Tantra Tip of the Day- Live From the Heart

When my heart is open, I feel good. Joy natural flows through me and out into the world. I see the beauty all around me. The open-heart loves fearlessly.

When I am stuck in my thoughts, I sometimes feel like I am a hamster stuck on an exercise wheel. Thinking, thinking, thinking. It is easy to get trapped in the mind. The mind is always trying to figure things out. There is no figuring it out. Life is. Change happens.

Too much thinking can lead to anxiety, fear, worry and dissatisfaction. When you get in that state of mind the best thing you can do is shift out of your head and reconnect with your heart. I like to begin with the Heart Salutation as a way of reconnecting to my heart.

The Heart Salutation
Extend your arms towards the earth, palms together. Inhale, as you bring them to your heart while keeping your palms together. Exhale, as you bow forward and acknowledge the Divine in with the Sanskrit salutation Namaste. "Namaste" means, “I see the Divine in you as a reflection of the Divine within me.” In this example you are acknowledging the world as a mirror for seeing the Divine within yourself. Inhale, as you straighten back up. Finally, exhale as you allow your hands to return to the starting position, pointed towards the earth.

Bring your awareness into your heart center and breathe into it for a few minutes. Notice if your heart is open, closed or somewhere in between. Allow it to gradually begin to relax and open as you breathe into the center of your chest. Close your eyes and think of someone or something you love deeply and allow love fill your being. When you are ready open your eyes. Look around you and notice how you feel and what you experience around you.

(C) Copyright 2009, Crystal Dawn Morris, all rights reserved.

If you'd like to learn more about Tantra and Crystal's events sign up for her free monthly newsletter at: http://www.TantraforAwakening.com

Read her Tantra blog at: http://www.TantraGal.blogspot.com

Crystal Dawn Morris is a Certified SkyDancing Tantra Teacher and the founder of Tantra for Awakening. She is committed creating a more conscious and compassionate world. She lives in Sedona, AZ where she teaches Tantra workshops, offers private coaching sessions, practices yoga, and writes. She loves to travel and is open to teaching and coaching in your community.

Tantra Tip of the Day- Let Go of Past and Future

Tantra is about living in the present moment. Past and future only exist in the mind. Being present is our natural state of awareness. As babies we know the beauty of being in the freshness of each new moment. Yet, pretty early in life our parents and our culture do their best to get us out of the Now. While happily being in the moment, we were told to eat when we weren't hungry, made to go to sleep when we weren't tired, forced to get up early for school, and told to stop playing and come inside, so a visitor could grill us about what we want to be when we grow up.

Let's face it we live in a world obsessed with past and future. The news recaps the past; advertising tells what we need to be happy in the future. Reclaiming the joy of living in the Now can feel like a challenge at times. How can we reclaim the joy of being fully present in the Now?

Step 1- Develop the Witness. Notice when you are not in the moment. The witness is that part of us that watches what is happening in an unattached way. When I am lost in past or future I feel anxious, worried, or discontent. Past or future is a good place to hide when things aren't going the way I planned. When I activate the Witness, it is easy to notice if I am lost in past or future. Then I return present moment awareness.

Step 2- Be Present. Presence arises when your essential nature -Awareness, awakens to itself in each moment. Awareness is beyond space and time, beyond life and death. When you are present, you let go of past and future. You surrender to the moment. There is no resistance to what is. Being present is not only about being aware of what is happening on the level of form, it is being aware of the very space in which all forms come and go.

Most people have had moments of Presence, even if they didn't call it that. Have you ever had the experience of watching a sunset? The world became still and all thoughts disappeared, as you sat in awe aware of the beauty unfolding before you. Or perhaps you have had the experience of running a race, skiing or riding your bike and suddenly you entered "The Zone" where you were one with everything, and your movements were effortless. Or when looking into the eyes of a newborn baby or your beloved, have you ever felt yourself melting into them until all sense of separation dissolved and you experienced Oneness? In all these situations, Presence emerged as you became liberated from identification with the thinking mind and surrendered into the direct experience of The Now.

Step 3- Accept the Now. Living in the Now, means accepting everything going on around you and within you exactly as it is in that moment. Acceptance means letting of outcome. It does not mean that you are a victim. You can make a conscious choice to shift what is happening through your actions and intentions. When you accept each moment as it is, the quality of Being becomes palpable and stress vanishes.

By developing the witness, living in the present moment and accepting what is, you will discover that you can learn to let go of living in the past. By aligning with your essential nature, spiritual wakefulness is arrived upon naturally.

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(C) Copyright 2009, Crystal Dawn Morris, all rights reserved.

Tantra Tip of the Day- Transforming the Shadow into an Ally

The Shadow is the disowned parts of our selves. They may be gods, fears or demons, things we worship or things we fear. When we are able to transform our shadow into an ally we can access a vast amount of energy that can then be used in positive ways in our lives.

