WELCOME, Warm Apple Pie fans.
(movie description-review below)

What is TANTRA?
A Brief Intro

In the movie American Pie 2,
Finch studies the secret black book entitled
THE ESSENTIAL TANTRA
by Kenneth Ray Stubbs, Ph.D.

whom MAXIM MAGAZINE christened
“The Kama-Sutra Guru”

(Maxim, Oct. 1999)
Click image to enlarge.

I went to see American Pie 2 because I had heard my book THE ESSENTIAL TANTRA is in the movie. Expecting the worst, I laughed so hard in several early scenes that I had tears rolling down.

Then later, Finch starts carrying around and studying this secret book with a black cover. Yep! It is my ESSENTIAL TANTRA. After the movie, I went to a lobster restaurant, and Michelle (almost) was our waitress. Oh, my god, good thing I was not a designated driver that night—and I was not even drinking!

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Chris, the webmaster at Warm Apple Pie, asked me to explain a little about Tantra. Here is a brief intro.

In the modern-day West, Tantra has sometimes come to mean far-out sex that might take years to master. Many years to really master some abilities, yes, but sex is only a part of the picture.

Actually, Tantra is a complex, experiential philosophy springing mainly from India about the third or fourth century. All aspects of life (including birth, sex, death, and much more) are within the focus of Tantra.

In general, Tantric philosophy emphasizes the senses: Rather than being obstacles as taught in some traditions, our sensory experiences can be a path to wholeness of mind-body-spirit-emotion.

And sex is absolutely in the center of sensory experiences. Just try to recall the number of times in your life you have felt horny/lusty/juicy. In only 50 years from about 1950 to 2000 the world population almost tripled from about 2 billion to 6 billion. That is a whole lot of shakin’ going on.

Tantra, a Sanskrit word, is similar to our concept of weaving. “The web of life” and “the interconnectedness of all that is” are useful connotations. However, we might understand the practical sense of Tantra better by contrasting it to asceticism and hedonism.

In asceticism, the body and the senses are inherently evil (e.g., the “original sin” idea) or at least to be avoided. One must abstain from the pleasures of the flesh or retribution shall be paid. Denial is a prerequisite for religious approval; suffering is a virtue. Self-inflicted pain might be necessary for atonement for sins committed. In American Pie 2, not a single ascetic did you see at the parties.

Hedonism was clearly the main song sung in this movie. The pursuit of testosterone-driven desires was what this “twelve weeks of immortality” (Kevin) was all about. Stifler proclaims loudly to all at the final party, “I will do anything, ANYTHING to sleep with you [Lesbian] chicks.” Babes and booze were the top of life’s agenda. An ascetic would call such behavior indulgent, obsessive, or sinful.

Tantra neither denies nor craves the senses. The avoiding in asceticism and the grasping in hedonism miss the profound teachings we can gain by bringing a keen awareness/mindfulness to our experiences. Through this deep awareness, we can both become better lovers and develop wisdom.

The most visual representation of this type of awareness in American Pie 2 is when Finch is watering and communing with the large ficus plant in the lake house. At one point the energies of Finch and the plant begin to merge, and Finch slips into an ecstatic moaning.
When an individual has developed a sensitivity of awareness to energetically feel a rapport with a plant, that person has developed a level of awareness that can be applied in lovemaking to make one an incredible lover. We can dance with subtle energies that gross groping entirely misses.

It is possible to go into an orgasmic experience with a partner across the room or three thousand miles away without physically touching each other or touching one’s self. We can do this with plants and crystals as well. I know this may sound far-fetched to some, but I have personally had too many such experiences to deny the possibility. (See the Sacred Orgasms section of THE ESSENTIAL TANTRA for descriptions from others.)

Esoteric, mystical experiences such as these are only a part of the practical, experiential Tantric philosophy. Many variations of many specific, accomplishable-today techniques abound in Tantra. The actual doing of the practices is where the primarily learning begins.

In THE ESSENTIAL TANTRA, in addition to abstract conceptualizations, I present a wide variety of such practical techniques (such as giving your lover an erotic bath and feeding each other fresh whipped cream and mangoes with your hands). They are designed especially for those of us who did grow up in the world of India a millennium and a half ago.

My ESSENTIAL TANTRA is only one starting point. You might also explore my Tantric Massage Video, my book on oral lovemaking, Kiss of Desire, or Kama Sutra of Sexual Positions (see below).

