Tonight: Foreplay vs Love Play

The Big Tantric Questions series

Monday 8 February 7 - 10/11pm
Noordhoek
R350 pp per workshop

Foreplay vs Loveplay: How to approach Lovemaking

• Excitement and projection (foreplay) vs building presence and love (love play)
• How to approach love play
• Techniques for raising sexual energy

Workshops will involve
input from me and Stephen
discussion
practice (meditation, breathwork, roleplay, movement and dance)

Respond to this mail to book your place
or sms me on 0833010399

Namaste
Shakti

Tantric Awareness and Practice Retreats, Knysna, March 2010

Hello beloveds,

This is an invitation to two retreats run by Rahasya and me in March 2010.

• The Tantric Awareness Retreat (12 - 15 March) is an entry-level retreat, for people who have had an introductory experience with us before and are now ready to start an immersion into Tantric practice.
• The Tantric Practice Retreat (19 - 22 March) is for students who have already done an entry-level retreat or course and are ready to go deeper.

Tantric Awareness Retreat (Level 2)


with Rahasya and Shakti
12 - 15 March 2010
Osho Oasis Knysna

You are invited to a deep immersion into the mysteries of Tantra under the guidance of two experienced Tantrikas.  Profound shifts have happened for people on this retreat over the years. Come celebrate your devotion and surrender to the truth/ existence/ the Tao/ the divine in all of us. We will take you by the hand on a journey of uncovering and moving through projections, associations, fantasies and fears in order to access the spiritual power of your sexuality. Activities include movement and dancing, a deep exploration of your eroticism, Tantric touch and various forms of enactment. The aim of this retreat is to unlock unconscious material touched by your eroticism  - a prerequisite for deeper Tantric work.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals** The retreat starts 6pm on Friday and concludes 11am on Monday.

Tantric Practice Retreat (Level 3)
with Rahasya and Shakti
19 - 22 March 2010
Osho Oasis Knysna

The Tantric Practice Retreat is a level 3 Tantra retreat of the Advait Tantra School for those who have already done the Tantric Awareness Retreat and on average only happens every third year. This retreat takes you deeper into the practice of what we explored during the Tantric Awareness Retreat. Our assumption is that we have all now stepped over the doorway of the unconscious in our eroticism, and we are ready to explore somewhat deeper – enact and live more strongly what is there, and get a bit more creative with it. This is a retreat for committed spiritual warriors.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals** The retreat starts 6pm on Friday and concludes 11am on Monday.

** discount applies for students who do both retreats this year

The Venue
The Osho Oasis is in the middle of the Knysna forest. Accommodation is provided in wooden A-frame retreat cottages. A beautiful, secluded venue as a counterpoint to our usual lives.

The facilitators
Rahasya is the director of the Advait Tantra Yoga School (see tantraschool.co.za). The school has teachers in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Shakti runs a Tantra practice in Cape Town and presents numerous retreats and workshops through the country (see totalitytherapy.com and shakti.co.za)

Bookings and enquiries
Shakti : shakti@shakti.co.za Cell: 0833010399

Participants' Reflections on a previous Tantric Awareness Retreat

"I'm battling to find words to describe (my experience of the retreat). It certainly was one of the most amazing experiences I've had in a long time. The main reason is I broke through so many of my limiting beliefs. I feel as a result so liberated… The tenderness, gentleness, acceptance, openness and purity of our sharing made it so exquisite and safe for me to explore territories I never knew existed. As a result I feel I have a more intimate connection to the Divine and my heart has opened to loving at greater depths."

"My mind has been opened to new possibilities. I was so blissfully blessed, and wish to continue on this journey with Tantra."

"It was a divine and blissful sharing of simple love energy and I'm hugely grateful for the journey of the weekend and for every individual who was there that contributed in many and varied ways to make it what it was. It was a deliciously blissful time and I hope to see you all again on the next one!"

"I can't tell you how wonderful, blissful and full of energy I feel (after the retreat). I can't remember when last I felt like this. I am so happy without blockages, I feel like a butterfly in the air. There is a sensation on my skin… it feels like I can move mountains."

On making love after the retreat: "(I found myself) making love slowly and just 'allowing' sensation and sensuality to gradually saturate my body. Once saturated; waves and ripples of blissful lightness-energy moving throughout my entire body; Smaller ripples riding upon bigger waves; Bigger waves being interspersed with calm blissful silence, then resuming again and again; going on an on; never seems to exhaust itself or getting tired of blessing me; making me giggle like a little girl and laugh like a boy riding the rollercoaster for the first time."

Foreplay vs Love Play: Monday night's Tantra workshop

The Big Tantric Questions series

Monday 8 February 7 - 10/11pm
Noordhoek
R350 pp per workshop

Foreplay vs Loveplay: How to approach Lovemaking

• Excitement and projection (foreplay) vs building presence and love (love play)
• How to approach love play
• Techniques for raising sexual energy

Workshops will involve
input from me and Stephen
discussion
practice (meditation, breathwork, roleplay, movement and dance)

Respond to this mail to book your place
or sms me on 0833010399

Namaste
Shakti

Living Tantra - tomorrow night

Living Tantra

When:

2010-02-04 19.00 h - 21.00 h

Where:

Cape Town

Description

This is a regular group, meeting on the first Thursday evening of each month starting February 2010. It is for anyone interested in an ongoing practice of Tantra, bringing fullness of awareness into their daily lives. The group provides support, sharing and practice of basic Tantra exercises.

It is suitable for anyone wanting an introduction to Tantra as well as for those who already have experience with the practice of Tantra.

Facilitator: Stephen
Fee: a contribution of R50 is suggested

Stephen is a practising Tantrika in service as a catalyst for the experience of seekers in truth and awareness. He forms part of the Advait Tantra School (www.tantraschool.co.za) under the guidance of Dakini Shakti (www.shakti.co.za). His website is www.stephentredrea.com

Bookings and inquiries: info@stephentredrea.com

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking 19 - 21 February

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking (Level 1*)
with Shakti and Stephen
19 - 21 February 
Gecko Creek, Cederberg

Join us on this experiential introduction to the basic principles of Tantric lovemaking. Deepening the breath, raising sensory awareness and allowing movement opens you to greater presence and sensitivity in your lovemaking. The art of Tantric lovemaking turns loving yourself and your beloveds into an ecstatic meditation.

This retreat is inviting rather than confronting in nature. All sincere seekers of truth are welcome, as couples or singles. We will make sure there are equal numbers men and women.

*Level 1 retreat: all welcome, all will benefit
Retreat fee: R1 500 plus Gecko Creek accommodation (R110 to R405 pppn)
Bookings/enquiries: info@shakti.co.za or 083 301 0399

Book soon as places are limited.

