When I work with clients in mentoring containers, we use desire and the will as our guiding North Star, and that North Star can sometimes point to desires like knowing ourselves as unconditional love. See, the first session of the mentoring container, sometimes the first two sessions, is dedicated to discerning what the client would …
Reflections on Operating Within the Gift Economy via Dāna
Oh dāna, that virtue referred to within Buddhism and Tantra teachings where we practice opening ourselves up to freely give with generosity and to therefore receive the benefits that accrue from this experience. I’ve deliberately been leaning into operating from dāna for a number of years now, as part of using a mixed model for …
The Terror of Reaching Out For Emotional Support
If you have difficulty reaching out for emotional support when you’re in the darkness, there’s some support suggestions at the end of this article. I get off the computer at 7:20 pm and I’m spent. It’s been a ten-hour day, again, and I can’t wait to just turn off and relax into the no-thingness. I …
24 Hour Kirtan with the Hare Krishnas and the Unexpected Benefits
It was an irresistible invitation. Would I like to come to a 24 hour Kirtan with the Hare Krishnas who were at ProFestNZ?? Would I? Hell yes! I am a practice junkie, and whilst I’m dedicated to Tantra as my ‘path’, one of the beauties of Tantra is that it encompasses ALL practices, all paths, all religions, all …
Healing the Parent-Child Relationship with Ancestral Trauma Healing Practice
It’s Day 28 of my Ancestral Karma Prostrations Practice – what scientists might call Ancestral Trauma Healing. It’s the second forty day practice I’ve done on this, although this time around, I’ll be going for longer than forty days. Maybe 90. Although Christopher Wallis, one of the teachers I learned this practice from, says to …
Childhood Trauma and the Spiritual Path
Last night I watched Dr. Gabor Maté’s documentary The Wisdom of Trauma. It comes at a time when I’m realising the extent to which childhood trauma responses have controlled – and derailed – my life, and impacted my spiritual path. Three weeks ago, my son and I moved in with my Beloved and his children, …