THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF TANTRA

Written by by Moses Ma Tuesday, 27 October 2009 00:04

THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF TANTRA by Moses Ma
The Neuroanatomy of Mirror Neurons, Porn and Non-Duality

From http://community. onetantra. com/groups/ group/search? q=One+Tantra+ News

Half a century ago, many scientists believed it to be impossible to truly understand the secret of life. However, the discovery of the structure of DNA and the subsequent mapping of the human genome have changed medicine and biology forever. We now face a similar pursuit in understanding the fundamental basis of consciousness. How does the smell of fresh baked bread just out of the oven or the pain of stubbing your toe or the experience of bliss in A brain entrainment tool used to go beyond mind to open the doorway to Cosmic consciousness. It can be achieved or practiced by using a mantra, Yantra, or repetitive motion, such as free form dancing, running, or sitting silently like in Zazen, etc. Often thought of as dropping the mind.

"meditation - emerge from networks of random neurons and synaptic processes? From where does consciousness spring? And what the heck does tantra have to do with all of this? Does understanding the neuroscience of attention or of endocrinology help make us achieve spiritual awakening more easily?

For the purposes of this article, an exploration of the neurobiology of tantra can be broken down into three general areas of investigation. First, to connect the phenomenology of consciousness to its underlying neurobiology – ie, to truly understand how consciousness itself arises from this magnificent machine we call the brain, made of neurons, dendrites, axons and synapses. Second, to address the current neurobiology of meditation, with an eye toward addressing scientific methodology to the exploration of Sanskrit term relating to the creative life-force energy at the base of the spine that once awakened, coils upward like a snake through the electrical Chakra centers awakening each aspect of the soul more fully, and as it reaches the crown, and connects with the experience of universal oneness. Nirvikalpa samadhi, enlightenment beyond forms, occurs as the force pierces through the door of Brahman at the core of the sahasrara and enters"kundalini, and perhaps even "Qi or Chi is the Chinese word for the flows of subtle energy in the body that move along pathways called meridians. A clear flow of energy through the meridians is the key to radiant health, eroticism, and intimacy. This is not a hoax or April Fool's joke. Researchers at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories succeeded in processing and displaying images directly from the human brain, they said in a study unveiled ahead of publication in the US magazine Neuron. While the team for now has managed to reproduce only simple images from the brain, they said the technology could eventually be used to figure out dreams and other secrets inside people's minds.

"It was the first time in the world that it was possible to visualize what people see directly from the brain activity," the private institute said in a statement. "By applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams."When people look at an object, the eyes retina recognizes an image that is converted into electrical signals which go into the brains visual cortex. The team, led by chief researcher If this is possible, what else is possible? To see or perhaps even experience someone's dreams? To copy the neural patterns of knowledge and download it into a brain directly? What implausible science fiction movie will we turn into a reality? Instead of speculating about the potential variations of this amazing line of research, let's return to the core question – how do we connect the phenomenology of consciousness to its underlying neurobiology, and what is the impact on the entire concept of spirituality

In their experiment, the researchers showed people the six letters in the word "neuron" and then succeeded in reconstructing the letters on a computer screen by measuring their brain activity. The team said that it first figured out people's individual brain patterns by showing them some 400 different still images and recording how their brain reacted. And, true to science fiction, the images were somewhat cluttered and fuzzy, an excellent representation of where the technology might be in 20 years.

If this is possible, what else is possible? To see or perhaps even experience someone's dreams? To copy the neural patterns of knowledge and download it into a brain directly? What implausible science fiction movie will we turn into a reality? Instead of speculating about the potential variations of this amazing line of research, let's return to the core question – how do we connect the phenomenology of consciousness to its underlying neurobiology, and what is the impact on the entire concept of spirituality?

Epiphenomenalism, a Mouthful of Scientific Reductionism

With such amazing scientific breakthroughs, it seems that the battle between epiphenomenalism and hypophenomenalism may actually be decided sooner rather than later. Oops... my bad. Let me explain those 25¢ words. For those who aren't philosophy or neuroscience majors, epiphenomenalism is the idea that consciousness is simply an effect of neural events in your brain. Sort of like the triumph of Bill Maher over Bill Moyers - there IS no god, so get used to it. Hypophenomenalism, on the other hand, contends that awareness is a product, effect, or manifestation of psychic activity… something that is more than something that just happens to pop out of a vat of neurons and axons. [Ed. note – May you someday win a round of Trivial Pursuit by knowing this obscure factoid.]