Namaste
Shakti

Big Questions Series: February Monday night Workshops

Hello beloveds,

Every Monday night of February I will be presenting a workshop addressing one of the big questions students have asked me about Tantric practice. My focus in this series is going to be on sexuality, intimacy and relationship. You are welcome to come to individual workshops, though you will benefit most if you come to each one.

The Big Tantric Questions series
Monday nights 7 - 10/11pm
Noordhoek
R350 pp per workshop

Workshops will involve
input from me
discussion
practice (meditation, breathwork, roleplay, movement and dance)

Monday 1 February
Intimacy: What blocks it and how to deepen it

• Love and sex: finding the connection, opening the flow
• body armoring: how the body takes on the heart's defendedness
• how the hear gets defended/ why we lose intimacy
• intimacy with who?
• techniques for clearing your intimacy blocks/opening the flow

Monday 8 February
Foreplay vs Loveplay: How to approach lovemaking

• Excitement and projection (foreplay) vs building presence and love (love play)
• How to approach love play
• Techniques for raising sexual energy

Monday 15 February
Conscious Sex

• How sex goes unconscious (suppression of desires and fears, fantasy, projection, body memory)
• Bringing consciousness back (breath and presencing techniques in lovemaking)

Monday 22 February
Relationship, commitment, faithfulness

• Types of relationships (monogamy, open relationship, polyamory)
• Exploring commitment and depth
• Exploring faithfulness and trust
• Love versus possession, projection and fantasy

Monday 1 March
Tantric Orgasm: Building sexual energy

• Genital sex versus spiritual sex
• Sex up the chakras
• Techniques for raising sexual energy

Bookings: Respond to this email or sms me on 0833010399. Places are limited. These workshops are introductory, though I will be discussing and exploring new information that old-time students can benefit from.

Saying Yes to your Body Saturday 6 Feb - cost

Hello women,

 

I forgot to add the cost: R350 per person.

 

Namaste

Shakti

Tantric Practice for Women

First workshop: Saying Yes to your Body

Saturday 6 February 10 am - 1pm

Outer Robe, Long Street Cape Town

 

"Saying Yes to the Body" is the first in a series of workshops for women on the chakras or energy centers of the body. See below for more details on the ongoing course.

 

The first chakra will only open when we say yes to being embodied, to being on the planet in a body. We women often view our own bodies critically. In this workshop, you will learn ways of coming to love your body. We will also begin to experience how sexual energy moves in a woman's body trough working with the perineum and movement in the lower pelvic area.

Tantric Practice for Women

Tantra, the art of conscious sexuality, is a practice that has since ancient times been led by women. What has been a secret and mystical practice has now become accessible to seekers who are on a committed path of awareness. It is a special calling in my life to support women into the full flowering of where our sexuality can take us. The main elements of this work are:
• Understanding the unique qualities of female sexuality
• Opening to the flow of sexual energy/ kundalini through meditation, dance and breath work
• Unleashing blocks or integrating what has prevented this full flow through the chakras.

Working with the chakras

Tantra is a practice that cultivates awareness of our oneness with existence through sexual awakening. This happens through the opening of the chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the body where consciousness collects around particular patterns. Typically in sexual encounter, we send our sexual energy outwards. We may experience deep bliss for a while, but generally this does not last. With Tantric awareness, our sexual vitality starts to move up our bodies like a snake that uncoils, from the root or base of the body all the way up through the crown. Sexual energy moves from the first chakra up. This process is often known at the Uncoiling of the Snake (sexual energy or kundalini). For more on the unique qualities of each chakra, see http://shakti.co.za/blog/2008/04/tantra-and-chakras_14.html

Many women have negative body memories from sexual experience. These can be from a range of sources, including direct invasion, inappropriate contact, painful or insensitive sex and judgments about the realm of the sexual. While engaging your personal healing journey in this realm will be intensified by private sessions with me, the continuous course will create a space for us to collectively and individually release and integrate past inhibiting memories. For more on my approach to this work, see http://totalitytherapy.com/blog/2009/02/sexual-healing-copyright-shakti-malan.html

A continuous course

The course will consist of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be four or five workshops per chakra. Each workshop will be an exploration of a specific element of women's sexuality related to that chakra.

You will benefit most from the mini workshops if you attend them from the beginning. However, the workshops will be structured in such a way that you can attend any workshop at any stage (that is, you can enter and exit the process as it suits you.) I will advertise each workshop in a separate mail as well. It can also be beneficial to  do the workshops a second time. As you grow in life experience, you open to more of what the workshops have to offer.

Growing with other women

This continuous course will create a space for fluid community and support amongst women. We learn from each other and share in our experiences. The unfolding of our personal awareness can be deepened significantly through regular practice in a conscious group context.

Method

The kinds of methods I use are:

Breath work
Guided meditations
Group discussions and sharing
Shamanic journeywork
Body tracking
Collaging, journaling and other creative expressions
Movement and dance

The methods will be an encouragement of the subtlety in women's sexuality. The focus is on the movement of sexual energy in your own body; on getting to know your own body, and becoming attuned to how energy moves through you.

Bookings

To book your place on any/all of these workshops, contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399. Please note that I am on the Wild Coast until end January, so you may not get an immeditate response. But I will get back to you in less than a week's time!

Tantra for Women: Saying Yes to your Body Saturday 6 Feb

Tantric Practice for Women

First workshop: Saying Yes to your Body

Saturday 6 February 10 am - 1pm

Outer Robe, Long Street Cape Town

 

"Saying Yes to the Body" is the first in a series of workshops for women on the chakras or energy centers of the body. See below for more details on the ongoing course.

 

The first chakra will only open when we say yes to being embodied, to being on the planet in a body. We women often view our own bodies critically. In this workshop, you will learn ways of coming to love your body. We will also begin to experience how sexual energy moves in a woman's body trough working with the perineum and movement in the lower pelvic area.

Tantric Practice for Women

Tantra, the art of conscious sexuality, is a practice that has since ancient times been led by women. What has been a secret and mystical practice has now become accessible to seekers who are on a committed path of awareness. It is a special calling in my life to support women into the full flowering of where our sexuality can take us. The main elements of this work are:
• Understanding the unique qualities of female sexuality
• Opening to the flow of sexual energy/ kundalini through meditation, dance and breath work
• Unleashing blocks or integrating what has prevented this full flow through the chakras.

