What You Can Learn From the Tantric Path (Hint: It’s More Than S*x)

As our society faces physical and mental health epidemics, we need to find a conscious way of living and connecting with ourselves and each other more than ever.

There has been a surge of interest in the healing arts and in the tantric path as we are emerging — and yet still suffering from — the double whammies of viral pandemics and mental health crises.

The public health crises in the U.S. have emerged from a health care system that has placed little emphasis on preventative care and an isolating capitalist system that has, to our citizens’ detriment, caused people to seek quick fixes, from junk food to pharmaceuticals that mask and treat the symptoms rather than the causes.

So, as I’ve written, in this climate of high inflation and late-stage capitalism, it is no wonder that people are considering novel approaches to support their health and healing, and that the green wave (decriminalization and legalization of cannabis) and psychedelic renaissance have emerged in response to the abject failure of the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) ethos of the 90’s.

Yet, as proponents of using earth medicines responsibly and intentionally have said: “When you receive the message, hang up the phone.” Cannabis and psychedelics can be great for helping one to reconnect with oneself; indeed, I believe they can act as keys to help us unlock greater consciousness and to inhabit ourselves more fully. Yet, we must remember that ultimately they should be used to help us remember our own divinity and inherent interconnectedness.

Tantra, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, refers to “one of the later Hindu or Buddhist scriptures dealing especially with techniques and rituals including meditative and sexual practices; also : the rituals or practices outlined in the tantra” (2023). According to Yoga Magazine, a tantric connection helps women and men unite so that their polar energies become intertwined as one; and as these polar energies unite and become intertwined, Shiva and Shakti become more awakened (2012).

As I’ve written in a previous article, “Men, It Serves You to Acknowledge a Woman’s Spirituality,” “Sexuality and sensuality are extensions of our spiritual selves, and we should be conscious of our energies and how we relate to others energetically.” A tantric approach helps to encourage you to be conscious of your own energy, and that energetic connection that you forge with your partner.

As I wrote in my article on the importance of men appreciating a woman’s spirituality and of truly worshipping a woman he is intimately involved with, “A woman in touch with herself, her spirituality, her femininity, and her sexuality can help bring you two to higher dimensions together. While all good sex may be considered psychedelic and orgasmic in its ability to invoke ego-death and heights of bliss, tantric level sex can become a portal to a higher consciousness and to a way of being where one exists in a constant state of being in love with and connected to the world.”

I believe in the power of sex and sensuality to fully ignite us and awaken us, and I write about the power of sex to alchemize a more conscious, awakened awareness based on my own experiences. Such sentiments have been echoed by many tantra practitioners. According to Yoga Magazine, “In the tantric tradition, the woman is considered to be higher than the man …. This … is purely a spiritual attitude in relation to the evolution of higher consciousness. The frame of a woman, her emotions, and her psychic evolution are definitely higher than that of a man. Awakening of the spiritual force, or kundalini, is much easier in the body of a woman than in the body of a man” (2012). The argument here that women are naturally more spiritually conscious and attuned is one I have made as well: the approach of tantra, thus, acts as another tool whereby men and women can both channel our life force energy — our sexuality — and harness it to become more consciously awakened to our spirituality, rather than depleted.

Yoga Magazine also informs us that, “When you study the books on tantra, you come across one central theme: Shakti is the creator, and Shiva is instrumental. Shiva has never been considered a creator” (2012). As women hold the divine portals to new life, we are considered more spiritual; furthermore, the purpose of a union between man and woman is to forge this spiritual connection and awakening.

In Western culture, which is so heavily influenced both by puritan culture and the degradation of sexuality through porn and hook-up culture, we could learn a lot from the path of tantra, which holds that sexuality is inherently a path that can help us in our spiritual awakening, to reach new states of orgasmic consciousness. It is through union that we maintain our higher consciousness, and thus sexuality should be seen as sacred.

Chad Foreman wrote in a post titled, “Unleashing the Full Power of the Tantric Path,” of the ability of tantra to help make us whole (or to realize our inherent wholeness): “This blissful current of energy cultivated through Tantra also has a deep love and intelligence and it begins to guide your life into ever increasing heights of synchronicity, healing and joy. The ego has gone and there is nothing left but a divine bliss leading the way transforming everything it encounters” (2016). Indeed, Foreman even posits on the ability of tantra as a practice to help people overcome their addictions, as it is a way for us to remember our wholeness and how we can find such wholeness through connection and pleasure rather than through escape and disconnection.

While tantric sex can help to ignite a kundalini awakening and serve as a heart-opener that lingers far beyond the actual sexual union, tantra as a practice is more largely about connecting to and grounding in oneself. Sexuality is only one part of the tantric approach; as Foreman wrote, “the Tantra path is ultimately about union, the union between you and the world so the boundary is forgotten” (2016). Tantra serves to remind us that our bodies are our divine vessels, and that using our bodies and minds intentionally can help us remember, even without other tools, that we are the medicine.

Sources:

Foreman, Chad. (January 15, 2016). “Unleasing the Full Power of the Tantric Path.” The Way of Meditation. Retrieved from https://www.thewayofmeditation.com.au/unleashing-the-full-power-of-the-tantric-path

“Tantra.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tantra. Accessed 28 Apr. 2023.

Yoga Magazine. (2012). Bihar School of Yoga. Retrieved from http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2010s/2012/1208/1208role.html

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