Tantra, Entheogens and the power of Pleasure
Most of us are taught about the birds and the bees as it relates to baby making, but we aren’t really taught how powerful sex and pleasure can be. While it’s safe to assume that people understand what arousal and orgasm is, the idea of “sexual energy” remains a mystery to most. Many have a hard time understanding the difference between sex and sexual energy, because they both have “sex” in the title, so they must be the same thing, right? Actually, no. Sexual energy is better described as “life-force energy” because it is more about vitality, which may or may not include sexual desire.
When you look at how sexuality is portrayed in our culture it may be hard to imagine how it could have any kind of spiritual significance. We emphasize the shiny, often augmented, surface level of sexuality but dismiss its depths. Not only its deep power to heal and transform us, but its energetic value. When cultivated and redirected, this sexual energy can be used for many things such as creativity, ingenuity and personal motivation.
The incredible power of sexual energy was talked about by Napoleon Hill, a 19th century author who wrote the bestselling book “Think and Grow Rich.” In this book he dedicates a whole chapter to exploring the true power of sexual energy, and more specifically the connection between sex drive and success in business. He speaks about how simply having a lot of sexual energy is not the recipe for success. One must learn to control and leverage their own sexual drive by focusing that life-fore elsewhere, instead of falling victim to the pleasure-reward cycle. He goes on to say that transmuting sexual energy is a powerful way to maintain health and it can even awaken one’s genius capacity, waking up the dormant areas of the brain and allowing for more ingenuity.
Sexual transmutation is the process of transforming sexual desire into focus on something else with a specific outcome.
It’s even possible to “hack” into the energetic arousal with the use of entheogens, or hallucinogenic substances. In recent years, entheogens have become more mainstream and in some cases even legalized for therapeutic use. Many people have experienced something called a “Cosmic orgasm” with the use of entheogens. Some will feel as if their heart is bursting open with bliss, others will feel waves of ecstatic tingles and an all-pervading sense of wellbeing. The most transformative aspect of this experience many people report is feeling connected to the divine in such a way that their lives are forever changed. This is very similar to the tantric orgasm, where the orgasm itself becomes a bridge between the human and godly realms.
Tantrics believe that the moment of orgasm is a direct experience of the divine and this is why some tantric practices teach you how to lengthen lovemaking, thereby expanding orgasmic capacity. This ancient philosophy understands that if you go deep enough into sexuality you will eventually find spirituality, and vice versa.. The distinction between the spiritual experience and the sexual experience fades when you don’t rush climax. When you allow a build-up of orgasmic energy and overcome the instinctive drive to reach climax, your pleasure can open into a profound spiritual experience.
It’s important to be aware that sexual energy requires a lot of discipline to utilize consciously. We, as a culture, are addicted to immediate gratification and it’s something we must learn to overcome if we want to take it to the next level. It’s important to understand the power of our sexuality so we can decide how we want to use it. Without this awareness, our genius potential may never be tapped.
- Miriam Elyse