Working with the chakras

Tantra is a practice that cultivates awareness of our oneness with existence through sexual awakening. This happens through the opening of the chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the body where consciousness collects around particular patterns. Typically in sexual encounter, we send our sexual energy outwards. We may experience deep bliss for a while, but generally this does not last. With Tantric awareness, our sexual vitality starts to move up our bodies like a snake that uncoils, from the root or base of the body all the way up through the crown. Sexual energy moves from the first chakra up. This process is often known at the Uncoiling of the Snake (sexual energy or kundalini). For more on the unique qualities of each chakra, see http://shakti.co.za/blog/2008/04/tantra-and-chakras_14.html

Many women have negative body memories from sexual experience. These can be from a range of sources, including direct invasion, inappropriate contact, painful or insensitive sex and judgments about the realm of the sexual. While engaging your personal healing journey in this realm will be intensified by private sessions with me, the continuous course will create a space for us to collectively and individually release and integrate past inhibiting memories. For more on my approach to this work, see http://totalitytherapy.com/blog/2009/02/sexual-healing-copyright-shakti-malan.html

A continuous course

The course will consist of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be four or five workshops per chakra. Each workshop will be an exploration of a specific element of women's sexuality related to that chakra.

You will benefit most from the mini workshops if you attend them from the beginning. However, the workshops will be structured in such a way that you can attend any workshop at any stage (that is, you can enter and exit the process as it suits you.) I will advertise each workshop in a separate mail as well. It can also be beneficial to  do the workshops a second time. As you grow in life experience, you open to more of what the workshops have to offer.

Growing with other women

This continuous course will create a space for fluid community and support amongst women. We learn from each other and share in our experiences. The unfolding of our personal awareness can be deepened significantly through regular practice in a conscious group context.

Method

The kinds of methods I use are:

Breath work
Guided meditations
Group discussions and sharing
Shamanic journeywork
Body tracking
Collaging, journaling and other creative expressions
Movement and dance

The methods will be an encouragement of the subtlety in women's sexuality. The focus is on the movement of sexual energy in your own body; on getting to know your own body, and becoming attuned to how energy moves through you.

Bookings

To book your place on any/all of these workshops, contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399. Please note that I am on the Wild Coast until end January, so you may not get an immeditate response. But I will get back to you in less than a week's time!

Tantra news January - June 2010

Hello beloveds,

A blessed new year to you all. As promised I send you the programme for the next six months early on in the year so you can plan. I am on my way to have a good holiday before it all starts, so don't be distressed if I don't respond to emails immediately. You will get a response within a week of contacting us.

The first six months of 2010 are packed with opportunities for Tantric practice. In the year that is past, Stephen joined me, and a range of courses and retreats have become established. More people are wanting to start Tantric practice, and a significant number of you are ready to go deeper. With the recent First African Conference for Sacred Sexual Educators, our engagement has also become more international. In order to accommodate the range of experience amongst students, we have more events at a range of levels. To help you choose what is appropriate for you, we have made the levels explicit:

How to choose

Level 1: Introductory. All seekers welcome and all will benefit.
Level 2: Entry - start of committed Tantric practice. Some introductory experience required
Level 3: Intermediate. Sufficient entry-level experience required.
Level 4: Advanced: Sufficient intermediate level experience required.

Events for the first half of next year include

• Retreats in the Cederberg, Drakensberg and Knysna forest
• Tantra foundation courses and and ongoing women's course in Cape Town
• A day workshop on male sexuality
• Sexcon – A sexuality un-conference
• Regular Tantra evenings in Cape Town
• Day workshops in Johannesburg

The feedback of students so far is that the depth of transformation that occurs in their lives due to courses, workshops or retreats attended, seems to bear no correlation to the limited time and cost that was involved. Our touch is subtle, but it will take you to the edge of your possibility for expansion.

Retreats


The Tantric Shaman (Level 3)
with Shakti
29 - 31 January: Gecko Creek

This retreat is only for students who have spent significant time in Tantric practice. The aim of the weekend is to introduce you to the Tantric Shaman in yourself. We will explore various subtle to strong ways of opening to trance, using dancing, ritual, masks, breath work, elemental exploration, animal spirit embodiment and sounding.
R1000 facilitation fee plus Gecko Creek accommodation*

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking (Level 1)
with Shakti and Stephen
19 - 21 February:  Gecko Creek

This retreat will be an experiential introduction to the basic principles of Tantric lovemaking. Our focus will be on opening the body to greater presence and sensitivity through deepening the breath, raising sensory awareness and allowing movement. The art of Tantric lovemaking can turn your loving of yourself and your beloveds into an ecstatic meditation. This retreat is open to all sincere seekers of truth and is inviting rather than confronting in nature.
Cost R1 400 plus Gecko Creek accommodation

Tantric Awareness Retreat (Level 2)
with Shakti and Rahasya
12 - 15 March: Osho Oasis Knysna

You are invited to a deep immersion into the mysteries of Tantra under the guidance of two experienced Tantrikas.  Profound shifts have happened for people on this retreat over the years. Come celebrate your devotion and surrender to the truth/ existence/ the Tao/ the divine in all of us. We will take you by the hand on a journey of uncovering and moving through the projections, associations, fantasies and fears in order to access the spiritual power of your sexuality. Activities include movement and dancing, a deep exploration of your eroticism, Tantric touch and various forms of enactment. The aim of this retreat is to unlock unconscious material touched by your eroticism  - a prerequisite for deeper Tantric work.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals**

Tantric Practice Retreat (Level 3)
with Shakti and Rahasya,
19 - 22 March 2010: Osho Oasis Knysna

The Tantric Practice Retreat is a level 2 Tantra retreat of the Advait Tantra School for those who have already done the Tantric Awareness Retreat. This retreat on average only happens every third year. This retreat takes you deeper into the practice of what we explored during the Tantric Awareness Retreat. Our assumption is that we have all now stepped over the doorway of the unconscious in our eroticism, and we are ready to explore somewhat deeper – enact and live more strongly what is there, and get a bit more creative with it. This is a retreat for committed spiritual warriors.
Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals**
** discount applies for students who do both retreats this year


Introduction to Tantra Retreat (Level 1)
30 April – 2 May: Gecko Creek, Cederberg
with Shakti and Stephen

This retreat is an ideal opportunity to get introduced to the approach, method and practice of Tantra, the art of sacred sexuality. This retreat is accessible to all sincere seekers of truth. If you are already familiar with Tantra and want to come soak up more - or bring a friend along - you are most welcome. Imagine a weekend of sitting in a circle around a fire or in a cool lapa, of lazing in the sun around a pool overlooking the endless mountains of the Cederberg, of coming to touch the mysteries of your sacred sexuality through discussion and gentle practice while being held by two experienced practitioners and the fresh, welcoming breath of nature.