It resolves down to this: if you can see thoughts in the brain, and see how they might cause neural activity correlated with other thoughts, then – the reasoning goes – all thought must occur within the brain. Epiphenomenalism therefore attempts to solve the most mysterious problem in philosophy – explaining the experience of consciousness – in this reductionist manner. Sorry buddy, you're a walking biocomputer, that just happens to worry about itself existentially. And existential anxiety is just another byproduct of epiphenomenalism.

However, if you lean toward hypophenomenalism, you'd better start producing some evidence to back up your theory that there more to consciousness than brain cells. For example, several years ago I ran across an interesting research paper about a young man with hydro-encephalitis. More than 90% of this brain tissue had been destroyed, but somehow, he was able to graduate college and was fully functional in life. [Ed note – I've lost my copy of this paper, which I think was done 30 years ago and reported in Science Notes. If you can find it, please send me the reference and I'll buy you a beer!]

In that paper, researchers suggested that non-traumatic destruction of brain tissue – in which neural damage happens slowly enough for the brain to organically rewire itself in time – would produce something like this fellow who was literally only using 10% of this brain. Those researchers then performed an experiment where they very slowly destroyed brain tissue in some lab rats, and sure enough, they were able to run through the maze just fine, even with more than half their brain tissue chemically destroyed. The key was to destroy the brain cells slowly enough, and the rat didn't get any dumber.

Although this may sound like it's meant to bring cheer to alcoholics, in fact, I believe that it's possible that the implications of this experiment are far more profound than this. Such experiments could possibly indicate that consciousness may actually be resident in something other than the brain, supporting the position of the hypophenomenalists. This would indicate that human consciousness is actually resident "outside" of the brain in some way, perhaps multi-dimensionally , and perhaps uses the brain as a conduit for physical existence, bringing cheer to Star Trek fans everywhere, thinking "Yes, it is possible to put Spock's consciousness back into a tabula rasa body". We'll return to this concept later, but for now, let us turn our attention to the neuroscience of meditation

Meditation and Neuroscience

Let's move on to second area of discussion – the neurophysiology of meditation, A Chinese system of breathing control, physical exercise and meditation (a Chinese system of breathing control, physical exercise and meditation. By simple definition, meditation is engagement in contemplation, especially of a spiritual or devotional nature. To elaborate further, meditation is an attempt to concentrate mind on a single form or an idea or an aspect of divinity, paired with the control of certain life energies that have been postulated for thousands of years but not quite proven scientifically yet. Anyway, the key idea about meditation is that the mind is focused inwards, and this effort of concentration acts as a stimulus to minimize perceptions through senses, by detaching mind from sense organs in the brain. This helps in controlling restlessness of mind, in favor of inner contemplation. The mind is thus made still.

Unprecedented progress and research in neurobiology, and study of neurotransmitters in the last two decades has added significantly to the study of neurophysiology of meditation, qigong and yoga. They have found that:

1) practitioners of meditative arts could slow both heart rate and rate of respiration.
2) practitioners could slow the rate of metabolism as confirmed by decreased oxygen consumption and carbon-dioxide output.3) Electro-Encephalo- Gram (EEG - recording of brain activity) in practitioners showed changes of calmness in the form of "alpha rhythm" during both eyes closed and eyes open recordings.
4) for practitioners, the skin resistance to electric stimulation was increased (indicating increased tolerance to external stimuli).

All of this indicates that our usual fight or flight response to emotional and physical stress - normally mediated through over-secretion of certain neuro-transmitters and neuro-modulators – can be modified. Under the influence of adrenaline and dopamine, we reflexively become panicky or aggressive, our blood pressure rises. However, disciplines like qigong, yoga and meditation have a direct impact on this biological response.

EEG Studies on Practitioners

Yogis practising raja-yoga have claimed that during the state of Samadhi, they are oblivious to the internal and external stimuli, and enjoy a calm and continuous ecstasy during that state. A study was undertaken to record the electrical activity of their brain during this state by means of electroencephalogra phy, EEG.

