Landing in Kauai, Breathing in Love, Let go of Attachment.

I have arrived in a gorgeous house in the Kilauea North Shore Coast of Kauai. Maybe it's the yoga, maybe it's the ocean, maybe my heart is still processing being away from my lover. But it wants to burst out in extreme laughter and tears at the same time. I want to become the insanity of the ocean, bash against the rocks and be cleansed from all of this. My body wants to become a huge force of nature, to scream, shake, to be ecstatically alive and ripped open at the same time!

We started with our morning yoga practice with 15 sleepy goddesses at 6:30 am, which when in the islands, seems natural to be awake even if it's dark outside and getting less than my usual 8 hours of sleep. We opened to chanting, deep belly breathing, through the lower belly then the upper chest and diaprahgm. Inhale "SO" exhale "HUM." Breath of fire, and deep uddianabhanda. We held our hands above our head, squeezing our life force into our bodies until we shook. Push against the boundaries of reality until we break open. Stir shakti, shake shakti, invoke shakti. Allow her to dance with you, to play with you, to be a force that beckons you open into the greater reality and framework of the invisible life force that is all around us. In fact a I would go so far as to say that Shakti IS the fabric of the Universe. She is the creation force that makes our breathe possible, that created our bodies, that created the illusion that we are separate, but she is also gently guiding our way home into greater unity. Into greater power.

We are being gently coached into harnessing our sexual power for transformation. Can we use our Swadisthana for greater awakening into our realized selves? Lets stir it up. I'm cooking my own juices into the greater wisdom of my heart, so that I may offer it up. So that you may eat from my fruit. So that I may look into your eyes more lovingly, more full; full of what? Full of the sparkling luster of truth. That all there is is LOVE. You can cut me into a million pieces, but I will still exist. The fabric/blueprint/soul essence of me is still alive, pulsating in the endless spanda of the universe.

So we're going beneath the surface of seen reality into the unseen; the subconscious emotions and mind; underground, beneath the earth's surface, to the right side of our brain. Think of the root chakra and the sacral chakra as being beneath the Earth's surface, and we finally emerge into the light of the Sun with the solar plexus; which is related to sight, to the Sun, to our individuation, to our personal power to create. But beneath this is a great mysterious womb, which is our "Own Abode", where we feel a sense of privacy and protection over our sacred Temple Site.

So through the Left Hand path of Tantra, we are being asked to embrace, not shun this part of ourselves, to empower our sexuality in order to transmute and awaken. If you're intention is for awakening for the betterment of all beings, then so be it. Sometimes we have lower level desires, so this chakra/sexuality is shunned and yogis become celibate as part of their awakening process. Both are right. Both need to be embraced. We must not shun any part of our being. Can we be disciplined and free? Can we have our set value systems, and also be able to make empowered decisions for ourselves as to how and when and why we share our energy?

A little excerpt about this chakra;

"In the Indian Tantric tradition, this chakra, called the Swadhisthana or "Self or Own Abode", is figured as having six petals, white in colour, and with a crescent in the center, the tattwa of water.  This chakra therefore corresponds to the element Water and is traditionally associated with the sexual impulses and sexual energy.  I would be suggested that it does not, however, correspond to the sex-organs as such, which are under the supervision of the Sacral and Pubic Centres, but to the original subtle energy behind the sexual impulse.

Indian teachings place a lot of emphasise on celibacy, in order to raise and transmute this powerful sexual energy to the brain (or, more correctly, the Upper Tien Tan Centre, to use the Taoistparadigm), increasing higher consciousness.  This is actually the basic principle behind celibacy in all religions, including Catholicism.  In practice however, this noble ideal flounders, because the individual is not yet ready to renounce physical sex, and may become psychologically unbalanced, full of guilt, or turn to paedophilia or other unnatural forms of sex."

So through the Left Hand path of Tantra, we are being asked to embrace, not shun this part of ourselves, to empower our sexuality in order to transmute and awaken. If you're intention is for awakening for the

I believe we must not suppress a part of our inherent nature to sexually express ourselves. We must also harness it with great wisdom and power, not allowing the lion to run untamed, wild, and completely free. It is always a fine line to be in sexual integrity, which is why I am so grateful to be with a teacher who embraces this is energy, and is showing us step by step how to use it with inquiry and wisdom. 

I will let you know how practice goes tomorrow!