Tantric Love Retreat (Levels 2-4)
with Shakti and Stephen
8 - 11 April 2010: Drakensberg Retreat Center
20 - 23 May 2010: Gecko Creek, Cederberg

In Chinese medicine, the element of the heart is fire. When the fire of our sexual energy meets the fire of our hearts, love becomes infused with power. This retreat is for those of you who are ready to go deeper into the practice of Tantric Love.  Introductory level experience is required. The challenge of Tantra is: How much bliss can you stand? This retreat is an opportunity for you to explore further - how much are you willing to let yourself feel? Are you willing to feel your raw instinctual power? Are you willing to feel all your emotions and sensations without judgment and suppression? Are you willing to increase your capacity to stand the bliss of subtlety? Are you ready to start feeling the blue flames of Tantric presence ripple over your skin? Are you ready to let every breath become an act of love? This retreat will teach you how.

Cost: Drakensberg R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals
Cost: Cederberg R2 100 excludes accommodation, meals prepared together


Gecko Creek accommodation fees
* Cabin R270 pppn
* Tent R180 pppn
* Camping R110 pppn (Own tent and bedding)

Courses

A general note on all courses: feel free to attend any of these for the second time. Students who have done so have been able to access greater depths of their own beings and have experienced the events as if for the first time.

1. Tantra foundation courses

The Tantra Foundation courses give you an opportunity to practice the fundamental principles of Tantra systematically over time with a group of people. This will considerably deepen your learning and the integration of the practice in your life. The three courses are based on the seven main objectives of my Tantra practice as outlined in http://totalitytherapy.com/about.html. The courses follow a logical progression: We start with processing and enactment of what is in the unconscious (level 1) and then continue to the integration of masculine and feminine in us (level 2). Only when this work is done, are students ready to approach the sexual meditation of Tantra (level 3).

Level 1: Erotic and Beyond

Five Mondays 1 February – 1 March 7 – 11pm
Southern Peninsula,
5 – 7 March Gecko Creek, Cederberg
Course fee (includes all facilitation, excludes weekend accommodation): R2 500

This course is a first and powerful step towards the freedom that Tantra offers as a practice. It requires of you to embrace both your fears and your desires in the realm of the erotic, and to feel the feelings that emerge from here. You will be taught techniques to process the emotional and mental patters that arise from the practice. The course can offer powerful release and healing from old experiences and expectations around sexuality. Expert facilitation will ensure that the course meets each individual where they are at.

Level 2: The Soulmate Within

Six Mondays May 3rd – June 7th, 7 – 11pm
Southern Peninsula
Course fee R2 000

In our collective psyches the dream of finding the Soulmate moves strongly - that 'other' who will meet and fulfill me completely. And, as my teacher Rahasya says: "There is a real soulmate for each one of us. But that person is inside." Inside ourselves we are both masculine and feminine. The lovers and loved ones that cross our paths are our mirrors for where we are in the inner relationship between male and female. They can also be a rich fulfillment - and embodiment - of our inner Soulmate.

Level 3: Embodied Love
To be announced – second half of 2010

When you have immersed yourself in the practices addressed in course 1 and 2, you are ready to work with sexual energy as a force of presence. The objective of this course is to get you ready to experience the full potential of your sexuality. This involves developing increased awareness in the body, expanding your heart capacity and practicing presence in every moment, including your most intimate ones. Students who have completed both the Tantric Awareness and Tantric Practice Retreats will also be allowed on this course.

2. Tantric Practice for Women: An ongoing course

Tantra is a practice that cultivates awareness of our oneness with existence through sexual awakening. This happens through the opening of the chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the body where consciousness collects around particular patterns. Typically in sexual encounter, we send our sexual energy outwards. We may experience deep bliss for a while, but generally this does not last. With Tantric awareness, our sexual vitality starts to move up our bodies like a snake that uncoils, from the root or base of the body all the way up through the crown. Sexual energy moves from the first chakra up. This process is often known at the Uncoiling of the Snake (sexual energy or kundalini). For more on the unique qualities of each chakra, see http://shakti.co.za/blog/2008/04/tantra-and-chakras_14.html

The ongoing course on Tantra for women consists of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be four or five workshops per chakra. Each workshop will be an exploration of a specific element of women's sexuality related to that chakra. You will benefit most from the mini workshops if you attend them from the beginning. However, the workshops will be structured in such a way that you can attend any workshop at any stage (that is, you can enter and exit the process as it suits you.) I will advertise each workshop in a separate mail as well.

First Chakra

Loving the body: Saturday 6 February 10 – 1pm
Our Cosmic Sexuality: Friday 27 February 10am – 1pm
Embracing Desire: Thursday 25 March 7 – 10pm
The Dance of Life and Death: Saturday 8 May 10am – 1pm

Second Chakra

Virgin, Whore and Women's Union: Saturday 15 May 10am – 1pm
Sexuality and Belonging: Saturday 29 May 10am – 1pm
Listening to Yoni: Saturday 5 June 10am – 1pm
Taoist Tantric Practices: Saturday 12 June 10am – 1pm
Sexuality and Safety:  Saturday19 June 10am – 1pm

Third chakra and beyond: Second half of the year

Conferences

Sexuality Dialogue Unconference
27 March 2010 Cape Town

An initiative of EroticSpirit, <Sexuality Dialogue> is The Sexuality Unconference. It is a meeting and dialogue space for individuals who find personal expression of their sexuality in different interest groups and communities. <Sexuality Dialogue /> is an opportunity to come together, share experiences and practices, and manifest a future where sexuality is embraced, honoured and celebrated with the fullness of our potential as human beings.

It's valuable what can be learned and applied from geekdom in our expression of sexuality and in relating to others. It's the topic of an entire talk but here we borrow this loose-conference format for generating open dialogue around sexuality embraced, honoured, celebrated.

Sexuality and Consciousness Educators Conference
3 - 5 December, Cape Town

Workshops

Masculine Sexual Identity – Stephen, May 2010

Talks and workshops with Shakti at Zenatude, Rivonia 8 – 19 February 2010

Talk: Sexuality with Heart - An introduction to Tantra. Tuesday 9 February 7 - 9pm. Cost R50
Workshop: Releasing sexual trauma the Tantric way. Thursday 11 February 4 - 10pm Cost R800
Workshop: Tantra for Women - Celebrating Female Sensuality Saturday 13 February 10am - 4pm cost R800
Workshop: Tantra for Lovers - Exploring love, celebrating each other. Sunday 14 February 10am - 5pm

Sessions

From January 2010, we are changing our fee structures to make sessions more accessible and flexible. The fee for a session with Shakti or Stephen will be R450 - no price increase from this year. Here are your options:

One hour session: Introductory of follow-up consultation which takes the form of a discussion; practice is unlikely.
Two hours session: This has been the standard time of sessions for the last three years. The extra hour allows time to do practical/experiential sessions work.
Three hours and beyond: Couples' sessions usually are three hours as we will be engaging the realities of the relationship as well as both individuals present. Individual sessions can go up to three hours or longer. This usually happens when deep transformation processes are catalyzed.