This study was carried out on four subjects during meditation. Effects of external stimuli, like a loud gong, strong light, thermal simulation, and vibrations were studied. The results were compiled and analyzed. It was observed that two yogis could keep their hands immersed in extremely cold water for about 50 minutes (raised pain threshold). During state of meditation, all of them showed persistent "alpha activity" in their EEG with increased amplitude wave pattern, both during 'eyes closed' and 'eyes open' recording. It was observed that these alpha activities could not be blocked by various sensory stimuli during meditation. It was also observed that those, who had well-marked "alpha activity" in their resting EEG showed greater aptitude and zeal for maintaining the practice of yoga. Similar results were obtained for Zen meditators.

Also, the International Journal of Neuroscience recently published an interesting EEG study that was conducted on a subject with 50 years of experience in Qigong. It showed that the subject's brain state, during qigong, had shifted from occipitally dominant alpha-2 recorded in 1962, to frontally dominant alpha-1 at present. During the Qigong practice alph-1 enhanced quickly and became far more prominent than 50 years ago. Compared with baseline, these activities remained to be higher at rest after the Qigong practice. These results suggest that extended practice in meditation may change the EEG pattern and its underlying neurophysiology. In other words, meditation can actually change or evolve your brain.

The plausible hypothesis to explain the altered state of consciousness brought about by intense and prolonged mediation may be developed as follows:

The evolutionary process adds higher centers to the primitive nervous system. These higher centers have inhibitory influence, in other words they suppress the functions of lower centers. Thus, the brain stem is controlled by the higher limbic system, and the limbic system in turn is controlled by still higher neo-cortex. The neuro-modulators with their influence on various neuro-transmitters effectively bring about this inhibitory modifications and inter-relations among various brain centers (hierarchy).

For instance, involuntary movements like tremors and chorea are suppressed by basal ganglia through the action of dopamine and acetylcholine synergy. Any imbalance in these neuro-modulators causes involuntary movements like chorea, tremors (Parkinson's Disease etc.). Similarly, loss of cortical control over the motor neurons of spinal cord leads to exaggerated muscle and tendon jerks due loss of inhibitory control of the higher motor cortex.

The neo-cortex keeps all the involuntary movements, hyper-reflexivity, rage, aggression, and similar animal tendencies under check so that it can effectively pursue its own highly developed activities of logic, memory, reason, language, calculations, judgment, and concepts, etc. Conscious, willful, imaginative functions are therefore, normal state of awareness of the human beings.

When meditation acts as a constant repetitive stimulus, certain qualitative and quantitative permanent changes develop in the nervous system. The neuro-transmitters and neuro-modulators may stimulate growth of dormant or latent neurons to develop centers which on the evolutionary ladder are still higher than the present day cerebral cortex. The brain may develop new connections and plasticity resulting in the capacity to think, to rationalize, and react in a different way to the sensory input than what is expected by present day physiologists.

Some brave neuroscientists, in search of a writing a bestseller book, have named this the 'God Module'. This higher center would exert inhibitory control over the present day neo-cortex reflexes, and thereby, over the mind as a whole. Certain `lower' mental activities would hence be suppressed by this higher function. In other words, the part of our brain that makes us human, is actually constantly controlling and inhibiting the part that would make us purely animal. And through meditation, an even higher part of the brain would emerge, so that something which makes us 'enlightened and superhuman', would control and inhibit the part of our brain that would make us only human, ie, the neo-cortex. In other words, the neo-cortex controls our animal tendencies, and makes us human. But the `God module' controls our petty human tendencies, to help make us superhuman. (Also, please note where this God Spot is... right at the third eye. Funny huh?)

Eventually, through this evolution of neural control and discipline, a person will reach a state beyond mind itself - transcendental awareness. Such a theory could possibly align with spiritual practice, as the spiritual path is from the least evolved states of consciousness to higher evolved states, after which the mind itself would eventually enter a state of non-dual experience. This may be supported by recent research on the God Module. The God Module seems to be localized for normal regular people, but in EEG studies of with nuns and expert meditators, the module appears to get bigger over time and involve more and more of the brain.

