An inclusive view of spirituality and Tantra
There is a lot of debate about what is sacred/spiritual and what is Tantra.
Does your practice take you into closer connection with God/Goddess/The Divine (whatever that is to you)?
Are you able to dive more deeply into love?
Awesome! Keeping doing that!
So tired of people getting on their high horse about what is spiritual and what isn't.
I really celebrate the honoring of tradition, lineage, sacred texts, and ritual. I find them a profound tool in my personal and professional life. However, if it is used as a means to judge and shame others causing division and pain I am less interested.
Krishna Das often speaks of his Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, inspiring his devotees not through teachings but simply by his unconditional love. KD, as he is often affectionately called says, pick a path, any path, and stick to it, practicing every day even when you don't feel like it. He has chosen the path of chanting but doesn't try and prescribe that as the one and only way. Find the way that works for you and do that.
"My path is to be in the living Presence; We have to find a way inside us, we have to find a way to open our hearts, to quiet our minds, to let go our fears and our selfishness, our guilt and our anger and jealousy; Everything is already present in our own hearts; By repeating these Names over and over, we are moving ourselves into that place in us; the Heart in us is deeper than any emotion or psychological issues; I don't know if there is God, I know there is Love - Unconditional Love and I know I like to be in that love, and that may be God; all you have to do is look, and chanting reminds us to look." ~Krishna Das
Everything evolves over time including traditions. Neo-Tantra evolved out of the teachings of Osho and is very relevant to those living in the West. My work with my students helps them to dive more deeply into their hearts, to get more real with themselves, to open up to love and the Divine, and to heal hurt and trauma from the past. Tantra for me is about embracing and celebrating all of ourselves and using that as part of our devotion to God. I am grateful to be able to offer this profound work that transforms hearts and lives. I am interested in conveying an embodied integrated approach with my students instead of merely an academic one.
I have studied with a number of different teachers and practice Neo-Tantra which I am very clear about when people ask me about my lineage. My first teacher was Laz Daka, then Charles Muir & Leah Alchin and Deva Premal & Miten (who teach Osho style Tantra). Barbara Carrellas, who wrote the book Urban Tantra, helped me expand my understanding of what some of the possibilities in Tantra are as well when I studied with her in person. I recently had the pleasure of studying with Margot Anand, the creator of SkyDancing Tantra, and one of the leading experts on Neo-Tantra in the world. I went to India to study Nada Yoga, the Tantra of Sound, with Gina Sala.
I have have studied more classical Tantra in the form of asana (yogic body postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques) with Pedro Franco. Pedro teaches that everything is welcome in Tantra and sexuality is not to be excluded even though that isn't the focus of his teachings. I regularly employ pranayama, yantra (visualization) and mantra (chanting) practices in my personal and professional life. With my private students I am worshiping them as if they were Krishna himself before me where I bring the same love, adoration and honoring literally seeing God in them and reflect it back to them as best I am able.
I have studied with with Deva Premal & Miten, Karnamrita Dasi, Saul David Raye and Krishna Das in the Bhakti Yoga tradition of which I consider myself a serious student and include it in both my personal and professional daily practice. I discovered Bhakti Yoga with a western kirtan wallah who was anything but traditional but she was the hook that led me down a path of very deep and personal devotion.
I am grateful to have studied with Dr. Lorin Roche who wrote a poetic translation of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra called The Radiance Sutras which wonderfully describe the places and spaces I've journeyed to in my Tantric practice. The Radiance Sutras states that Tantra is a manual of practices. I teach a very dynamic form of meditation including the celebration of meditation, sexuality and deep devotion to connect to spirit, in the form of love in a very tangible way. It is yoga for me as while I use pleasure as a tool in much of my teaching to really us bring one back to the union with oneself and the Divine. I believe anything we do can become our sadhana (spiritual practice) be it repeating japa (the names of God), performing Puja (ritual offering to the Divine), washing the dishes, caring for a sick child, cleaning our home, practicing asana or exploring sexuality with ourselves or another.
I am a seeker of knowledge and believe there are many ways to connect to the Divine. I am passionate about building bridges between communities including those of the Bhakti and Tantra (in all its forms) traditions.
I invite us to let go of the judgment and open our heart to the gifts that all of us have to offer. We, in the end, can all be teachers for one another. Let's bring unity and the celebration of love in all its magnificent forms to help build bridges and open hearts. This is my path. Who else wants to join me?
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Caroline Carrington
Jewel in the Lotus Coaching
Conscious Relationship and Intimacy Coach
Certified Tantra Educator
510 545 6104
Twitter: @JewelotusTantra
Walking Tantra out of the bedroom and into the world!