Sessions with Stephen: As Daka, Stephen works under my guidance. Sessions with Stephen are usually follow-ups on sessions with Shakti. I first assess what is required.
Sessions with Shakti and Stephen: If Stephen and Shakti are both required in a session, our joint fee is R600 an hour. Sessions with both of us can bring profound release, particularly for women and for couples.

Namaste
Shakti

 

Erotic and beyond: Tantra foundation course starting 1 February 2010

Erotic and Beyond
Tantra Foundation Course
Monday evenings 1 February - 1 March 2010
7 - 11pm Noordhoek Cape Town
5 - 7 March Gecko Creek, Cederberg

Course objective

This course is a first and powerful step towards the freedom that Tantra offers as a practice. It requires of you to embrace both your fears and your desires in the realm of the erotic, and to feel the feelings that emerge from here. You will be taught techniques to process the emotional and mental patters that arise from the practice. The course can offer powerful release and healing from old experiences and expectations around sexuality. Expert facilitation will ensure that the course meets each individual where they are at.

This course is a prerequisite for the level 2 and level 3 Tantra courses that will follow after Erotic and Beyond.

Aims of the Tantra Foundation Course

Aim 1: Lifting taboos and suppression

In the days when Tantra was only practiced as a secret mystery tradition, one of the first steps that a new initiate had to take was to break their cultural taboos. If you were raised a Jain Hindu, you would be asked to eat meat and drink alcohol – both of which are highly taboo in that culture. Breaking your personal or cultural taboos asks of you to face your biggest fears. In this course, we will engage our personal and collective taboos in a fun but challenging way.

Suppressions are all experiences that have become unconscious in you. Most often, these were experiences that were unpleasant or frightening to you in the past – emotionally, physically or spiritually. What we are not able or willing to feel completely in the moment, becomes trapped in the body as unconscious patterns that influence everything – especially our sexuality. We will work gently at touching these places and allowing full consciousness to return.

Aim 2: Embracing fantasies and desires

By paying attention to what you desires and fantasies are, you can integrate unconscious or hidden aspects of your being. Whereas lifting taboos and suppressions is about facing your fears, this aim is about saying yes to your desires. One of our dictums in Tantra is: How much bliss can you stand? Since many of us have been raised in traditions of religious austerity, it takes some individuation to embrace pleasure as a gateway to higher understanding.

We will encourage this individuation by exploring your fantasies and desires and giving space for them to be expressed in appropriate ways.

Aim 3: Integrating polarities

One main reason why we stay stuck in limited beliefs about ourselves is that our ego structures are bound up in polarity. Polarities split experience into opposites – what is desired and what is feared, what attracts us and what we are repulsed by, what we see as good and what as evil. These polarities are mostly unconscious in us, and as with fears and desires, they govern and direct our lives.

To go deeper in awareness of who we really are, it is important to find ways of processing these polarities. On this course, you will be taught tools to identify and integrate the polarities that limit your sense of yourself. In the process, you will develop a witness – the ability to observe the story of your life without taking it so seriously.

Who is the course for?

This course for people who are on a committed quest for greater awareness and presence in their lives, and who want to include their sexuality in this journey. Some previous introductory work with me is recommended. You are also welcome to do the course a second time as most certainly new material will be revealed to you. Please note that place is limited to ten participants, so book soon.

Feedback from participants on previous Erotic and Beyond course

"The Erotic and Beyond Workshop was maximum growth over a short period of time...Shakti is an incredible facilitator...I felt extremely held and supported...her insight is invaluable and so accurate...I would highly recommend trusting the process."

"I don't think anything in adult life has shaken me up more than this course. It forced me to look at stuff that had lived under the carpet for much of my post -pubescent life (and even some stuff from before, if the truth be told).The ongoing effects are still bubbling up in the form of realisations (both minor and major), that are changing and stabilising the way I act, think and feel.That's the serious bit: on the other hand it was more fun than is normally legal...

Be brave: do it!"

"I had an opportunity to recover and experience previously incompletely felt feelings at the core of my life. In the space Shakti creates, of loving awareness and acceptance, I felt it possible to embrace these feelings, feel them fully without shirking from them, and love them back into my whole life, warming them with the fire of my presence, and letting them melt away, leaving me stronger and open and clear. Before the course, difficult feelings would often block me and make me withdraw. Now I sense a greater capacity for feeling, for being with difficult feelings, of experiencing them fully and moving beyond them into new possibilities."

The facilitator: Shakti Malan is a full time practicing dakini who has significant experience as a group facilitator. For more on her work and life, see totalitytherapy.com and shakti.co.za. She will be assisted in this course by daka Stephen Tredrea; see stephentredrea.com.

Course fee: R2 500 includes all facilitation and excludes Gecko Creek weekend accommodation.
Bookings and inquiries: Shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399

Thank you and Tantra wishes

Beloveds,

My gratitude to each of you who walked with me on the journey of sexuality and consciousness this year. The work that you are doing internally is changing the world - you are catalyzing world transformation! May 2010 be a year of love without limits. May we feel and live unconditional love in our bodies from moment to moment, beginning with a deep love for ourselves.

Shakti

Tantra news December 2009 - January 2010

Hello beloveds,

For those of you who are curious about what next year holds - Stephen and I are delighted present you with the Tantra schedule for January - June next year. We attach in brochure form as well. Feel free to send on to friends. We'll remind you of everything early next year.

The first six months of next year are packed with opportunities for Tantric practice. In the year that is past, Stephen joined me, and a range of courses and retreats have become established. More people are wanting to start Tantric practice, and a significant number of you are ready to go deeper. With the recent First African Conference for Sacred Sexual Educators, our engagement has also become more international. In order to accommodate the range of experience amongst students, we have more events at a range of levels. To help you choose what is appropriate for you, we have made the levels explicit:

How to choose

Level 1: Introductory. All seekers welcome and all will benefit.
Level 2: Entry - start of committed Tantric practice. Some introductory experience required
Level 3: Intermediate. Sufficient entry-level experience required.
Level 4: Advanced: Sufficient intermediate level experience required.

Events for the first half of next year include

• Retreats in the Cederberg, Drakensberg and Knysna forest
• Tantra foundation courses and and ongoing women's course in Cape Town
• A day workshop on male sexuality
• Sexcon – A sexuality un-conference
• Regular Tantra evenings in Cape Town
• Day workshops in Johannesburg

The feedback of students so far is that the depth of transformation that occurs in their lives due to courses, workshops or retreats attended, seems to bear no correlation to the limited time and cost that was involved. Our touch is subtle, but it will take you to the edge of your possibility for expansion.