I have been fascinated by the power of reclaiming the shadow for many years. Shortly after 9/11/2000, I spent several months working both personally and globally healing the shadow that was being projected in the media as an, us and a them. This work changed my life, teaching me tolerance, compassion and self-acceptance.

I recently discovered a great book that shares a healing method that has many of the qualities I discovered as I was doing this work. I was surprised to learn that it is based on an ancient Buddhist practice called Chod. The book is called Feeding Your Demons by Tsultrim Allione. She has taken the essence of the Chod practice and simplified it for our modern secular culture. She has developed a simple 5 step process that allows you to explore a god or demon, as she calls them, by communicate with it, embodying it and feeding it what it needs to be healed and transformed. I highly recommend this book. Sounds True has an audio version called Cutting Through Fear, in which she explains the process and also guides you through it.

Here is an article about the practice. http://www.tricycle.com/-practice/feeding-your-demons
Here is the link to the CD. http://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Through-Fear-Tsultrim-Allione/dp/159179403X
Here is the link to the book. http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Your-Demons-Resolving-Conflict/dp/0316013137/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Tantra Tip of the Day-Harvesting with Grace and Gratitude

The monsoons came late this year to Sedona. A rain squall just went through a few moments ago. The air is fresh and the sky is full of billowing white clouds. The first dusting of snow covered the San Francisco Peaks over the weekend. The Aspen trees ate beginning to turn golden. Autunm has come to Sedona.

I grew up in the midwest and fall was harvest time. At this time of the year I pay attention to the seeds I planted in the spring and I ask, "What are you harvesting now?" By seeds I mean my vision for the year- intentions and desires. I look to see if what I am harvesting matches with what I thought I planted. If they don't match I examine where my thoughts, beliefs and actions were out of alignment with my vision.

When my desire, intent, thoughts, words and actions are in alignment with my heart then my harvst is bountiful. That does not always mean that it looks the way I imagined it would. Harvest time is receiving with grace all that is being given.

Tantra has taught me how to be more conscious and aware of my desires, words, thoughts and actions. I continually practice being in the moment as much as possible, living authenticly and loving what is arising as a precious gift. I offer gratitude for all I recieve. This practice helps me stay connected to my heart and to Source.

What are you harvesting? How does it relate to what you planted? How gracefully are you recieving your harvest? What is your relationship to gratitude?

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(C) Copyright 2009, Crystal Dawn Morris, all rights reserved.

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Tantra Tip of the Day- Practice Connected Breathing

Connected breathing begins by being present with your breath. Allow your breath to naturally deepen and find its own relaxed pace. As you relax and watch the breath the mind tends to relax. As the mind and body relax, the breath allows you to access emotions and stuck energy you have been holding onto. If emotions arise just be present with them, without thinking about them. Instead, breathe the emotions through the body and watch them transform.

If you notice tension in the body, breathe into the tension and send love into that area of the body. Notice the contraction begin to soften. If thoughts arise let them be as clouds in the sky. Watch them morph and change without becoming attached to them. Always stay connected to the breath, if you get lost for a moment or minutes just return to the breath.

Connected breathing can also be done with a partner in a variety of positions. Here are a few- sit facing each other while you eye gaze and breathe together. Lay face-to-face, in the scissors position, eye gaze and breathe together or try lying in the spooning position with eyes closed as you snuggle and breathe together.

Doing connected breathing helps you to develop presence and equanimity as you let go of thoughts and feelings. It helps you to increase energy, decrease stress, feel more connected, let go of fears and develop more compassion for yourself and others.

(C) Copyright 2009, Crystal Dawn Morris, all rights reserved.
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Tantra Workshop, Phoenix - The Full Body Orgasm and Beyond

Awakening the Ecstatic Body- The Path of Sky Dancing Tantra

September 26-27 The Full Body Orgasm and Beyond
Saturday 9:30am-9:30pm and Sunday 10am-6pm
Phoenix, AZ

In this experiential weekend you will:

In this experiential weekend you will:

Open your "Secret Love Channel"
Learn the 3 steps to the Ecstatic Response
Experience orgasmic energy throughout your body
Explore the multi-orgasmic response in men and women
Move beyond time in the Heart Wave Meditation


In this experiential weekend workshop you will learn how to awaken bliss in every cell of your being and you will experience a full body orgasm outside a sexual context. You will leave this weekend feeling more alive and with a tool kit for creating bliss in your life and relationships.

This event is open to individuals and couples. There is no nudity in this class.

$300 per person / Register at www.TantraForAwakening.com - 10% discount for early or online registration. Location given after registration.

