As printed in Velocity Magazine March/April 2009 Edition
by Scarlet O'Dare (aka S. Murphy)
In a time when our country, and the world, is becoming more conscious about how we treat the planet, the thoughts that take residence in our mind, and the food we put in our bodies, another awakening is stirring. Women are experiencing a conscious shift towards claiming their personal power in the areas of intimacy and sexual expression. This expression is coming from a place of inner knowing and authenticity. If feelings of discomfort arise, the Universe is shining a light on an area in your life that may need to be healed. Sexuality is the path which we all have come. Without it, we wouldn’t exist. Yet many of us hide from this essential aspect of our Being.
Women are taking an active sex-positive approach to this emerging revolution that fosters conscious sexuality. This isn’t the revolution of the 70s. It digs deep into the hidden aspects of self, yearning for us to enjoy Divine Play, and let go of unrealistic, unfulfilling beliefs about sexuality. This is the holistic integration of body, mind and soul. Not the body minus the Second (Sex) Chakra. It’s like walking up a flight of stairs, if you miss a step, you can stumble. Have you been stumbling?
A spiritual teacher asked me, “Are you ready to live a fully embodied life?” Without hesitation I said, “Yes, who isn’t?” As I delved into the often misunderstood teachings of Tantra, like a splash of Arctic water and gale-forced winds, I was in for an awakening of a different kind. With years of meditation, spiritual practice and esoteric knowledge, I “believed” Tantra would take my practice and intimate experiences to another plane of existence. Well…it did. I landed flat on my rear. No amount of reading and lecture can prepare you for training that involved 15 hour days of intense meditation, yoga, breath work and emotional release. This is the Tantra I experienced, not what’s stereotypically associated with the teaching. I experienced a roller coaster of emotions from laughing, to crying, and at times, anger. I wondered, “When will I feel joy?” The answer was simple. I was in the midst of my joy. Tantric practice is like tilling the soil. The soil is your emotions. Tilling uproots the rocks and dead roots; these are outdated paradigms that immobilize you from fully embracing your bliss state. In order to plant a new consciousness, an empowered consciousness, the soil must be fertile, not a hard barren field.
I recognized I was afraid to unleash this powerful sexual energy, my “bliss state”. I was afraid of loosing control, afraid of opening a Pandora’s Box and getting lost. I was asked, “Do you want to be whole?” My monkey mind was in overdrive playing all the mental games it’s so good at doing. It would shout, “Good girls don’t do this or talk about that”. All this mind chatter was judgment. I gave myself permission to experience deep intimacy, profound joy and the courage to speak to other women and couples about expanding their sensual experiences.
Coming from a place of empowerment, conscious sexuality is like peeling back the layers of an onion. You’re peeling back societal conditioning of what sexual expression is and redefining it for yourself, but from a place of strength.
As we open our consciousness to a greater expansion of life, to experience new sensations within our body that allow us to remain present to deeper states of joy, a true sex-positive revolution has breathed life in our beloved O-Town. You have awakened the sensual Being in you.