Now, in tantric terms, perhaps the practice of something like transcending jealousy and learning to love unconditionally, pursued by polyamorists and modern tantrics, the similar neural evolution may be achieved. The neo-cortex keeps rage under control, but jealousy is a higher level function that it falls prey to, as an evolutionary adaptation to insure long term pair bonding. And in this way, it shows that something like the polyamorous goal of transcending or unlearning jealousy, actually aids in the development of higher brain functions - to inhibit or overcome jealousy - that eventually leads to higher levels of spiritual awareness. In this way, the pursuit of polyamory just might be aligned with a scientific spiritual path for humanity.

Delving even further into meditation, you'll find within the art of qigong, a practice known as 'empty force'. Empty force is a technique where a practitioner uses Qi to project it from his/her hand to an opponent at a distance (not touching the opponent), to knock the opponent down. Here is a video of Bill Moyer's visiting a master of qigong, demonstrating the use of empty force:

One more area that may be interesting to consider, dealing with very highly accomplished tantric meditators, is the formation of sarira. Sarira are crystal-like objects that are found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. For example, consider the Buddhist Yogi C. M. Chen, who was a highly accomplished tantric meditator, or the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. On the cremated skulls of both, the formation of many sarira flowers were evident, and both had one very prominent crystal formation on the top of the skull. Perhaps the final evolution of the God Module is the formation of such sarira. The photo to the right are some of the sarira of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua.

Perhaps what is needed to force a paradigm shift in Western science is a reproducible and rigorous test of things like qi, kundalini, sarira and empty force. Once it is measurable by scientists, then we may begin to make true inroads into the neurophysiology of meditation, qigong and yoga. But until then, such investigation will be considered to be fringe research.

But what about the neurobiology of kundalini? Consider the work of Gopi Krishna, an Indian yogi, mystic, author of Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man. Krishna proposed that kundalini was the mechanism responsible for the evolution of the human race. The awakening of this psycho-physiologica l mechanism through the techniques of Yoga or other suitable disciplines, or so Krishna believes, produces a scientifically measurable biochemical essence that is responsible for the phenomena of genius, creativity, inspiration, the religious impulse and revelation. His theory is that every form of genuine mystical ecstasy result from the impact of this highly concentrated vital energy on the brain.

He also proposed that the Kundalini mechanism would effect a radical change in some current concepts about life and narrow the gulf existing between religion and science. It would also draw the attention of scholars towards the spiritual laws of evolution of which they have no knowledge at present. He urged neuroscientists to study the phenomenon in detail.

Just to remind you of Krishna's first experience of kundalini awakening: Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord. Entirely unprepared for such a development, I was completely taken by surprise; but regaining my self-control, keeping my mind on the point of concentration. The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light. It is impossible to describe the experience accurately. I felt the point of consciousness that was myself growing wider surrounded by waves of light. It grew wider and wider, spreading outward while the body, normally the immediate object of its perception, appeared to have receded into the distance until I became entirely unconscious of it. I was now all consciousness without any outline, without any idea of corporeal appendage, without any feeling or sensation coming from the senses, immersed in a sea of light simultaneously conscious and aware at every point, spread out, as it were, in all directions without any barrier or material obstruction. I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined to a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exultation and happiness impossible to describe.

Now, contrast this to Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's experience of a left-hemispheric stroke, recounted in her book In My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. Her description of her awareness no longer confined to her body may indicate that the portions of the experience of kundalini awakening may be caused by certain neuro-hormones that are released only in certain times of stress or great change. Clearly, this is an area for continued research.

But the key question is this... how does meditation, kundalini, qi, empty force and neuroscience all fit together in some nice neat unified theory of consciousness and spirituality? How can we even begin to solve such a complex and difficult problem?
Neurobiology of Ecstasy

What did they find? First, there was a change from very asynchronous activity in the brain – what we do when we're awake, normally. Our nerves are all firing at different times, doing different things. But right at the time of orgasm everything becomes very synchronised. The research indicates that very low frequency, large amplitude signals are being propagated through the nervous system. No one is quite sure what this means, but something very intense is happening.

