Opening to Devotion - Rumi's Wedding Day

On Dec 17th I was at an event celebrating Rumi’s Wedding Day, the day he left his body. My friend Gabriella, recited the poems of Rumi, Hafiz and Lalla’s , actually she does more than recite their words she channels their presence through their words. She was backed up by a band of 4 men who accompanied her with drums, bells and didgeridoos. The magic of these Sufi poets and the beautiful music sat the tone of the evening.

The second half of the event was devoted to ziker, a dance of turning in a slow circle as Rumi did. As I danced I became aware of the energy of the ziker as masculine, one of entering into the emptiness. I then allowed myself the freedom to dance in a feminine way which was wild and passionate. I then experimented by going back and forth between the two forms of dance. In finally accepted that I was much more at home in the wild feminine form and I surrendered fully to my feminine passion.

At the end of the evening, as the last noted was played I dropped to the ground in surrender and at that moment my heart was flooded with devotion. I recognized the power of the masculine to hold the space and provided the container for my feminine passion to express herself. I was deeply moved to express my devotion to Gabriella and to the band members. I went up to each of them and bowed down to them and thanked them. I felt so much trust and presence in that moment, so much love. The depth of consciousness had penetrated me fully and I was one with the emptiness and I was not afraid. I was at peace.

Art by Andrew Gonzalez:

http://www.sublimatrix.com/
Learn more about Rumi's wedding Day : http://http//www.sedonacreativelife.com/pre1069.html
Learn more about Gabriella: http://www.gabrielleyoung.com/home.html

The Full-Body Orgasm Class Dec.6th in Phoenix

Saturday I taught a one-day class in Phoenix on how to awaken the full-body orgasm and what a great day we had. Everyone experience the ecstatic energy and learned how to open their inner flute and expand into bliss. This class is based on Margot Anand's SkyDancing Tantra. I developed this one-day class for both new and experience people to have an opportunity to embody their orgasmic energy outside a sexual context. Every time I teach this class I am amazed at how power these tools are and how quickly people can open and take it to the next level. I was delighted to have a member of the Deida Connection attend this event.

In truth bliss is always available us it is just that most of the time we are to busy to notice what is all around and through us. I feel very lucky to be teaching this work.

This picture is called the Secret Rapture by Andrew Gonzalez, http://www.sublimatrix.com/.

To learn more about my classes go to http://www.tantraforawakening.com/

The Wave of Bliss

The week of Nov. 10-16, 2008, I had the pleasure of assisting Margot Anand and Jelle Bode at the Love and Ecstatsy Training Level 3: The Wave of Bliss in northern California. Margot creates an amazing container for people to expand their consciousness and move into new experiences. This group was particularly open to taking it to the next level and they did. Our closing ritual took us flying out into the cosmos.

Being a part of a week long workshop with people who have spent a 6 months bonding is a great gift. It gives me hope for the world. By the end of the week there was such a sense of love, trust and connection that no one wanted to leave. I believe if we could expose everyone in the world to this work we could end war.

Thank you to all beings who are on the SkyDancing path may it continue to grow and end all suffering everywhere.

4 Keys to Keeping Your Heart Open in Challenging Times

Four Keys Keeping Your Heart Open in Challenging Times.
The past month has been a challenging time. The world economy has been at risk. The stock market has been bi-polar. The election is up for grabs. Fear is rampant in the media. In the face of all of this it is easy to have fear seep into your life and to close down your heart. I have experienced this personally and I have heard this over and over from people around me.

I don’t listen to TV or radio and seldom read the newspaper because I don’t want to be affected by the fear-mongering media. Still, I found myself slipping into a dark place and feeling a bit lost. In part, this is because of my sensitivity to the energy around me. In part, to too some healing I was doing on my inner child. In part, it was to Mercury being in retrograde. In part, I was reacting to an important relationship in my life. My mind became filled with negative thoughts and the need to figure out what was going on. My heart closed down and my inner child felt abandoned. When our heart closes down and our mind is feed by fear it is easy to get lost in the darkness.

I usually move through these kinds of challenges pretty quickly, in a few hours or a few days. This past month it took almost two weeks before I was able to see the clouds begin to part. Even as this was happening my witness was watching and seeing how stuck I was, and offered me love. As I became aware of that love I was finally able to recognize that my heart was closed. As soon as I felt into my heart and began to open it the clouds lifted and the sun shone on my face once again.