Retreats

Tantric New Year's Retreat (Level 1-2)
with Shakti
30 December - 3 January: Gecko Creek in the Cederberg

Come dance - contemplate - celebrate - enter the new year with an open heart, flowing life force and deep presence - come dance around fires and laugh under the stars - share around the pool and walk into the wild beauty of the Cederberg - journey into your desires for the new year - spend time with the beloved within - learn to love the manifest beloved with more presence - rest - open to receive what life has to offer you - breathe - move - dance - share - sleep - learn to listen to the subtle flow of energy in your body, and to honour this flow in the other - savor the moment, whatever it brings, the Tantric way.
Cost R1 500 plus Gecko Creek accommodation

The Tantric Shaman (Level 3)
with Shakti
29 - 31 January: Gecko Creek

This retreat is only for students who have spent significant time in Tantric practice. The aim of the weekend is to introduce you to the Tantric Shaman in yourself. We will explore various subtle to strong ways of opening to trance, using dancing, ritual, masks, breath work, elemental exploration, animal spirit embodiment and sounding.
R1000 facilitation fee plus Gecko Creek accommodation*

Introduction to Tantric Lovemaking (Level 1)
with Shakti and Stephen
19 - 21 February:  Gecko Creek

This retreat will be an experiential introduction to the basic principles of Tantric lovemaking. Our focus will be on opening the body to greater presence and sensitivity through deepening the breath, raising sensory awareness and allowing movement. The art of Tantric lovemaking can turn your loving of yourself and your beloveds into an ecstatic meditation. This retreat is open to all sincere seekers of truth and is inviting rather than confronting in nature.
Cost R1 400 plus Gecko Creek accommodation

Tantric Awareness Retreat (Level 2)
with Shakti and Rahasya
12 - 15 March: Osho Oasis Knysna

You are invited to a deep immersion into the mysteries of Tantra under the guidance of two experienced Tantrikas.  Profound shifts have happened for people on this retreat over the years. Come celebrate your devotion and surrender to the truth/ existence/ the Tao/ the divine in all of us. We will take you by the hand on a journey of uncovering and moving through the projections, associations, fantasies and fears in order to access the spiritual power of your sexuality. Activities include movement and dancing, a deep exploration of your eroticism, Tantric touch and various forms of enactment. The aim of this retreat is to unlock unconscious material touched by your eroticism  - a prerequisite for deeper Tantric work.

Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals**

Tantric Practice Retreat (Level 3)
with Shakti and Rahasya,
19 - 22 March 2010: Osho Oasis Knysna

The Tantric Practice Retreat is a level 2 Tantra retreat of the Advait Tantra School for those who have already done the Tantric Awareness Retreat. This retreat on average only happens every third year. This retreat takes you deeper into the practice of what we explored during the Tantric Awareness Retreat. Our assumption is that we have all now stepped over the doorway of the unconscious in our eroticism, and we are ready to explore somewhat deeper – enact and live more strongly what is there, and get a bit more creative with it. This is a retreat for committed spiritual warriors.
Cost R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals**
** discount applies for students who do both retreats this year


Introduction to Tantra Retreat (Level 1)
30 April – 2 May: Gecko Creek, Cederberg
with Shakti and Stephen

This retreat is an ideal opportunity to get introduced to the approach, method and practice of Tantra, the art of sacred sexuality. This retreat is accessible to all sincere seekers of truth. If you are already familiar with Tantra and want to come soak up more - or bring a friend along - you are most welcome. Imagine a weekend of sitting in a circle around a fire or in a cool lapa, of lazing in the sun around a pool overlooking the endless mountains of the Cederberg, of coming to touch the mysteries of your sacred sexuality through discussion and gentle practice while being held by two experienced practitioners and the fresh, welcoming breath of nature.

Tantric Love Retreat (Levels 2-4)
with Shakti and Stephen
8 - 11 April 2010: Drakensberg Retreat Center
20 - 23 May 2010: Gecko Creek, Cederberg

In Chinese medicine, the element of the heart is fire. When the fire of our sexual energy meets the fire of our hearts, love becomes infused with power. This retreat is for those of you who are ready to go deeper into the practice of Tantric Love.  Introductory level experience is required. The challenge of Tantra is: How much bliss can you stand? This retreat is an opportunity for you to explore further - how much are you willing to let yourself feel? Are you willing to feel your raw instinctual power? Are you willing to feel all your emotions and sensations without judgment and suppression? Are you willing to increase your capacity to stand the bliss of subtlety? Are you ready to start feeling the blue flames of Tantric presence ripple over your skin? Are you ready to let every breath become an act of love? This retreat will teach you how.

Cost: Drakensberg R3 100 includes accommodation and all meals
Cost: Cederberg R2 100 excludes accommodation, meals prepared together


Gecko Creek accommodation fees
* Cabin R270 pppn
* Tent R180 pppn
* Camping R110 pppn (Own tent and bedding)

Courses

A general note on all courses: feel free to attend any of these for the second time. Students who have done so have been able to access greater depths of their own beings and have experienced the events as if for the first time.

1. Tantra foundation courses

The Tantra Foundation courses give you an opportunity to practice the fundamental principles of Tantra systematically over time with a group of people. This will considerably deepen your learning and the integration of the practice in your life. The three courses are based on the seven main objectives of my Tantra practice as outlined in http://totalitytherapy.com/about.html. The courses follow a logical progression: We start with processing and enactment of what is in the unconscious (level 1) and then continue to the integration of masculine and feminine in us (level 2). Only when this work is done, are students ready to approach the sexual meditation of Tantra (level 3).

Level 1: Erotic and Beyond

Five Mondays 1 February – 1 March 7 – 11pm
Southern Peninsula,
5 – 7 March Gecko Creek, Cederberg
Course fee (includes all facilitation, excludes weekend accommodation): R2 500

This course is a first and powerful step towards the freedom that Tantra offers as a practice. It requires of you to embrace both your fears and your desires in the realm of the erotic, and to feel the feelings that emerge from here. You will be taught techniques to process the emotional and mental patters that arise from the practice. The course can offer powerful release and healing from old experiences and expectations around sexuality. Expert facilitation will ensure that the course meets each individual where they are at.

Level 2: The Soulmate Within

Six Mondays May 3rd – June 7th, 7 – 11pm
Southern Peninsula
Course fee R2 000

In our collective psyches the dream of finding the Soulmate moves strongly - that 'other' who will meet and fulfill me completely. And, as my teacher Rahasya says: "There is a real soulmate for each one of us. But that person is inside." Inside ourselves we are both masculine and feminine. The lovers and loved ones that cross our paths are our mirrors for where we are in the inner relationship between male and female. They can also be a rich fulfillment - and embodiment - of our inner Soulmate.

Level 3: Embodied Love
To be announced – second half of 2010

When you have immersed yourself in the practices addressed in course 1 and 2, you are ready to work with sexual energy as a force of presence. The objective of this course is to get you ready to experience the full potential of your sexuality. This involves developing increased awareness in the body, expanding your heart capacity and practicing presence in every moment, including your most intimate ones. Students who have completed both the Tantric Awareness and Tantric Practice Retreats will also be allowed on this course.