Also, because the researchers had so many electrodes in the brain, they were able to map out a rough sequence of events. Importantly the sensory information seems to come up the spinal cord from the reproductive tract as you would expect, it starts at the thalamus which is our filtering station for all sensory information coming into the brain. And from there the important signals seemed to be moving along the mid-line of the brain toward the front of the brain. This is called the medial forebrain bundle. Now in the medial forebrain bundle there are nerves involved in many different pathways but there are very important ones going forward that pass through the pleasure centers. And then the signals continued past there into the forebrain, the prefrontal cortex area, and that's where we process information associated with emotion.

Another finding was that during stimulation, women and men react differently. For example, when the female partner touches the penis, men get very attentive and lots of neurons start firing. You could see that in terms of which kind of brain parts were activated. However, when the women were in the scanner and the men were stimulating, and they were directly stimulating the clitoris, the women's brains did not pay so much importance to this physical input. So the sexual response of men and women really ARE different.

But more important is that during sexual stimulation – this is true for both men and women – there was a decrease of those parts of the brain that usually are involved in fear or anxiety. This part of the brain is called the amygdala, very important in processing fear. Both in men and in women they were deactivated, during sexual stimulation. Neurobiologists have seen a similar deactivation in the amygdala in brains when people who are deeply in love see a photo of their loved ones.

At the moment of orgasm, there is enormous deactivation in the region of the temporal lobe and the amygdala. However, there is activation in the cerebellum during orgasm, but nobody has any idea why this is happening or what it means. The cerebellum is the structure at the base of our brain and that's sometimes called our "little brain", or our "reptilian brain". It's associated with things like movement coordination. And in men, there's a huge increase in activity in that region, during orgasm.

Finally, the cortex – the prefrontal or orbito-frontal cortex – that is just behind and above your eyes, this part of the brain are also deactivated. And these parts of the brain are involved in control of basic emotions. So in a sense we abandon our emotions during orgasm!
1. Perhaps the study of orgasm and meditative bliss can be compared? Is there a similar deactivation of the amygdala? If so, is it possible that something about the orgasmic response can teach us about spiritual evolution? If so, then there may be more to the idea that sexuality is a doorway to spirituality than meets the visual cortex. Perhaps the study of the neurobiology of tantra could actually provide a bridge to understanding the grand unification theory of the neurobiology of meditation, kundalini, qi, empty force and neuroscience?

Isn't that a terribly exciting idea - perhaps tantra really is a pathway to greater neurobiological knowledge and spiritual achievement!

Conclusions

What can we conclude from all of this? First, it's clear that these problems are really hard to crack! But more importantly, this is definitely an area that will provide us with much knowledge and clues for human evolution.

For example, consider the breakthrough pre-announced by the ATR labs, about a machine that will be able to "see" human dreams - it is only the beginning of what is possible. The limitations of that technology are actually computational. We'll likely need to produce quantum computers - that work a million to a billion times faster and more powerfully than today's silicon-based processing chips. But guess what? Progress in the quantum computing arena is also happening at breakneck speed. For example, D-Wave Systems, a Canadian manufacturer, recently announced what they call "the worlds first commercially viable quantum computer." A quantum computer makes use of quantum mechanical phenomena to process data, and will be able to solve specific problems exponentially faster than any standard computer - like predicting the weather, automatic real-time language translation, and new kinds of neural-computer interfaces. So perhaps quantum computing is another piece of the puzzle - a finger pointing at the moon of humanity's next great evolutionary leap.

Here's an idea: Wouldn't it be fun to create a symposium called ""New Perspectives in Neuroscience, Psychosexuality and Ecstatic States". The program would be aligned with the four pathways to ecstatic states: breath/movement/ exercise, sacred sexuality, psychopharmacology and meditation. If this sounds fun to you, please contact us and maybe together, we can make it happen!

Response to Amrita (Female Ejaculation)

Last Updated on Saturday, 10 October 2009 20:11 Written by Dr. Corynna Clarke Saturday, 10 October 2009 20:02

RESPONSE TO FEMALE EJACULATION ARTICLE by S, Re Janet Lessins Article
www.schooloftantra.com    

Thank you for your post, I had an experience in my first relationship where my girlfriend was able to ejaculate. All of what you say is true, I have always believed that the biggest key to female ejaculation is trust. If a woman cannot trust you to have integrity and to be OK with any outcome, be it mind blowing sex or just an intimate sharing of closeness, then she will certainly not feel safe with something as new and potentially emotionally charged as ejaculating in your presence.