This workshop is facilitated by Crystal Dawn Morris, a Certified SkyDancing Tantra Teacher, assisted by Jim Miller. Crystal is known for her ability to create a safe space where magic unfolds. Her workshops and coaching sessions give people practical tools for ecstatic living

Tantra Tip of the Day- Awakening the Kundalini

Original art by A. Andrew Gonzalez http://www.sublimatrix.com/
Tantra is the science of enlightenment. Awakening the Kundalini energy and learning how to move it through all the chakras is an important part of the journey.

“Kundalini is innate for all people: At the base of the spine, subtler than the physical body, lies the Kundalini energy, or spiritual energy, in a latent form. Regardless of what religious, spiritual, or meditation tradition one follows, the awakening of this energy, by whatever name you call it, is a most innate and essential part of spiritual advancement, unfoldment, or realization.” www.SwamiJ.com

One of my favorite practice’s for tapping into the serpent-power at the base of the spine is Osho’s Kundalini Meditation. This meditation helps you to connect to the ecstatic life force energy of the universe. The Kundalini, when activated, moves up from the base of the spine towards the crown, expanding conscious awareness. This meditation is a powerful tool for expanding your capacity for bliss and connecting you to the Divine. It is done daily at Osho’s ashram in Pune, India. I recommend doing it often.

Tonight we will be doing the Kundalini Meditation at my Tantra for Awakening Meetup in Sedona, AZ at 7pm. We meet at the Sedona School of Temple Arts located at 2945 Southwest Drive in West Sedona, just off 89A, Between City Hall and the Main Fire Station. Here is the link to this group: http://www.meetup.com/Sedona-Tantra-for-Awakening-Meetup-Group/

You can order the CD here: http://www.osho.com/Main.cfm?Area=Meditation&Language=English

If you'd like to learn more about moving your Kundalini energy attend my Awakening the Ecstatic Body: The Full Body Orgasm and Beyond Workshop in Phoenix September 26-27, 2009 Learn more and register on Pay Pal at: http://www.tantraforawakening.com/schedule.html

Here is a website that has some great information on the Kundalini: http://www.swamij.com/kundalini-awakening-index.htm

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(C) Copyright 2009, Crystal Dawn Morris, all rights reserved.

Tantra Workshop Introduces the Path to Bliss

This weekend I taught Awakening the Ecstatic Body: Opening the Path to Bliss, in Phoenix. This workshop is a gentle introduction to the path of SkyDancing Tantra®. SkyDancing Tantra® presents the Tantric paradigm via methods and tools accessible to the Western culture and lifestyle. The path of SkyDancing Tantra came to Margot Anand as a revelation rather than a tradition and first introduced in her best selling book, The Art of Sexual Ecstasy. Over the past twenty years it has been taught to tens of thousands of people all over the world.

Here is one participant’s description of her experience of the workshop this past weekend:

I just attended the first, of a series of three, SkyDancing Tantra weekend workshops being facilitated by Crystal Dawn in Phoenix, AZ, titled "Awakening the Ecstatic Body," August 29-30 (Subtitled, "Opening the Path to Bliss"). I had previously experienced Crystal Dawn’s facilitation for several 3 hour introductions--each a little different. Crystal Dawn is an excellent facilitator who creates a container of safety and appreciation for each participant.

During the weekend, I was guided in a series of well-choreographed exercises with other participants during which we awakened our inner lovers and expanded our ability to tap into joy --within ourselves -- and how to share that with a partner more effectively. One tradition of SkyDancing Tantra of great value is the ceremony of creating a "Bubble" in which to share with a partner.

The bubble is opened with a respectful Heart Salutation: (Namaste'). Each person is co-creating the "bubble," removing unwanted elements and bringing in desired elements, each can truly "own it" and participate with greater awareness and safely within it's "defined space." Within the bubble, each states intent/desires, fears, and boundaries prior to further communication and "work/play." The "bubble" is closed with a respectful Heart Salutation: (Namaste') and life goes on......

This is exactly what I needed. After the workshop closed on Sunday, I visited my friend and shared "how to" create the "bubble." We created a "bubble" for our sharing. I felt this simple introduction greatly enhanced our time together and enabled us to enjoy our time within our intent and respectful boundaries more effectively. This one tool was worth the time and expense of the workshop for me-- and there was much more!

I look forward to Level 2 next month.
S.C. Phoenix, AZ

The next workshop is September 26-27, 2009 in Phoenix, AZ. It is called Awakening the Ecstatic Body: The Full Body Orgasm and Beyond. During the weekend you will experience the "Ecstatic Response" which allows you to bring orgasmic energy into your entire physical and energetic body. We will also explore "Multi-Orgasmic Response" in both men and women. There is also a very special ritual on Saturday night, called the Sensory Awakening Ritual.

To learn more go to http://www.tantraforawakening.com/schedule.html or email crystal@TantraforAwakening.com