Awakening the Goddess

The act of lovemaking is an experience beyond comparison, both in regard to the sensations and to the feelings that reveal our deepest, re- motest core. This experience is intimately related to erotic play. The in- ternal female energy has the role of initiating this game, while the male energy has the function of exciting and provoking the sexual impulse. In direct contrast to animals, human beings display eroticism and are able to dissociate sexual expression from the instinct to procreate. Going a step further, followers of Tantra believe in the possibility and freedom to choose the moment of pleasure. Sexual dissatisfaction arises in a couple, for starters, because the first orgasm is only the beginning for a woman, while ejaculation ends the man's erection and interrupts female excitation. These differences con- firm the fact that a woman needs sexual stimulation beyond the genital aspect, since the first orgasm is not enough to truly satisfy her. The question is, then, what can be done so that the woman's enjoy- ment continues beyond the first orgasm? The woman has two sensitive poles loaded with sexual energy. In Tantric philosophy, the North Pole is the clitoris, the most accessible spot and so far the only one recognized. The South Pole is deeper and is called the Sacred Spot. Some sexual therapists refer to it as the mysterious G-spot. The clitoris sits like a bell on the upper part of the vulva. It's the only organ in the body whose function is to generate pleasure. Even though the head of the clitoris is small, most women are able to touch and stimulate it easily. She can also stimulate it with the male organ as foreplay to penetration. But finding the Sacred Spot requires such a sense of touch that it is difficult for a woman to find it by herself. If you find this Sacred Spot, you will be able to liberate the womanly sexual and spiritual potential, which then acts as a healing power. Some women have been able to locate this spot by themselves, by pressing two fingers inside the vagina upward toward the navel while simultaneously pressing down with the other hand just above the pubic bone. If a woman succeeds in stimulating or massaging this area, the spot will swell and may become palpable to her partner. However, for most women this part of the process of awakening requires the gentle touch of their partner, who must be ready to respect the physically and psychologically vulnerable nature of this site. That is why Tantric disci- pline provides methods to assimilate rapidly the knowledge about fe- male pleasure and the poles of ecstasy. The Sacred Spot, as known by Tantra followers, is located deep in the vagina and is much more protected than the clitoris. Finding it and stim- ulating it produces the most intense pleasure that can be experienced, but to achieve this, a couple needs much patience and dedication. If the woman hasn't had positive sexual experiences, this area must be caressed most carefully and gently. Little by little, the couple will learn to stimulate it and this will bring about a physical and spiritual well-being in the woman that transcends the sexual aspects. It is most important for the couple to overcome their prejudices and learn how to kindle the inner flame that sustains the spirit dwelling in each of us. This way, lovers will be able to purify their negative experiences. A woman must know her body and explore her satisfaction without guilt, so that she is able to tell her lover what she really needs. Having a full relationship increases self-esteem and creates a sense of vitality and enthusiasm. Tantra places a primordial importance on love and sexuality. The per- formance is a sacred ritual that seeks to connect one's physical and spir-itual energy. This translates into the names given to the organs: lingam for the male organ, which means "shaft of light," and yoni for the female organs, which translates as "sacred space." In Tantra, spiritual consciousness is intimately related to the awakening of the goddess, who holds the power of universal creative energy. The power possessed by female energy is so great that at times it becomes un- controllable. That is why Tantra seeks, in the sexual act, the pleasure of the woman as a form of ecstasy and as a form of evolution for both partners. In order to achieve this supreme pleasure, the woman's Sacred Spot must be found, but this requires patience and experience. Learning to know ourselves can provide us with multiple satisfactions, both sexually and in life in general, but few women know their true intensity because sex was, for centuries, a taboo subject. Many men and women still ex- perience sex with a certain degree of guilt or disrespect. Maybe this is why most couples don't know or don't share their needs, which pre- vents them from understanding each other. Many people are not aware of the ways of pleasure and tend to be- lieve that sexual stimulation is all in plain sight. But if the woman is suc- cessful in her search for her Sacred Spot, she will be able to experience explosive orgasms. This uncontrollable sensation, and the transforming power it entails, can even provoke a certain degree of fear if the woman is not ready to experience such a high degree of intensity. Perhaps not being able to manage their most primary instincts has led women to repress them, and men to be afraid of not being able to control such an overwhelming force. We need to stimulate and moti- vate each other in order to awaken the dormant energy hidden in our bodies, so that we can get in touch with the very energy of the uni- verse. The power of pleasure is already inside of you—you only have to decide to become aware of your divine possibilitiesWhen we say the word meditation, the image that usually comes to mind is that of a guru or master yogi sitting motionless for his entire life. Nothing could be further from the truth: there are meditation techniques that are static, but there are others that are performed while we are in motion. What can meditation do for us? First of all, it is a tool for self- knowledge and an instrument for relaxation. It can help us focus our energies on the here and now, on the present moment, on the space- time we set aside for sacred love. In short, meditation is a tool to become even more connected to the sacred dimensions of ecstasy.The most simple and classic method of becoming initiated in the prac- tice of meditation is learning how to relax and concentrate on one's breathing. Let's explore the following practice. Sit comfortably, with your back upright. Your hands should rest on your legs, close to your knees, or both on your lap, palms facing up- ward, the left hand beneath the right hand. Your shoulders should be relaxed, without unnecessary tension in the face or neck. Breathe in by raising your shoulders a little and let them drop as you exhale. Repeat this three or four times.You'll see how, when you open your chest to breathe, you feel it expand. Then carefully observe whether the air slightly brushes your lips and whether your nostrils open and close a little when breathing in and out. Focus on the air entering through the right nostril, and notice if the air temperature is different from that of the air entering through the left nostril. Does the air have color? What color does it suggest? The air enter- ing through the right nostril—what color does it suggest to you? And how about the air entering through the left nostril? Where does the air go? We always use our eyes to see what lies outside—but now we're looking in. We see how the air goes down little by little—is it dense or subtle? Is it like a warm light that fills the lungs little by little, or is it like a bolt of lightning that flashes? Become aware that when air fills your whole chest, you feel happy. You perceive that there is life inside of you. When you're calm, warm air relaxes and expands your chest. The most important thing is to remain in the quiet of your inner self, observing what happens inside and outside of you, as a witness to all. Full breathing consists of working both your lungs and your entire ab- domen to achieve correct deep respiration. To learn how to breathe correctly, it is helpful to he down on a mattress on the floor. The mattress you use should not be too soft. Make sure you will not be interrupted for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. Pay attention to your thoughts and let them pass as if they were clouds—do not identify with any of them. After a few minutes of re- laxation, place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest, and softly breathe out all the air through your nose, emptying your lungs completely. Try to keep your lungs empty for a few seconds and then breathe in slowly, inflating only your abdomen until you have filled up the lower portion of the lungs completely. Without making any effort, you'll feel how the diaphragm expands downward to allow the lower and middle portions of your lungs to fill with air. When breathing out, take advantage of that moment and empty your mind of all thoughts—imagine that your daily tensions and emo- tions are also being released. Contract your abdomen and continue ex- pelling the air little by little. Repeat this process for a minimum often minutes. With your mind emptied of worries and concerns and your body revitalized by the intake of fresh oxygen, you'll be in better condition to focus your attention on the here and now of sacred sex.