2. Tantric Practice for Women: An ongoing course

Tantra is a practice that cultivates awareness of our oneness with existence through sexual awakening. This happens through the opening of the chakras. Chakras are energy centers in the body where consciousness collects around particular patterns. Typically in sexual encounter, we send our sexual energy outwards. We may experience deep bliss for a while, but generally this does not last. With Tantric awareness, our sexual vitality starts to move up our bodies like a snake that uncoils, from the root or base of the body all the way up through the crown. Sexual energy moves from the first chakra up. This process is often known at the Uncoiling of the Snake (sexual energy or kundalini). For more on the unique qualities of each chakra, see http://shakti.co.za/blog/2008/04/tantra-and-chakras_14.html

The ongoing course on Tantra for women consists of regular mini workshops in which we will systematically work through the chakras. There will be four or five workshops per chakra. Each workshop will be an exploration of a specific element of women's sexuality related to that chakra. You will benefit most from the mini workshops if you attend them from the beginning. However, the workshops will be structured in such a way that you can attend any workshop at any stage (that is, you can enter and exit the process as it suits you.) I will advertise each workshop in a separate mail as well.

First Chakra

Loving the body: Saturday 6 February 10 – 1pm
Our Cosmic Sexuality: Friday 27 February 10am – 1pm
Embracing Desire: Thursday 25 March 7 – 10pm
The Dance of Life and Death: Saturday 8 May 10am – 1pm

Second Chakra

Virgin, Whore and Women's Union: Saturday 15 May 10am – 1pm
Sexuality and Belonging: Saturday 29 May 10am – 1pm
Listening to Yoni: Saturday 5 June 10am – 1pm
Taoist Tantric Practices: Saturday 12 June 10am – 1pm
Sexuality and Safety:  Saturday19 June 10am – 1pm

Third chakra and beyond: Second half of the year

Conferences

Sexuality Dialogue Unconference
27 March 2010 Cape Town

An initiative of EroticSpirit, <Sexuality Dialogue> is The Sexuality Unconference. It is a meeting and dialogue space for individuals who find personal expression of their sexuality in different interest groups and communities. <Sexuality Dialogue /> is an opportunity to come together, share experiences and practices, and manifest a future where sexuality is embraced, honoured and celebrated with the fullness of our potential as human beings.

It's valuable what can be learned and applied from geekdom in our expression of sexuality and in relating to others. It's the topic of an entire talk but here we borrow this loose-conference format for generating open dialogue around sexuality embraced, honoured, celebrated.

Sexuality and Consciousness Educators Conference
3 - 5 December, Cape Town

Workshops

Masculine Sexual Identity – Stephen, May 2010

Talks and workshops with Shakti at Zenatude, Rivonia 8 – 19 February 2010

Talk: Sexuality with Heart - An introduction to Tantra. Tuesday 9 February 7 - 9pm. Cost R50
Workshop: Releasing sexual trauma the Tantric way. Thursday 11 February 4 - 10pm Cost R800
Workshop: Tantra for Women - Celebrating Female Sensuality Saturday 13 February 10am - 4pm cost R800
Workshop: Tantra for Lovers - Exploring love, celebrating each other. Sunday 14 February 10am - 5pm

Sessions

From January 2010, we are changing our fee structures to make sessions more accessible and flexible. The fee for a session with Shakti or Stephen will be R450 - no price increase from this year. Here are your options:

One hour session: Introductory of follow-up consultation which takes the form of a discussion; practice is unlikely.
Two hours session: This has been the standard time of sessions for the last three years. The extra hour allows time to do practical/experiential sessions work.
Three hours and beyond: Couples' sessions usually are three hours as we will be engaging the realities of the relationship as well as both individuals present. Individual sessions can go up to three hours or longer. This usually happens when deep transformation processes are catalyzed.

Sessions with Stephen: As Daka, Stephen works under my guidance. Sessions with Stephen are usually follow-ups on sessions with Shakti. I first assess what is required.
Sessions with Shakti and Stephen: If Stephen and Shakti are both required in a session, our joint fee is R600 an hour. Sessions with both of us can bring profound release, particularly for women and for couples.

Namaste
Shakti

 

Tantric New Year's Retreat in the Cederberg

Hello beloveds,

There are still some places left on my new year's retreat. Let me know if you are interested.

Namaste
Shakti

Tantric New Year's Gathering
30 December 2009 - 3 January 2010
Gecko Creek, Cederberg

You are invited to join me for a long weekend Tantric new year retreat and celebration!

Come dance - contemplate - celebrate - enter the new year with an open heart, flowing life force and deep presence - come dance around fires and laugh under the stars - share around the pool and walk into the wild beauty of the Cederberg - journey into your desires for the new year - spend time with the beloved within - learn to love the manifest beloved with more presence - rest - open to receive what life has to offer you - breathe - move - dance - share - sleep - learn to listen to the subtle flow of energy in your body, and to honour this flow in the other - savor the moment, whatever it brings, the Tantric way.

tantric meditations
nature walks
resting time
dancing around the fire
blissdance into the new year
shamanic journey on the new year

All this you get guided by a Tantrika who is also an experienced retreat and dance facilitator. For more on me, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. You are welcome to come on your own or with a partner.

The venue
Gecko Creek is an exquisite venue in the Cederberg, remarkably easy to access and only 2 - 3 hours' drive from Cape Town. See geckocreek.com

Cost
R1500 facilitation fee
Meals shared amongst us
Accommodation costs per night according to your choice:

• Cabin R270 pppn
• Cave R250 pppn
• Tent R180 pppn
•  
• Camping R110 pppn
• (Own tent and bedding)

Bookings
For bookings or enquiries, respond to this email or call me on 0833010399. There are only three cabins and three tents, so book now to secure your place.

Blessings
Shakti

The Tantric Shaman Retreat Cederberg 29 - 31 January 2010

The Tantric Shaman
Intermediate Retreat
Gecko Creek, Cederberg
29 - 31 January 2010

This retreat is meant for those of you who have had some immersion in Tantric practice (at least one course/ two retreats attended/significant sessions, or equivalent in related experience.) It is an exploration in practice of the link between Tantra and Shamanism. Tantra is a tool for awakening using all aspects of our life, including our sexuality. The purpose of Tantra is to take us through all illusions into a full realisation of who we really are. Shamanism has a similar aim but uses different language and methods.

The shaman, or spirit medium, uses rituals involving the elements (earth, water, fire, air) to guide members of the tribe through limited perceptions of themselves into a realization of their connection with Spirit/ all that is. These rituals often involve various forms of trance or the deliberate inducement of altered states of consciousness. The purpose of trance is to help us see through the dream of our 'reality' that we get so attached to. The shamanic path has been a key element in my journey as a Tantrika, and I would like to share this with those of you who are ready.