Here are four keys to keeping your heart open in challenging times:
1) Awareness is the first key. Check in with your heart every morning and night and notice if it is open or closed or somewhere in between.
2) Breathe into your heart. Rub your hands together and send love into them. When they begin to get hot place them over your heart and take the love into the cells of your body and your being. Let the love expand as you breathe it in.
3) Offer gratitude for all you have. Appreciate the abundance in your life and be generous with others less fortunate than you. Feel compassion for them and send love out to those that are homeless, hungry, sick, or in trouble.
4) Here is another practice I find helpful. It is from ancient Sanskrit prayer called the Gayatri, which I am paraphrasing here. Either go outside or imagine the sun shining into your heart and address the sun in this way:
You who are the source of light energy,
Whose rays illuminate the whole world,
Please illuminate my heart so that
I too may do Your work.

I hope you find these tools helpful.
Namaste.

The Importance of Healthy Boundaries

How do you create healthy boundaries in your relationships?

I was sharing with a friend today the about the importance of boundaries. This was a new concept to him. One of the most important things I teach in my Tantra classes is the importance of sharing your desires, fears and boundaries at the beginning of an exchange. I call this creating a bubble. Boundaries are critical because where two people’s healthy boundaries meet is where intimacy happens. Boundaries keep us present. When we know where our boundary is we can move right to the edge of it with full commitment. If we aren't sure of our boundary then it is easy to both, play it safe or over step it. Boundaries are dynamic and change from moment to moment, so it is important to stay aware of them.

Here is an outline of the practice. For a complete description see Margot Anand's, Art of Sexual Ecstasy.

Making a Bubble

Seated across from one another, begin with a heart salutation- the acknowledgment of the divine in each other.

Then create a bubble around yourselves to call yourselves into the present moment. Do this with your intention and by using your arms to define the bubble.

Then, take things out of the bubble that don't serve you in this moment (past, distraction, anger etc.) Next, bring things into the bubble that will enhance your connection (love, willingness, presence etc.)

Next, offer an appreciation to the other person (I honor your heart...)

After that, share your intentions, fears and boundaries related to the practice while the other person listens without judgment or commentary.

End with a heart salutation. The bubble you've created allows you to feel the support of the sacred as you continue with your practice.

The Dance of Shakti and Shiva

My first introduction to this work was in a workshop called the Yin and Yang of Ecstasy, taught by Margot Anand and Jim Benson. That was 5 years ago. I have spent the last 5 years exploring the inner and outer dance of the masculine and feminine energies.

I am still learning how to gracefully "be" in the dance without stepping on his toes or getting my toes stepped on. At times I am in the flow of life, both with myself and my relationships. At other times I still get a bit lost and/or confused. What I have learned, is to see my patterns and recognize the old beliefs much quicker. I also take responsibility for my experience without blaming it on him.

The challenge I have been dealing with recently is, what to do when the man disappears into his cave. I know I should just leave him alone in there, until he comes out on his own. However it sometimes seems like he has forgotten I even exist. So, after what feels to me like a long time, I find myself standing at the mouth of his cave wondering, "Is he ever coming out of there?" This is especially true when I am in a place of wanting his support because I am going through a challenging time. I remind myself that life is a process. I continue to learn how to accept myself, love what is and feel gratitude for my commitment to being whole.

I am passionate about this work. I will be co-facilitating a weekend workshop on this topic with Micheal Pooley Nov. 21-23 in Sedona, AZ. http://www.tantraforawakening.com/
If you mention this blog I will give you a 10% discount.

ASEP Conference

ASEP, stands for the Association of Sexual Energy Professionals. They just had their third conference in Phoenix, Sept.11-14. I was only able to attend Saturday’s sessions. The morning presentations focused on the legal issues that can affect some people working in the profession and ways to minimize prosecution. Clearly we need to educate people about the importance and benefits of our work and get the laws rewritten so sexual healing and education are not confused with prostitution.

In the afternoon session there was a presentation on Quodoushka’s level of orgasm. I appreciated how Q uses the different elements to describe orgasms. This was followed by a panel discussion on about how to define orgasm, the benefits of it and the need for research on it. I found the panel to be diverse and knowledgeable. This was my first conference and I will be returning next year for the whole program.
Learn more at www.goasep.org

The 3 Secrets to Being a Juicy Woman

Giving and receiving love is what makes us juicy and the world needs more juice.”
Crystal Dawn Morris

The 3 Secrets to Being a Juicy Woman

1.) Be your own best lover and beloved. Self Pleasure at least 3 times a week; take your time - make love to yourself the way you would like your lover to make love to you. Relax in the bath and as you touch your body give each part a blessing. Appreciate your body and all that it does for you.

