Dare to Be: Group Experiences in December 2011

tantra cannot be understood because tantra is not an intellectual proposition: it is an experience

(Bhagavan Shree Rajneesh)

I looked up from my own journey to find that December is upon us. The teachers, Dakinis and Dakas are either setting off for Cape Town, or are already there, preparing to enjoy a delightful immersion into meeting, sharing, practising, teaching and learning with their peers. Most of them, that is: a few of us remain.

In response to a question: “What about Johannesburg?” we offer a series of evening Group Experiences covering a variety of topics around Tantra, sexuality, relationships and love. Each Group Experience includes a short, informative talk; the opportunity for questions and answers; and an interactive exercise using breath and movement. We can promise that it will be fun, but warn that it may lead to serious inquiry (at best), or catalyse shifts (even better).

Dates:

Saturday 3 December 19:00 – 22:00, R300, Shakti Gardens

Tuesday 6 December 19:30-21:30, R200, Shakti Gardens

Friday 9 December 19:00-22:00, R300, Shakti Gardens

Monday 12 December 19:30-21:30, R200, Shakti Gardens

Friday 16 December 11:00-16:00, R600, Shakti Gardens

Saturday 17 December, Sunday 18 December: An Elemental Journey in the Cradle of Humankind (prices, details on application – attendance of one or more of the evening Group Experiences a requirement)

All Experiences are offered with Universal Love, using the energies of the elements, Tantric teachings and practices.

Email livespirit.synergy@gmail.com for more information, or to book. Also check out http://www.shaktigardens.com/

Dakini Shekina conducts explorations (sessions) for individuals, couples and groups. Currently these are offered at Shakti Gardens in Franklin Roosevelt Park, Johannesburg and at her country retreat in the Cradle of Humankind near Krugersdorp and the Sterkfontein Caves. Shekina also does extended explorations (2-3 days) and retreats.

The Mountain, the sea and a Sound Journey

Return to the Beloved

I had spent a few weeks in Cape Town working, meeting new friends, forging connections and learning. I was aware of an unusual amount of information streaming in – a downloading – and this was accompanied by intense experiences with others, sea and mountain. I returned with all of these, a jumble of threads and crystals and notes. I sat with a discord and tangle, not knowing where to begin to sort out this precious treasure.

I returned, experiencing a purging of body that mirrored the purging of emotions and spirit that had taken place on the mountain. The physical wrenching, the cleansing of my womb, echoed the struggle witnessed by wind and sea under the watchful eye of the dragon. I found some healing in the space of no-thing where I was shown that which is not and the magick of the formless. In that space there is no pain, no struggle, no gut-aching tearing. There is no need for loss or gain, having or losing, owning or sharing, or even joy and pain.

I live in the material world, where many of these things hold attachment for me, and my sojourn in the void did not solve my problem of the tangled threads and the jumbled crystals that both sparkled and sang. I was presented with a solution: a dear soul-friend, Chris Tokalon, was to lead a Sound Journey and kindly sent me details of the venue and times.

My first live Sound Journey! The garden setting was perfect; our hostess charming; the facilitators – Chris and Frances – skilful and gracious. My request to Great Spirit was for some structure, a melody perhaps, a forming and shaping of this mixed bag of experience, knowing and memory with which I had returned from Cape Town.

My first live Sound Journey was a merging of mind, body and spirit. The music connected me, reconnected me, with every facet of my being. I felt my body expand outward into my emotional body into each layer and outward again, reaching up and out and around. The music wove through me and about, each sound shaking and stirring, weaving and winding, threads reaching out and in and connecting until I existed in a sparkling web – I was the web, I was the jewel in the centre of the web, I was a jewel, I was the thread – and then I simply Was. I heard the name of the Beloved whispered in my ear: Shekina, Shekina, Shekina. I was able to rest there a moment, in that first time of Being the Beloved, I am that... Shekina, that which I am, am becoming, will be. “The answers lie in the spaces, look into the spaces”. I looked, for there they are: the shapes, the patterns in the spaces created by the star-light threads. My jumble of thread and crystal, now woven into the net of my being, hums gently in the night air. If I pluck a note I see the melody as the web scintillates in sound.

So it is, that I return with a star-studded web of light and sound to guide me on the next phase of this life journey. So it is that I return with the name of the Beloved on my lips.