What is Tantra?

Dear Fellow Journeyer,

Throughout my years of teaching, I have been asked this question often:

“What is Tantra?”

Nowadays in the West, Tantra is often thought to be about pleasure, sex, and intimacy with others; however, Tantra is much more. Beginning in India in the 5^th Century, Classical Tantra is a system of knowledge and practice to help you understand life by deeply knowing yourself. Classical Tantra includes meditation and many other techniques of yoga to create something very valuable: Self-Intimacy.

What is Self-Intimacy? Self-Intimacy is a process of connecting to, accepting, and deeply knowing yourself. It happens through recognizing being rather than constantly doing. Self-Intimacy includes self-reflection, self-knowledge, and self-compassion. It shows you how to be honest with yourself about your own emotions, needs, intentions, and wishes. Self-Intimacy can show you who you are, what your purpose is, and how to navigate your life from this deeper understanding.  

In Conscious Pathways, techniques from Classical Tantra help you to grow Self-Intimacy. Meditation, silence, stillness, self-reflection, and retreat all help in this journey. In this ever-changing modern world, Self-intimacy is being present with yourself right where you are. It is loving yourself. It is liking yourself. Through engaging with teachings and practices that develop Self-Intimacy, you learn to truly nurture, honour, respect, and understand yourself—body, mind, and spirit. This is the essence of Classical Tantra.