Since starting to learn about Tantra, I’ve come to understand that there is always some new to discover, it is an ever changing web. It is a vast and ancient subject, not static in its definition. The discussion of what Tantra is can stem from the influences and cultural background of its development, how it has evolved and changed along the way. Personally Tantra is about being honest, authentic and yourself, it is connected with using the body and following pleasure, desire and passion not just in sex, in every aspect of our lives, it incorporates using the 5 senses and the breath as the gatepost between the mind and the body, the inner journey should generate the awareness that everything is connected and that everyone and every living thing has a spark of the divine within them.
Below are a few of my favourite quotes – Tantra is such a huge subject but I hope these will give you a better insight into defining Tantra
“Tantra is an ancient tradition that recognizes sexual energy as a source of personal and spiritual empowerment. This sets it apart from most Western traditions and helps explain why most Westerners have reduced it to its sexual elements alone.” Mark A. Michaels and Patricia Johnson – Tantra for Erotic Empowerment: the key to enriching your sexual life
“Tantra roots the consciousness in the body and uses it as a constant reference point, enabling us to stay increasingly in the present moment…Indeed (since) the body is the only thing that exists in the present moment, learning to live though the body increases our chances of overall happiness” Diana Richardson
“By bringing awareness to desire and pleasure, by making a study of what truly makes us feel the vibration of life within us and around us, we can begin to function with more autonomy. We may never totally free ourselves from the cultural constructs that shape us, but if we bring awareness to our actions, recognize those constructs as nothing more than that and commit ourselves to exploring desire and pleasure, deliberately and consciously” Mark Michaels & Patricia Johnson
So following on from this, how does that Tantra relate to creativity? Sexuality and Creativity are both associated in the same orange chakra, the sacral chakra, located just below your navel.
Sensory Exploration – if you consider that the senses are how we interpret and make sense of the world, bring awareness to our senses with Tantra, thus it brings the same to our creative responses giving rise to new ideas and inspirations.
Self-expression and Tantra, it goes without saying that when we feel free to be our most genuine authentic selves, that we will naturally express this in every action. Following our passions and what feels good. You are a vessel for feeling, for desire, for creative vitality to blossom through you
So the connection with creativity lies with taking in sensory information and what is pleasant within that, you are able from your unique viewpoint and authentic self to express that is a whole new way, you create from your own experience, painting and expressing your own version of the beauty around you, and within you. When we can unleash and transmute our passion and sexual energy, allowing this to flow, when all our energy flows our creative juices also flow freely.