Olympic Tantra

     Central to tantra is the use of ritual and the most ancient rituals are fire rituals.  It seems from reports, that the Olympic torch being carried around the UK has been very moving for many who saw it; the power of it taking them by surprise. Lingam which literally means "mark" or "sign" is often translated as "wand of light" as well as its meaning as phallus or penis. It is both phallic and has all the symbolism of fire within it. 


     In the original myth connected to the Olympics it commemorates the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus. In modern times for each Olympics it is lit from the sun in Greece by eleven women representing the Vestal virgins.


     In Britain, after a trip around the country it is brought to the site in a boat driven by David Beckham and a woman at the front guarding the flame; the divine couple. It is then used to light seven flames, which could represent the seven chakras. The seven young athletes then light petals; the end of a spiral and the flame then travels around this spiral; (sadly more than the three and a half turns that traditionally the serpent as the Kundalini is coiled in the base of the spine). The petals then rise up to create the magnificent cauldron of flames.


     The divine couple activate the seven chakras which awakens the kundalini dormant in the base chakra. It rises up and transforms the whole body with the fire in the belly and the chalice of the pelvis being reflected in the fire of transformation in the crown chakra - a many petalled lotus of flames. 
    
 Truly the ancient archetypes are alive and well in the human psyche. In tantra we learn to use ritual and the fires of the body in a conscious  way for transformation. Have a great summer. Namaste.

Equinox!

5am this morning, in our tantric temple in Wiltshire - the exact time of the Spring Equinox. I light the havan kund on the central sri yantra and make offerings of gee, rice and cow dung into the flames; chanting the Maha Mrityunjay Mantra 108 times. The mantra is to Shiva as the "three eyed one" that is one who has the third eye open.  Western neo-tantra places a huge emphasis on energy; breath sound and movement and all forms of Shakti, the Goddess. However, in most forms of traditional tantra consciousness is everything; it is the foundation of all, including the dance of Shakti to bring everything in to existence. The three eyed one expresses this sense of all-seeing presence and awareness.  The Equinox, the equal balance of day and night is a perfect time to meditate on the balance of Shiva and Shakti, consciousness and energy. 

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

This is a very sweet, beautiful movie about ageing and life and death. Unusual for featuring older women with the incomparable Judie Dench and Maggie Smith and assorted other English people who find themselves in a decrepit hotel in India. (see You Tube clip ) .  India is shown in all its colourful chaotic and contradictory exuberance; essentially as Shakti an embodiment of the feminine. It is the power of Shakti which awakens and renews these weary retirement folks, giving them life.  It shows that aliveness itself; not spiritual practice that can renew us.

Shivaratri; Honour the Masculine!

Tonight is MahaShivaratri - the great night of Shiva, the male principle.  This is a festival observed in honour of Lord Shiva and it is believed that on this day Lord Shiva was married to Parvati. Shiva is the male principal. How often today do we think of worshipping the masculine as the Divine Masculine, who's greatest desire is to serve the Goddess by creating safety, making and holding space and witnessing without judgement? 

Traditionally,  people observe a strict fast on this day. Some devotees do not even take a drop of water and they keep vigil all night. The Shiva Lingam is worshipped throughout the night by washing it every three hours with milk, curd, honey, rose water, and anointing with flowers, whilst the chanting of the Mantra "Om Namah Shivaya" continues.  This picture is one I took in Varanasi three years ago. This year, I celebrated early at the weekend at the Winter Bhakti Gathering (http://winterbhaktigathering.co.uk) with about 150 others. Beautiful chanting; amazing people... How much the world needs again the dance of the Divine Masculine and the Goddess rather than the mutual wounding of the dysfunctional masculine and the wounded feminine. Find a good man and celebrate him!!

Sex/Spirit Drive

We hear a lot about people's sex drive and how it comes and goes; whether it is too high or low but you may have never hear the term "Spirit drive".  This is the drive to connect to Spirit; to Source to the Divine. Some people experience this as a deep longing for the One; for union with or absorption into the Divine. Some young children experience it, though they may have a hard time formulating it; a longing to go home. This later gets eclipsed by, or transforms into the sex drive. Later in life they may separate out again and we can experience the two as more separate drives. The author of some recent research published in the American Journal of Medecine on this said, "Approximately half of the women aged 80 or older reported arousal and orgasm most of the time, but rarely reported sexual desire."  See Article . So you could think of the variations of your sex and your spirit drives through your life. Where are you now? Tantra, of course says that at the deepest level the two drives are from the same source; there is only the deep longing to realise the Oneness that is All.

2012 etc.

Welcome to the Winter Solstice.  My prediction is that at the end of 2011 there will be 2012 and after 2012 there will be 2013. The world will not end despite the beliefs of some fundamentalist religionists and some New Agers alike. The Mayan calendar -  all 3 Mayan calendars are less accurate than the old Roman calendar and don't predict the end of the world. The astronomical descriptions; such as the earth is crossing the centre line on the galaxy are rubbish (see 2012 apocalypse and  2012 hoax ) . Dates are simply numbers and astronomy and astrophysics are fairly well understood.

Things are changing faster and faster in the world in complicated and contradictory ways. I like the title of one talk a few years ago: "Things are getting better, things are getting worse and, things are and always have been perfect." In tantric terms this age is known as the Kali Yuga when people are furthest from Source, but the age is a very long one and transition out into another is a slow process not a sudden change.  Ancient texts suggest that tantra is the best practice in the Kali Yuga.

I have got predictions for next year. Here are a couple. Several countries will stop pricing commodities (perhaps including oil), in US dollars and the US will stop being able to print dollars to buy commodities and have to start living in the real world. It will realise that its economy has been totally unviable for years and people will begin wake up. The resulting civil  unrest will unleash the powers of the US State, which has been waging a sort of hidden war on much of the world for decades, and turn them against its own citizens. This is what the FEMA Camps are for (see You Tube Video ). In Britain, a report has called for rioters to be shot.

The best thing to do? Meditate and protest.  Protest when you can and support the Occupy movement. Talk to your neighbours and build local as well as global connections - remember the internet can be controlled or switched off.  Learn to grow vegetables. Globally, learn to speak Chinese as they are the major economy which is really growing thanks to isolation and a ruthlessly practical government. Practice meditation yoga and tantra. Make love. Be love. Mark the Solstice and have a good year. Namaste!

Men's Day

Saturday was International Men's Day; did you miss it as well?? Its not the most widely publicised event and of course attracts the comment that every day is men's day from their profile in politics and the public agenda.This prevents the need to look at men and their vulnerabilities which their competitive capture of the public spaces hides. More men die of testicular and prostate cancer than women die of breast cancer but breast cancer and screening is well know. Too many men don't even know where their prostate is (its behind you!!!!) Three times as many men commit suicide as women and it is the biggest single killer of men aged 15 - 34 in Britain. In inner city areas, crime is the major cause of death amongst black men under 25. The dysfunction of men creates lots of young men who grow up without fathers or father-figures creating the next generation of lost men who remain as overgrown teenagers with no means of entry into true manhood. Sport and the celebrity culture don't provide many good role models. The most powerful and transgressive act today is to honour the functions of the masculine; power, authority, presence; all used to witness without judgement, create safety and hold space. In that held sacred space the feminine can heal and blossom and children can grow.