We can’t wait for our Kindness in the Bedroom event with Dawn Cartwright on Thursday evening! Dawn wanted to share these beautiful words with us ahead of the event.
positive tantra
In this beautiful article from our Winter 2018/19 issue, our resident Tantra expert Dawn Cartwright explored the inherent beauty of winter months, and how it can bring us closer to ourselves and to our beloved ones. Her suggested ceremony that you can perform at this time of year – Winter Lovers – is aimed at kindling Tantric energies and supporting lovers as they merge with themselves and one another.
In this sneak peek from our Winter 2018/19 issue, our resident Tantra expert Dawn Cartwright explored the inherent beauty of winter months, and how it can bring us closer to ourselves and to our beloved ones. Her suggested ceremony that you can perform at this time of year – Winter Lovers – is aimed at kindling Tantric energies and supporting lovers as they merge with themselves and one another.
Positive Vibes April: Our Round-Up of the Best Products, Events and Must-Go Destinations
The clocks have moved forward, the temperatures are rising, and spring is making its presence felt. If you’re in the mood to try some delicious food or drink, practice the art of conscious dating, or even learn exciting new yoga techniques, this month’s edition of our Positive Vibes newsletter has got you covered. Read on to learn more about the best events, products and fun happenings we’ve picked out for you for this month. If you haven’t seen our Spring issue yet, fear not: it is available at stockists throughout the country. You can also subscribe here to get a copy delivered right to your door.
Join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter if you haven’t already. And now, without further ado, let’s get into our latest line-up of positive events, destinations and tasty treats to get stuck into!
Holistic Speed Dating: Cultivate Heart-to-Heart Connections
This Friday the 6th of April, we are running a special Positive Nights speed dating event, where the emphasis will be placed on deeply honouring and respecting the person in front of you. At 7.30 p.m., we will gather at Yin and Tonic, the Elbowroom’s vibrant new space located at No. 32 North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7, for an evening of fun, conversation and conscious connection. Click on our Eventbrite link here to learn more and book your tickets.
Experiential Evening with Dawn Cartwight: Bringing Dating Back
We are thrilled to invite the renowned Tantra expert and teacher Dawn Cartwright back to Positive Nights on Wednesday the 25th of April at 7.30 p.m. The venue is to be confirmed. Dawn will discuss the ancient Tantric rituals – the Pancha Upacaras – that form the foundation of modern dating practices, and how we can bring the magic of these sacred rituals into our lives today. The Eventbrite link for this event is here.
Conscious Movement With Kitty Maguire
We highly recommend the work of Kitty Maguire, a yoga, dance and movement teacher with years of experience with instructing clients in modalities such as Pilates, Ballates, Barre, and her own unique style of Yocella: a type of yoga practice that is performed to the accompaniment of soothing cello music. Check out Kitty’s Facebook page to learn more about her regular courses, workshops, retreats and special events!
Warm Your Spirit With Chaga Tea
Chaga Tea is a unique type of tea widely renowned for its health benefits. Its flavour is similar to the earthy taste of coffee, but drinking Chaga Tea does not lead to the energy crash associated with coffee consumption. Chaga Tea Ireland founder Philip credits it for helping him to improve his health. He says: “I discovered Chaga after years of experimenting with different diets due to a Crohn’s condition. My first cup of Chaga had quite an impact. An hour later I felt energised yet calm, with a clarity similar to the effects of coffee, but without the buzz.”
The Planted Bean: An Amazing New Vegan Spot
If you’re looking for a cool spot to try out some delicious plant-based cuisine, look no further than The Planted Bean, located at No. 16 Baggot Road, Ashtown, Dublin 7. This wonderful coffee shop is owned by Kevin Odgers, and specialises in tasty vegan desserts free of refined sugar, as well as savoury vegan food options with an American twist. The picture above shows off their mouth-watering homemade Twix bars – we feel hungry just looking at them!
Open to the Summer Solstice With This Open Floor Retreat
As hints of summer’s arrival begin to creep into the air, what better way to celebrate than attending a heart-expanding dance and movement retreat for the Summer Solstice weekend? Dance teacher Carol McInerney is on hand to provide you with that magical experience with her special event, Solstice – Receiving the Light: an Open Floor residential dance retreat in Slí na Bande, Kilmurry, Co. Wicklow. The retreat will take place from June the 15th to the 17th 2018. For more information, click here or email Carol at info@themovingbody.ie.
Sneak Peek: What is Neo-Tantra? Complementary Aspects of Old & New
Tonight, we wanted to share a sneak peek of this beautiful article written by our Tantra expert Dawn Cartwright. You can read the entire article in our new Spring issue, available in your local stockist or through subscription. Don’t forget to check out the details of Dawn’s special Positive Nights event with us on Wednesday the 25th of April too!
By Dawn Cartwright
“The Munis, girdled with the wind, wear garments soiled of yellow hue.
They, following the wind’s swift course, go where the Gods have gone before.”
Excerpt from Ke?in Hymn, 10.136 of the Rigveda, as translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith
Some of the earliest written evidence of Tantra appears in the RigVeda, the oldest of the Vedic Texts, dated roughly between 1100 and 500 B.C.E. The Ke?in Hymn, 10.136 of the Rigveda, describes dust-clad munis who cavorted with the wind. The muni, know for their pursuit of ecstasy, engaged in practices far outside the Brahmanical norm; defining evidence of an early Tantra tradition.
Defining Tantra
Tantra is a vast and controversial subject – to define it is a challenging task. Many elements of Tantra are also found in other Hindu and Vedic paths. Yet when we take the view that ecstasy creates the cosmos, Tantra is a path rich with possibility.
The origins of Tantra date back to the Upper Paleolithic Period, nearly 28,000 years ago. It is rooted in reverence for the microcosm-macrocosm view of fertility and the birth of the universe. The earliest traditions, much like the muni, were closely connected to nature. The Tantra sutras, revealing the secrets of existence, were songs sung by the wind, trees, rivers, oceans and mountains. These songs were translated by great mystics into Mantras, Yantras and Tantras.
The tradition we are most familiar with today is Neo-Tantra, the “new” or “revived” version of Tantra. Neo-Tantra is known for its embrace of sexuality: a perceptive that has drawn a great deal of controversy and skepticism. The Christian repressive attitudes prevalent even in India have enforced a separation between the spiritual and physical. Neo-Tantra weaves threads between the the sexual and the spiritual, the human and the divine, demonstrating, in very beautiful ways, that each exists in the other.
Scholars, Mystics & Lovers
“The Tantras most often tend to prefer more esoteric subjects: speculations on the nature of the Absolute, cosmogony, the creative nature of sound and word, micro-macrocosmic equivalence, the powers of speech, communication and handling of mantras, symbolic interpretations of words and names, construction of and initiation into mandalas and worship of deities therein.”
~Teun Goudriaan, History of Indian Literature Volume II
To explore Tantra is to experience a mystery that constantly unfolds without end. To understand Neo-Tantra and the ways this new tradition is complimentary to the classical traditions, it’s helpful to understand three perspectives: the scholarly, the classical and the new.
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You can read the full article by picking up a copy of our Spring issue or subscribing today. Dawn will be a special guest at Positive Nights on Wednesday the 25th of April, from 7.30 to 9.30p.m. at Powerscourt Theatre, Dublin 2. The theme of her event is “Bringing Dating Back.” She will talk about how the sacred energy of ancient Tantric rituals called the Pancha Upacaras can be used to inspire greater devotion and intimacy in our modern-day dating lives. You can learn more about the event on our website, Facebook or Meetup, and book your tickets at this Eventbrite link.