There was a time when I was trying to glance into the future.
There was a time of choice.
7 years ago I asked myself a question: "Should I include the word Tantra in the name of my work or not?"
Tantra is so wildly misunderstood in the West.
It was a big risk to be associated with something I was not intending to represent.
I remembered that night floating in the ocean, after a Tantric yoni transfiguration ritual. That was one of my first awakening moments in the Tantric field. It felt like the CURTAIN got lifted. I felt so vast like an ocean. Like all the nerves and blood vessels of my body were those of the Universe. My yoni pulse was attuned to a bigger pulse that I could suddenly perceive happening through the fibers of Existence.
Tears streamed down my face.
"She is the Portal", I realized at that moment.
SHE IS THE PORTAL.
And all my life prior to that, I just perceived her as a physical organ which allowed me to experience pleasure during sex. Something to be played with, rubbed, and penetrated.
Well, at least I could experience pleasure, I thought to myself. Many people can't.
Yet it's not at all the point of Tantra.
Pleasure is only the entry point. Lack of pleasure points to a disconnection from Her (from Him for men). Returning to pleasure is the first step, returning to aliveness. It may take some time of patient and loving attention, coupled with respect and honor. Reviving the electromagnetic impulses from numbness or pain caused by mis-use.
Later, I had many awakening moments through Tantric practices, different in quality and intensity, which glimpse after glimpse were informing me about the nature of this body, of its sacredness.
BODY & MIND is probably the most sophisticated CREATION in the whole Universe. Your physical sensations, your breath, your ability to move, your senses, your voice, your ability to direct consciousness are all a PORTAL.
We don't learn anything new in Tantra.
We REMEMBER what is already known deep in our cells.
Awakening is the moment when you OPEN your eyes and can see things you could not see before, feel things you could not feel before, understand things you had no awareness about before.
It was clear to me that Tantra as a word had to be included in the name of my work, no matter the risk I was taking by doing so. It felt like a deep honor to be plugged into the ancient wisdom that allowed for remembrance to take place.
In my first year of work in Belgium, people who knew me were asking carefully: "Why do you choose to do Tantra if you had such a beautiful and respected profession before?"
I used to be a consciousness coach & trainer touring the world and empowering people to live the life of their dreams, from South Africa to Europe, from USA to Russia.
This question speaks loads about the reputation of Tantra when I just started 7 years ago.
These very same people came about a year later to our Tantra retreats and became passionate ambassadors of the work. "Oh, that's what it is!?"
And so, the Temple of TANTRIC Arts was born.
And so 7 years later, the documentary about Tantra goes into the bigger world.
With love,
Alexa Mira