Something that I've found many men need to realize is that when it is aproaching that point for a woman, she can FEEL it coming. If a woman has never experienced an ejaculation they can become frightened, because they know that it's very different from what they normally experience. This is where that trust comes in. If they are worrying about what YOU are going to think, suddenly they are no longer in their own body enjoying what is happening. Even if that does not stop her, all those feelings of anxiety can easily convince a woman that it's time to stop what is going on RIGHT NOW. I've heard stories from guys where women have literally got up and run away at this point. I think that this type of thing is generally from men who have this GOAL of MAKING a woman ejaculate.

Just as you say Janet. Again FANTASTIC post.

The article S's relating to: HELP HER EJACULATE by Janet Kira Lessin

Whether or not a woman ejaculates is an indicator of possible trauma
or abuse and shows how a woman holds back in her life or
relationships. Holding back is not wrong. A woman's defenses have
come into place in her being for a divine reason known only to her
and her psyche and are there to protect her and maintain her
integrity. They are to be honored.

The time, place and people and the place must be safe for her, that's
why it's so important to create the container for this sacred event.
Create that which she needs in order for it to be appropriate for her
to let down her guard.

In tantra, the goal is goalessness, especially when it involves
female ejaculation which is extremely personal, intense and involves
a high degree of openness and vulnerability for both the giver and
receiver. This sacred ritual deserves to be honored and respected and
not put into the arena of a circus show. Getting a woman to ejaculate
is not an indicator of a man's sexual prowess and a woman's ability
to ejaculate is not yet another area where women can compare
themselves and feel inferior to a man or even other women.

It takes a woman longer to get aroused than a man. So in order to get
synchronized, in tantric sex we always give the woman at least oneorgasm before intercourse.

Take a deep breath together, smile and match each others' rhythm.
Look in her eyes. Ask permission to touch. When given, begin by
blowing softly on the clitoris. Take your time, you've got all night.
Begin with baby kisses. Ever so lightly brush past her pearl with
your tongue. As she responds, gradually increase frequency and
intensity of your touch.

Take her clitoris in your mouth and trace it with your tongue. Soft
at first until she responds. Pay attention to her breath, pulse,
movements, sounds. You're tracking her, this isn't about you right
now.

Imagine the Clitoris is a Mini Penis
Her clitoris is a miniature glands penis so pleasure her as you would
like your penis pleased, only softer. As you take her pearl in your
mouth and suck, it swells with blood growing larger and larger as it
becomes engorged. Her labia becomes flushed with blood. Her pelvis
begins to thrust inviting you to do more as the juices flow.

May I Enter Your Sacred Cave?
Ask her for the honor of entering her sacred space with your finger.
When she gives permission, wet your ring finger on your non-dominant
hand and gently insert it into her orifice. At first just hold. Allow
contact and energy to flow. Make eye contact, take a few breaths
together.

Go slow, and at all times remember the sacredness of this mediation
ritual that you are co-creating with this divine being who has
invited your into her innermost wholly places.

Put Her in the Mudra
Keep the palm of your hand on her clitoris while you do the mudras on
her chakras to get her even more into the mood.

As you hold your hand in place inside her yoni, look in her eyes as
you touch the crown of her head and say as you gently touch each
chakra "Imagine the Goddess Shakti resides in the crown of your head
and we are inviting her to come down through her third-eye, throat,
heart, power and sexual chakras to meet her devotee at who waits
patiently at her sacred shrine; honored to gather there to worshipher".

The most common area that breaks down for most of us in long-term
relationships is the sexuality. We build up internal resentments over
time from our unresolved disagreements. Previous issues from
programming we received from parents, culture, and relationships
before we found one another sneak up on us and shut us down. We move
apart; eventually we fall apart.

Many times we reach "the brick wall"; and communication breaks
down completely. Our responses are now totally reactionary and
continue to disintegrate. As the tide of resentments continue to
swell, our thoughts move to other people and outside experiences. We
try to recover that feeling of excitement, joy and bliss that once
were there in the relationship long ago when our romance was new.
Many times the thoughts become deeds, and then the sneaking, secrecy
and lies begin.

