Tantra: An Ancient Spiritual Path For Self Healing

http://www.newstarget.com/022345.html

December 9 2007
Tantra: An Ancient Spiritual Path For Self Healing
by Jivana Kennedy

(NewsTarget) Dr. Dean Ornish, a well respected pioneer in preventive medicine, and author of the best selling book Love and Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy says relative to intimacy, "I am not aware of any other factor in medicine, not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery, that has a greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness and premature death from all causes".

A number of years ago, an amazing little photograph and story made its way around the Internet. The picture showed two newborn infants in a plastic Isolette. The arm of one of the little ones was wrapped around the other. These two little babies were twins, born within minutes of one another. One was thriving, the other was dying. The doctors had tried everything they knew to do and yet the one baby was failing. With all medical science exhausted, they put the ailing twin in the isolette with its sibling and the infant made an almost immediate turnaround and full recovery.

The ancient path of tantra was born out of a realization that when we human beings join our energy together, we have access to a power greater than the sum of our individual parts. Taking that concept one step further, we have gained access to the creative force or life force of the cosmos. The instinct towards the drive for close physical connection is illustrated so beautifully in the story of these just days old twins, these tiny womb-mates.

For many people in our modern society, the word tantra may bring up notions of strange sexual rituals and of a culture that fell to its demise through overindulgence in the physical senses. But in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The tantric path was a path that encouraged balance, love and empowerment in every aspect of life. And as a life affirmative path, it nourished a healthy, and even sacred attitude towards sexuality, since sexuality IS the source of all of our lives. Today, we are flooded with images of sexuality everywhere we look. But is deep soul connected intimacy really happening for many of us?

Let’s take a look at a few of the diseases that are plaguing our world today. Heart disease - is our physical heart connected to our emotional heart? Might we as a culture be suffering from spiritual and emotional heart disease as so many suffer from a profound sense of isolation, unworthiness, and depression? How about breast cancer and prostate cancer? In women the breasts are the positive pole, in men the penis and related parts are the positive pole. Without the cultivation of a healthy sexuality that sustains us throughout the stages of our life, can humans survive and thrive as we were meant to? How about digestion? Do the assaults to our emotions innervate the natural vitality of our digestive systems?

My premise here is that what we most need is a return to the deeper causes of our dis-ease and not more band-aid solutions. Does the breakdown in our collective immune system correlate to the breakdown and disappearance of a loving, connected and sharing culture?

The ancient path of tantra says that in deep connection with one another, we discover the intrinsic unity of all life. And from this discovery we naturally become passionate about life. And in this ignited passion our deepest healing can be found; we don't merely survive, we thrive.

After all, aren’t we all womb-mates within this incredible womb of creation?

About the author

"Make Love Not War"
There is a direct connection between sexuality and spirituality.
Both connect us deeply and powerfuly to our innermost selves,
and to the source of all creation.