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(to
order)
Secret
Garden Publishing - Kenneth
Ray Stubbs
INVITATION
(from Sensual Ceremony)
A candle flame radiating
A finger resting
A peacock feather caressing
A mango melting
A stream of warm water searching
Arms embracing
Becoming One
PREFACE
This book began twenty
years ago as a manuscript that attracted no publishers. So
I decided to modify the text into several smaller books and
publish them myself.
After seeing that the books had been well received, the editors
at Tarcher/Putnam agreed with my proposal to bring three of
the books out as a single volume. Presented together in one
source, the writings and illustrations support a much deeper
understanding of the essential role our sexuality can serve
on a spiritual path.
Tantric Massage, along with its earlier edition, Erotic Massage,
was the first book to illustrate genital massage. (There is
far more censorship and de facto censorship than most realize.)
Intended for present and potential sexual partners, this book
focuses on long, flowing strokes to nurture the whole being.
The thorough step-by-step massage is gentle rather than athletic
and does not require the giver to be particularly muscular.
Sensual Ceremony, exactly as the name describes, brings a
meditative, ceremonial context to the sensual and sexual,
without requiring a meditation background. Bathing, feeding,
massaging, guided inner journeys for modern Western lovers—these
are all to deepen intimacy and a sense of communion.
An art section on sexual positions follows, teaching about
the heart as much as about sex.
Sacred Orgasms is a paradigm with orgasm at the center of
the sacred circle. This greatly revised second edition presents
teachings and a specific set of meditations that a group of
five masterful beings communicated to me with the intent that
the knowledge be included in this book.
In these quite diverse yet very connected writings, I have
shared my realization that the sensual and the sexual, rather
than being obstacles on the spiritual path, are actually one
with the sacred. I encourage you to explore the many practical
techniques and meditations within to discover for yourself
this ancient understanding.
WHAT
IS 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. There is a story about how a monkey can
be captured. The end of a coconut is cut off and a handful
of rice placed inside. Finding the prize, the monkey reaches
inside to grasp the rice. However, to get the fist back through
the narrow opening, the hand must first relax and let go of
the rice. Unwilling to cease its grasping, the monkey becomes
burdened and is easily captured.
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.
CEREMONY
IS PRESENCE
Ceremony
is being rather than doing or having. It is attentive awareness.
Ceremony is purposeful spontaneity. It is flowing pattern.
It is simple elegance. A ceremony is not a mindless routine,
though many ceremonial structures have become this. A ceremony
can be in solitude with another or with many others. There
is a conscious beginning and ending. In ceremony, there is
a sense of wholeness, of connection, of comm-union. In sensual
ceremony we embrace the senses through presence, through ambiance,
through touch, taste, fragrance, tone and timbre, color, and
form. A sensual ceremony is a special gift. It is a physical
sharing of warmth and caring. It is an expression of tenderness.
Giving this gift of pleasure, we invite another to be guided
into the inner garden. Here, in the quiet of sanctuary, we
nourish each sense. Here, the inner flower awakens and blooms.
Our softly spoken words weave a meadow. In herbal waters we
bathe. Our fingers squeeze drops of sweetness from fresh fruit.
Lullabying, we embrace. Like island breezes, we caress with
feathers. Glistening with oil, our hands dance. When each
sense is nurtured in gentleness, the heart is touched and
we experience joy. This is the underlying philosophy.
(to
order)
Introduction
to
THE
ESSENTIAL
TANTRA
excerpt
at
Tantra.com
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