We're all psychic and feel what the other tries to conceal. Even
though we don't speak the lies, the betrayed party knows. The gap
widens; the barrier to intimacy becomes complete. Lovemaking goes
from infrequently to never. Sometimes the underlying guilt manifests
itself in impotence and other forms of sexual dysfunction. When we've
reached the end, our only hope is honesty.

Unfortunately, most of us do not have the tools to communicate
deeply and honestly. The fears of what we don't want to create tend
to backfire on us and create just that; and life becomes our worst
nightmare. The truth comes out in hideous fashion. Or worst yet, lies
continues and we're subject to serving out sentences we imposed on
one another.

How long will your sentence last? How much can you endure?

All-Chakra living means communicating on all levels: mind, body
and soul. Sasha and I can literally tell one another anything that we
are thinking. If we have an attraction for another, we express it.
Issues unexpressed have a way of becoming demonic and coming out in
inappropriate ways.

If we have a desire, we work on ways to satisfy them; although
perhaps not in the exact way as envisioned by the person, we move in
the direction that feels comfortable for both of us. Decisions are
unanimous and joint. If something doesn't work for one of us, it
doesn't work for either of us. There are three entities in all ourdecision making: Janet, Sasha and the relationship, which we value
and cherish above anything else.

For if WE aren't working, nothing else in life seems to work.
Everything else suffers: our joy, our jobs, our health, our life.

Yes, even our life. When life isn't lived authentically from
truth and honesty, the stress from the emotional repression many
times creates being ill-at-ease (dis-ease). Repressed resentments and
anger often lead to cancer; heart-ache can lead to heart-attacks.

Many counselors try to keep couples together at all costs. Yet
actually, sometimes the kindest decision is to part--even if there
are children, economic considerations and a million other excuses to
stay together.

Everyone deserves a full-chakra life. If you find your
relationship lacking in one of these areas, do something about it.
Become conscious and discover ways to expand your connection; find
things in common and develop them in those areas for one another.
There are many models for conflict resolution. Get outside help if
necessary. Find something that works for you. Go to seminars,
therapy, church counselors, whatever it takes. If the love is strong,
do it--for the love is worth it.

Finally, if you have discovered that you have completed your
developmental tasks together and there are no new goals that you
share--that you've reached a point where the lies are too big to
overcome--where you find the resentments too deep to heal and the
hurts outweigh the amount of love that you have, then set each other
free. That may be the highest expression of love.

Allow yourselves a fresh start, love again, correct the wrongs
you've done and stop punishing yourselves. You deserve a full life,
an all-chakra life. You have the ability create it!

It's never too late even though you may think it is. When Sasha
and I found each other it was after two long-term, failed marriages
for each of us. I was well over 40 and he over 50 when we united and
embarked on our life of bliss. It wasn't easy for either of us. Our
journey was a long road of working on ourselves, doing our family-of-
origin work, healing our internal wounds from previous relationships
and becoming conscious through therapy, seminars, reading and self-
education. And it ain't over yet!

Relationships are a process; and Sasha and I are conscious
enough to recognize that and commit to it. We are devoted to one
another and have pledged to be there to continue our healing. If
things get to be "over our heads," we, the "professional relationship
counselors," will swallow our pride and seek help outside ourselves
to gain clarity. All of us are capable of not being able to see the
forest for the trees. It's difficult when we're "in" it; so sometimes
we need help to step outside ourselves to focus.

We now have new models of relating with open, honest, clear and
authentic communication. Living an orgasmic life is not only possible
for all; it's our birthright. Therapy and counseling are today's
tools for healing relationships and personal wounds--just like
medicine has been used to heal diseases and physical wounds.

Tantra reunites our souls in ancient ways, combining sexuality and
spirituality. We return now to our source, forging beyond the veil of
forgetfulness, moving past our skin encapsulated bodies, completing
our divine union, remembering the LOVE which is all there really is.