2.) Expand your awareness through your senses. Take 1- 2 minutes out of every hour and focus on a different sense as you let it expand. Let the wind caress your face. Smell the scent of rain, food or even garbage. Look at the world with curiosity as if you just landed on this planet for the first time. Listen to the sounds of the city or of nature. Touch the surface of your desk, chair, or a tree and image it is your lover’s body- then explore it with awe and reverence. Chew your food slowly, savoring each bite, as you might if you knew it was your last time to eat this particular dish.

3.) Offer gratitude for the miracle of life. See the world with new eyes. Imagine all buildings are temples, all people are divine beings and all sounds are mantras. Notice beauty in small unexpected places. Make an offering to the earth for nourishing you. Love life just as it is.

Our First Tantra Meetup was a Success

Wow, what a wonderful group of open people! If you are looking to connect and create conscious community this group is for you. It felt safe, loving, and authentic. There was a mutual desire to celebrate life as a community.

We had our first meetup last night and it was fabulous. We began with dancing, connecting our breath, body and heart. We created a circle and shared about ourselves and our desires for a Tantra communinity. The consensus was to meet 2 times a month once informally for a potluck or outing and once for a more formal Tantra practice. I will be posting those dates soon. The last hour I lead the group in a pleasurable, heartful puja which ended with the group laying on the floor and listening to a Tibetan Bowl. We closed by offering blessings for those we know in need and offered gratitude for all we have. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Learn more about our meetup here: http://tantric.meetup.com/68/
Blessings,
Crystal Dawn

Midwifery and Tantra

I just returned from California Monday night. I went out there to attend the 20 year reunion of my nurse-midwifery class. It was great to get together with my sister-midwives again. It felt so natural to be together, it was as if no time had past at all. We each told about our history as midwives over the past 20 years. I was the only one no longer attending births. Even though I am no longer working in the hospital as a Certified Nurse-Midwife, as a Tantra teacher, I am still a midwife. I help men and women give birth to the awareness that they are ecstatic beings connected to all-that-is. I help my students remember their true nature and support them in nourishing a life based on love and joy. Midwifery takes many forms and I am loving being a Tantric Midwife.

Presence = Better Demos and Deeper Experiences

Last weekend while teaching my Awakening the Ecstatic Body Level One workshop I noticed that consistently the participants were dropping more deeply into each process and being more open and vulnerable with each other. Even the students who had been in my classes before, noticed a qualitative difference and commented on it. As the weekend progressed, I began to ask what I was doing differently than in the past. As I reflected on this, what stood out to me was that I had changed the demos. In the past, I would often explain what I was doing as I was giving the demonstration. This kept me a bit detached from the process and I wasn't as open or vulnerable as I could be. There were several reasons for this,which I won't go into right now.

One thing that has changed, is that I have a new assistant, Jim Miller, who is my friend and lover. It is a pleasure working with a man who I am intimate with, and it adds a depth and power to the demos. Jim suggested it would more effective to do an actual demo and then do any explaining afterwards. I immediately noticed a difference in the quality of my presence after each demo. I allowed myself to be fully in the experience instead of being half participant and half teacher. I also saw that people were deeply touched by the vulnerability they felt watching us being so open-hearted. This in turn opened them up and allowed them to go for it when they were in the process. www.TantraForAwakening.com

Tantra and Transformation

This past weekend I taught, Awakening the Ecstatic Body, Level One: Opening the Pathways of Bliss. I know that this workshop offers powerful SkyDancing Tantra tools for awakening. Still, I am surprised by how deeply people are effected by these processes. It is a gift for me to see, how much people can heal and be transformed in only a couple of days. http://www.tantraforawakening.com/workshops.html

This workshop was equally attended by students new to SkyDancing Tantra and experienced students, who had taken several of my workshops before. I enjoyed the chemistry of this mix of students, as they offered each other different perspectives on the weekend's events. New students see things fresh, while repeating students often drop into new levels of wisdom. I also enjoy the process of keeping the workshop fresh, by changing the contents, in such a way that there are surprises, even to those who have done it more than once.

Much of this workshop was focused on opening our hearts and speaking our truth. Giving voice to truth is a powerful tool for transformation. Each person took an issue that they needed clarity on and then allowed three different chakras to speak to them and offer their wisdom on the issue. This life changing process helps you find resolution problems that you are unable to resolve with the thinking mind.

Saturday evening was delightful. We created a sensory awakening ritual to open our pleasure-body. Activating touch, taste, smell and hearing while being blind-folded. Our senses are a doorway to expanding awareness, as we become more present, we open up to a greater awareness of our connection to all-that-is.

It is a joy to teach this path and I feel so blesssed to be sharing this with my students. I always learn so much myself in the process. One thing I learned about was the power of a really good demo....