There are many other books available on Tantra. And please be discerning about videos using a Tantra title. The entertainment porn genre has started using the title but usually providing only superficial titillation with little or no educational value. Tantra.com is one of the best sources for educational resources on Tantra and many related paths.

American Pie 2 is fun entertainment with some meaningful teachings. I am honored that my ESSENTIAL TANTRA was a part of so much pleasure: In tantra, there are no sacred cows.

(See excerpt below)

Other instructional sources by Kenneth Ray Stubbs

Tantric Massage Video

Kiss of Desire
A Guide to Oral Sex for Men and Women

Kama Sutra of Sexual Positions book

DVD/video version

ASCETICISM, HEDONISM, TANTRA

Generally there are two orientations
            toward the body and the senses:
      the ascetic and the hedonistic

The ascetic philosophy
      views anything that is
      pleasing to the senses
            as obstructive/destructive
                  to human development
                  either in material or spiritual attainment
      There can be
            abstention / denial / sometimes self-inflicted discomfort
      The accompanying attitude
            may be one of
                  condescension or disgust
                        toward the body
            The implication,
                  pleasures of the flesh
                        lack meaningfulness,
                        they are addictive,
                        there is no real contribution
                        to the individual and society
            The assumption,
                  there is something
                        inherently negative/evil about the body
            After yielding to temptation
                  one must seek atonement

At the opposite end,
            the hedonistic philosophy
      Here one intensely pursues
            gratification of desires
      There is a grasping attempt
            to hoard/consume
      . . .
      It is as if
            there are strings of attachment
            binding a hedonist
                  to a desired object
      Without continued titillation
            life becomes boring

      Pointing a finger at such behavior
            an ascetic would label a hedonist
                  indulgent / decadent / narcissistic

There is another path, tantra
      This philosophy
            neither damns nor craves
                  the body and the sense experiences
      Rather than being obstacles,
            the sensations/feelings
            become the vehicles of self-realization and well-being

Tantra
            a Sanskrit word
      comes to us from some schools
            of Buddhism and Hinduism
      Translated sometimes from a derivation of to weave
            sometimes a combination of
                  to expand and to liberate
      Acceptance
            is a central teaching
      Embracing the sensory experiences,
                  surrendering consciously to the moment
            we transcend
                  the world of attachment
      Allowing the flow of feelings
            we develop empathy
            deepen intimacy
      Our mindfulness, our meditations
            transform the energies
                  of each experience,
            liberating us
            from the limitations of grasping and avoiding

Here we open ourselves
            to a reverence for beauty
      An aesthetic appreciation
            enriches the meaning of life
In tantra
      we celebrate
            the heart and the senses
In tantra
      we are
            at-one-ment

THE ESSENTIAL TANTRA by Kenneth Ray Stubbs
© 2000, Jeremy P. Tarcher/a division of Penguin Putnam Inc
- reprinted with permission, pp. 124-126

American Pie 2 Movie Review
by Suzie at Tantra.com

Tantra is showing up in the most amazing places! We find Finch, one of the twenty-somethings in American Pie 2, studying Tantric techniques throughout the movie. And, it’s a very funny movie.

Finch, one of the college men, spends his summer studying and practicing Tantra. He’s preparing himself for his future, which happens to include one of his friend’s mothers, the woman who turned him on to Tantra in the first place. Ah, Shakti!

Finch, our character, thrives on discipline. A self-described sophisticate and self-promoting ladies’ man, as played by Eddie Kaye Thomas, he’s studying the principles of Tantric sex. "His dream is to be reunited with Stifler’s Mom as a master of sexual discipline, so he’s studying eastern philosophy – saving his energies, as it were," says Thomas. "He’s what you might call an extremely focused human being."

Quote Thomas: "There’s a party at Stifler’s house and Finch sneaks into her room just so he can smell her smells and see her surroundings. He finds a book on a thing called Tantra, which he’s already into that way of thinking, and it just opens up a really big door with a lot of new things inside."

Finch is reading a secret Tantric manual throughout the movie. We happen to know which book he’s carrying around with him and studying [THE ESSENTIAL TANTRA]! It’s written by a friend of ours here at Tantra.com. He’s a prolific author, who has contributed a great volume of works to the subjects of Sacred Sexuality and Tantra, Kenneth Ray Stubbs, Ph.D. Click here to find out more about his newest offering and the secret book Finch is studying to become a master.

If you haven’t seen the movie American Pie 2, do!

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