights grow longer in Autumn. In ancient days, heathens or "people of the heath" would extinguish their hearth fires, clean their hearths and take a candle to meeting where they would then be put out. After some moments of reflection on the prospect of winter without fire and one's own mortality, a man would strike a fire in the old way, with flint and steel, or even with bow and tinder. Once the new fire was struck, families would light their candles and use them to light their hearths with a fresh appreciation for the gift of fire. Christians later declared the festival to be "all hallow's evening" or Halloween.)

 

In this issue:

• Recap of Recent Adventures
  • Egyptian Adventures
  • Baba Dez's Daka/Dakini conference East in Chicago
• Upcoming Events:
  • Oct 19-21, Sebastopol, CA Evalena Rose: Evoking Divine Passion
  • Nov 2, Santa Cruz, CA Carolena Fleishman & Kelly Bryson: Puja
  • Nov 9 -11, Boulder, CO Saida Desilets & Thomas Hearfield: Awakened Masculine Fusion
  • Nov 12 -14, Boulder, CO Saida Desilets: Jade Goddess Seminar
• New Offering: Tantric Embodiment Home Study Course
• Tantric Terminology (Witness Consciousness)
• Solo Practice (Nadi Sodanha or Alternate Nostril Breathing)
• Partner Play (Presencing Divinity)
• Dear Daka (Premature Ejaculation)

Carolena & Mead Return From Egyptian Adventures

July found Carolena Fleishman and Mead Rose of Hot Tantra in Egypt at Raqia Hassan's Ahlan wa Sahlan festival of Egyptian Dance (Belly Dancing). Cairo turned out to be quite an experience. Regrettably, everyone came down with intestinal distress, but thanks to the advice provided by Egyptian native Hala Fauzi of Hala Dance, recovery was rapid.

 

Baba Dez's Daka/Dakini Conference East in Chicago

This was the second time Tantric Arts Institute showed up at Baba Dez's conference. The group was smaller that the Spring Conference in Sedona, and we got down to some intense inquiries. In particular, Reid Mihalko raised the issue of the tendency for tantra professionals to be unpartnered and Dr. Betty Martin discussed what distinguishes a tantric professional from someone who is getting their own needs met through Daka/Dakini work. I am looking forward to the upcoming Daka/Dakini Conference West in Sedona, May 9-11.

 

New Offering: Tantric Embodiment Home Study Course

 

Tantric Embodiment is under development as a pilot project for a home study course. It was created by combining understandings from Taoist practices and Ipsalu Tantra. The purpose is to activate the body in a way that a person becomes sensitive to the variety of sensations, the reverse of "shutting down."

Each lesson involves exploration of specific areas of sensation, with the point of activating the whole body and the range of emotions. Crucial to this process is development of "witness consciousness" so that if undesirable feelings came up, they can be experienced, examined and accepted.

The eventual results are that individuals would be fully embodied and capable of fully feeling their bodies, emotions and pleasure. They would also have a degree of mastery with respect to the opposite sex and be well on the path with respect to such tantric practices as how to pleasure the opposite sex, self-ignition, ejaculatory choice, and transmutation of orgasmic energy.

Tantric Terminology: Witness Consciousness

Witness Consciousness or "holding the witness" refers to the practice of remaining mindful of one's self as a non-judgemental observer, particularly when releasing trauma or undergoing stressful life experiences. It is distinguished from simple catharsis because rather than becoming swept up in the drama and possibly being overwhelmed, a person is able to fully feel, honor and release the physical and emotional sensations. Whereas simple catharsis runs the risk of driving trauma deeper (getting stuck in the muck), witness consciousness seeks to transcend (the way a lotus flower sits above the mud.)

 

Solo Practice: Nadi Sodanha or Alternate Nostril Breathing

This practice is very useful for balancing male/female and right-brain/left-brain with one's self. Begin by exhaling and placing the index finger between the eybrows.

 

Close the right nostril, inhaling through the left. Close the left nostril and hold for a moment. Open the right nostril and exhale, then inhale. Close them both and hold for a moment. Open the left nostril and exhale. Repeat several times.

 

Partner Play: Presencing Divinity

In days of old, many people believed that deities could visit them by temporarily possessing the bodies of normal people. In relationship, we often come to thinking of our partner as some one we know all too well, as if there is nothing left to learn.

 

By intentionally creating the fantasy that we are being visited by a God or Goddess through the body of our partner, we can bring about a sense of awe for both the divine and for our partner. A couple may start by affectionally addressing one another as God-man or Goddess.

 

Through the continued practice of letting go of what is familiar about our partner, we may awaken to the mystery of our partner as the Beautiful Stranger, a source of unending interest.

 

Dear Daka: Premature Ejaculation

Dear Daka, I am concerned because I find that I am out of sync with my partner sexually. This wasn't a problem before I was contemplating marriage, since I could always find a new girlfriend. Now the situation is different. I want to extend my lovemaking and truly satisfy my partner. The problem is that I have no practice at delaying my orgasms. Any suggestions? Let me know ASAP - Impatient Lover

 

Dear Impatient Lover,

I suggest dropping urgency in the form of ASAP and impatience. There are a number of tantric techniques to deal with premature ejaculation, however it needs to be said that the purpose of these techniques is not just delaying ejaculation, but rather to gain first Ejaculatory Choice and later Ejaculatory Mastery where orgasm and ejaculation are recognized as separate experiences and semen can be retained as a general practice and emitted only occasionally.

The first technique I recommend is to practice the Transmutation Breath. Here's how:

• Practice while self-pleasuring (without a partner).
• Tighten the muscles of the pelvic floor. (the ones you use to hold pee and poop until you can get to the bathroom)
• Inhale feeling the sexual energy rise up to the top of your head.
• Release the muscles of the pelvic floor and say the following sounds out loud so you can feel the vibration.

• • 1/3 "Eeeeeee" feeling the vibration between your eybrows
  • 1/3 "Ahhhhhh" feeling the vibration in the heart region
  • 1/3 "Ohhhhhh" feeling the vibration in the solar plexus

• For starters, try to do this three times in a row without going over the edge.
• A little more advanced, do it 10 times and then halt self-pleasuring for an hour.
• What we are doing is starting to retrain the body to direct sex energy up the spine and then to distribute it to the head, heart and power centers rather than out the penis.

The second technique is to be used during lovemaking. It is a good idea to discuss this with one's partner beforehand, since many women have issues of sexual self-worth tied to whether or not they can pull the semen out of their partner and may be confused when a man breaks the rhythm to practice retention. Simply, this technique is to halt, squeeze and release.

• When lovemaking and approaching the "point of no return" stop all motion. Possibly even withdraw out of the vagina
  
• Take a breath, hold it, and tighten every muscle in the body.
• Release both the muscle tension and the breath.
• Resume lovemaking

A man may find that he temporarily loses his erection when he does this. This is because the act of tightening all the muscles throughout the body actually draws blood away from the genitals.