Awareness Resists Nothing

I read this quote by Adyashanti yesterday and it really touched me. In Tantra we express this same understanding, by saying Yes! to what is.

Last night I gave an free introduction to the weekend I am teaching called, Awakening the Ecstatic Body, 16 people came, many were new to Tantra. Over the course of the evening, it was wonderful to watch people let go and stop resisting the moment, allowing themselves to be seen. As the evening progressed I guided a ritual, called a puja, where we move around the circle looking into each other's eyes and acknowledging the divine in each other. I am always amazed at how this simple ritual tranforms people. By the end of the evening the room was full of sparkling energy and open hearts. www.TantraForAwakening.com

When we let go of resistance magic happens. I love teaching Tantra. It is such a gift to offer this path for awakening to others. The power of the work is so accessible and immediate. More to come...

Tantra is Our Natural State of Awareness

Recently, I did a coaching session with someone new to Tantra. I was reminded that many people have the idea that Tantra is a philosophy or something you practice to have better sex or become more spiritual. I was under this impression myself at one time. What I know now and what I stress to my students, is that Tantra is not something we learn, it is simply, a remembering our true nature. Our true nature is the awareness that everything is woven together, connected, one field of consciousness and we are not separate from this consciousness, we are it. http://www.tantraforawakening.com/coaching.html

Tantra is an awareness that I am one with all that is. No matter that my thoughts want to convince me that I am alone and separate. I know this is an illusion. This is why I call my website Tantra For Awakening because each moment is an opportunity to awaken to the awareness that we are consciousness, in form, becoming aware of our true nature, not these separate egos, who think they are here to prove something.

In my SkyDancing Tantra workshops and coaching sessions I teach tools that allow you to easily tap into this awareness and make it apart of your daily life. Then Tantra is not a doing but a being. You are awareness living life, apparently separate and always connected. You are consciousness in form, having a human adventure. Living in this way is liberating and fun.

New Look and Header

I just created this new look and header for my blog. I went to the Help section and found the Header topic and followed it to a how-to video. In the past I have been intimidated by this stuff, but the how-to video was easy to follow and I created the header in about 30 minutes. Then I found a template on the layout page that looked good with the new header.

I am surprised to find that this blog is becoming a meditation for me. In the past it could easily have felt like work. Instead it feels like a blessing. Last night I was listening to Adyashanti and he said,"This is It !" Meaning, Now is all there is. Now is not a problem. It just is, as It is and we are not sepate from what is arising. It is a relief to let go of life being a series of problems to be solved. I find I am relaxing into each moment more easily and it feels so good.

True Meditation and Networking with Meetup Groups

I just recieved four Adyashanti DVD's in the mail this week. They are powerful tools and I am learning a lot as I watch them. He explains awakening and meditation in an accessible way. I highly recommend his approach to meditation, which he calls True Meditation. He has a great little book, put out by Sounds True, by that title, which is a clear and concise introduction to his work. You can learn more about Adyshanti at http://www.adyashanti.org/ .

I have been interested in starting a meditation group for sometime and I found 17 people, in Sedona, on Meetup, who are also interested in a meditation group. I may start a new Meetup Meditation Group here soon. My experience is that meditation is always more powerful when done in a group. I am really excited about these Meetup groups. I am already making new friends through the Sedona Tantra Meetup Group. I am interested in hearing from people who are excited about tantra, yoga or meditation.

Sedona Tantra Meetup Group

On Monday, August 11, I as invited to the Arizona Tantra Meetup Group in Phoenix to do a presentation on SkyDancing Tantra. Twenty-five people came and we had a wondeful time learning how to open our inner flutes, move our energy and feel more alive and present. I then facilitated the group in a Heart Puju. A puja is a living prayer, in which we open to the the Divine within us and see the Divine in others. I had such a great time with this group that it has inspired me to form a group here in Sedona.

Here is the link if you want to join. http://tantric.meetup.com/68

Our first meeting is Wed. Sept. 17, at 7 pm in West Sedona. I look forward to having an active on going Tantra Community in Sedona. I hope to see you there.

Merging at Midnight

I wrote this poem a year ago, for a friend, after an experience of our minds and hearts becoming one. Tantra has taught me how to relax into the moment and move into timeless realms where there is only Being. When the illusion of me being alone and separate dissolves, I remember that I am Emptiness.

Communion

Midnight words
Heart to heart
Sliding into your eyes

A door opens
Wide and spacious

Melting time

Our minds caress the Divine
Waltzing with the stars
Naked and free

Communion
Hearts and minds as one
Beyond words, beyond time