Tantra Tips

Last Updated on Friday, 23 October 2009 21:37 Written by H C Saturday, 05 September 2009 19:27

Tantra Tips
Four Pillars for Great Sex   written by Mare Simone

It's a well-known fact and often a source of great frustration among lovers that men and women have different sexual cycles.  Men are hardwired to reach a climax quickly in order to procreate... women on the other hand have a capacity for expanded states of  prolonged sexual pleasure and therefore their sexual nature is slow to ignite and can burn significantly longer.  This usually leaves a sense of dissatisfaction in bed for both partners. 

Fret no longer because tantra has a perfect solution to bring together these oppositions in order to create perfect harmony, in and out of bed.  Here are some Tantric tips that can bring you more in alignment with one another that will help resolve the battle before it begins.  

1. Create a sacred space for loving: turn off the TV, phones and other distractions.  Put on some slow, sensual music and soft lighting a few candles can create a sensual ambience designed to relax and put you in an open frame of mind.  Draw a nice warm bath or shower together to wash away the stresses of the day.  Creating an environment for loving can make a world of difference for both parties.  And be sure to designate enough time to connect, setting the intention for making love a celebration and it surely will. 

2.  Breathe deeply.  Looking into one another's eyes synchronize your breath while you caress... awareness of your breath in unison with your partner harmonizes your heart rate so you can begin to feel what your partner is feeling.  Make love as a communion of souls becoming one.  When your breath is in harmony with your partners, your awareness will become an open gateway to share the most intimate connection.  The more you breathe, the more you'll feel!

3. Express your feelings of pleasure: moaning and sweet sighs while you embrace can open a direct channel of communication that can profoundly affect the mood.  Keeping your feelings to yourself while remaining silent during lovemaking inhibits the passion between you. Don't worry about waking up the neighbors or your children; the sound of love is music to the soul.

4. Move slowly -- feel every nuance of deliciousness between you, especially during intercourse.  As pleasure increases, rather than following the instinct of charging to the finish, deliberately feel more and find a rhythm that satisfies both partners.  For men who have a tendency to come sooner than they would like to, allow your woman to take the lead and put your attention on what she's experiencing.  You will both be more satisfied and it can definitely help a man to delay his urge to release. 

Becoming skilled in these ways can provide a whole new realm of connection between you which can allow a man to become multi-orgasmic by following his woman's lead.  As you feel her pleasure quicken, remain slow and deliberate until she urges you on.  And remember to breathe deeply in order to expand every sensation explode into pure bliss! 

We all have a tendency to hold our breath at the edge of orgasm.  Breathing deeply and sighs of pleasure at this time can allow the sensations to spread throughout the entire body, filling you both with rejuvenating life-forces.  The afterglow will linger for days!

Mare Simone CTE
www.MareSimone.com

Bio:  Mare Simone CTE is a Certified Sex Surrogate Partner and Advanced Certified Tantra Educator.  She holds a private practice in Southern California where she is based and travels internationally working with clients worldwide.  She offers her services to sincere seekers who are ready to venture into new territories that blend conscious living with sacred sexuality.  Mare has appeared on numerous videos and TV including:  Ancient Sexual Secrets for Modern Lovers, HBO's Real Sex, Playboy Channel, E! Entertainment and British ITV.

Can a Man Really Become Multi-Orgasmic?

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 August 2009 23:13 Written by H C Tuesday, 11 August 2009 02:04

Can a Man Really Become Multi-Orgasmic? By Mare Simone

I get asked this question a lot. For the record, the answer is Ohhhh Yes!!! From the tantric perspective, orgasm is not a goal or completion of sex, but rather an aroused physical and emotional state that literally can be experienced throughout one's entire being. The longer one lingers in this aroused state of excitement, the more energy and life force they can absorb and radiate. A man may have multiple orgasms without ejaculating and yet actually feel energized in the afterglow. As a woman, I can only tell you that it's extraordinarily satisfying to be with a man who can continue to ride wave upon wave of pleasure with me. It creates a deeper and profound feeling of union.

The techniques that assist one in developing these skills can be learned and mastered with practice. Physiologically, it is possible for a man to have orgasm without ejaculating. Sadly, it is also possible for a man to ejaculate without much physical pleasure at all! Orgasm and ejaculation are functions that are activated by separate parts of the nervous system. Although they often do occur simultaneously, each of these functions can be experienced independent of one another. To a man this means prolonged and multiple orgasms are possible without an ejaculation.

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