The aim of the weekend is to introduce you to the Tantric Shaman in yourself. We will explore various subtle to strong ways of opening to trance, using

dancing
ritual
masks
breath work
elemental exploration
animal spirit embodiment and
sounding

Cost
R1000 facilitation fee
Accommodation costs per night according to your choice:

* Cabin R270 pppn
* Tent R180 pppn
* Camping R110 pppn (Own tent and bedding)

Meals shared amongst us

Bookings and inquiries to shakti@shakti.co.za or 0833010399. Please book early to avoid disappointment; accommodation is limited to three cabins and three tents. Once I have confirmed that you are eligible for this retreat and your accommodation has been defined, you can do payment into my account:

Dr. S. Malan
Standard Bank current account
Merriman Square branch (02-11-09-00)
Account number: 073152811

Namaste
Shakti

Tantric New Year's Retreat in the Cederberg: time to book

Hello beloveds,

If you're interested in this event, please let me know now, as I need to confirm with Gecko Creek that we're coming.

Shakti

Tantric New Year's Gathering
30 December 2009 - 3 January 2010
Gecko Creek, Cederberg

You are invited to join me for a long weekend Tantric new year retreat and celebration!

Come dance - contemplate - celebrate - enter the new year with an open heart, flowing life force and deep presence - come dance around fires and laugh under the stars - share around the pool and walk into the wild beauty of the Cederberg - journey into your desires for the new year - spend time with the beloved within - learn to love the manifest beloved with more presence - rest - open to receive what life has to offer you - breathe - move - dance - share - sleep - learn to listen to the subtle flow of energy in your body, and to honour this flow in the other - savor the moment, whatever it brings, the Tantric way.

tantric meditations
nature walks
resting time
dancing around the fire
blissdance into the new year
shamanic journey on the new year

All this you get guided by a Tantrika who is also an experienced retreat and dance facilitator. For more on me, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. You are welcome to come on your own or with a partner.

The venue
Gecko Creek is an exquisite venue in the Cederberg, remarkably easy to access and only 2 - 3 hours' drive from Cape Town. See geckocreek.com

Cost
R1500 facilitation fee
Meals shared amongst us
Accommodation costs per night according to your choice:

• Cabin R270 pppn
• Cave R250 pppn
• Tent R180 pppn
•  
• Camping R110 pppn
• (Own tent and bedding)

Bookings
For bookings or enquiries, respond to this email or call me on 0833010399. There are only three cabins and three tents, so book now to secure your place.

Blessings
Shakti

Announcing: A Tantric New Year's event in the Cederberg

Tantric New Year's Gathering
30 December 2009 - 3 January 2010
Gecko Creek, Cederberg

You are invited to join me for a long weekend Tantric new year retreat and celebration!

Come dance - contemplate - celebrate - enter the new year with an open heart, flowing life force and deep presence - come dance around fires and laugh under the stars - share around the pool and walk into the wild beauty of the Cederberg - journey into your desires for the new year - spend time with the beloved within - learn to love the manifest beloved with more presence - rest - open to receive what life has to offer you - breathe - move - dance - share - sleep - learn to listen to the subtle flow of energy in your body, and to honour this flow in the other - savor the moment, whatever it brings, the Tantric way.

tantric meditations
nature walks
resting time
dancing around the fire
blissdance into the new year
shamanic journey on the new year

All this you get guided by a Tantrika who is also an experienced retreat and dance facilitator. For more on me, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. You are welcome to come on your own or with a partner.

The venue
Gecko Creek is an exquisite venue in the Cederberg, remarkably easy to access and only 2 - 3 hours' drive from Cape Town. See geckocreek.com

Cost
R1500 facilitation fee
Meals shared amongst us
Accommodation costs per night according to your choice:

• Cabin R270 pppn
• Cave R250 pppn
• Tent R180 pppn
•  
• Camping R110 pppn
• (Own tent and bedding)

Bookings
For bookings or enquiries, respond to this email or call me on 0833010399. There are only three cabins and three tents, so book now to secure your place.

Blessings
Shakti

Couples workshop this Saturday with internationally renowned teacher Baba Dez

14^th Nov for a full day workshop at Medispa/ Ubuntu Wellness Centre in Cape Town on Conscious Touch and Tantric Technique: R1500 per couple

By Baba Dez Nicols

 

This workshop for couples (or singles working together as a pair) will teach touch and tantric technique which will enhance presence, awareness and sexuality capacity for Bliss. The experience includes teaching, breath work, meditation, movement and tantric touch. It is suitable for adults of any age, sexual orientation or religious background. Organic vegetarian lunch and teas included.

Dear Friends

 

Baba Dez Nichols is visiting South Africa this year on a World Sacred Sex Tour. He is also a keynote speaker of the First Annual African Conference and Gathering of Sacred Sexual Educators and Practitioners in Johannesburg in Nov 2009, together with local practitoners of sacred sexual arts. Then 5 days of Daka / Dakini training follow in December 2009.

 

BABA DEZ is an Internationally renowned speaker and teacher, daka, author, singer-songwriter, and transformational guide, trained in the Sacred Temple Arts to share, inspire, and support others in their integration of the divine masculine and feminine (Shiva/Shakti) energies within. He is the founder of the Sedona Temple, International School of Temple Arts and the Annual Daka-Dakini Conferences for sacred sexual healers, Tantra teachers and practitioners.  He has studied, assisted, and been blessed with the presence and wisdom of many masters around the world for over 30 years.

 

A main feature of Babadez's work is creating safe spaces for people to dialogue around sexuality in a way which many of our cultures don't readily allow. He travels worldwide helping others deepen in their truth and power, find healing & enjoyment in transformation, and manifest grounded results through integrated sexuality. While in Cape Town he will be hosting public talks to meet and teach those interested in conscious sexuality and transformation.

 

 

Please contact Cathwrynn on 0741120466 to book a private session with Babadez or to pre-book your space (discount of 15%) at an event. Please also contact us should you want to attend an event but require financial assistance.

 

Here are links to 2 YouTube video's of him talking about his work:

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxULJAWYmPU     healing male sexuality

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obL9YENfjok          sacred sexual arts

 

 

Friends please forward this on to your friends or mailing lists for me...

 

 

Namaste and Bright Blessings,

 

Cathwrynn Williams

 

 

 

Weekend Tantra retreat in the Drakensberg 20 - 22 November or 20 - 25 November

Dear Tantra enthusiasts,

Here is a last minute opportunity for you to grab. As time seems to be a pressure for many of you at the moment, we have decided to do the November Tantra retreat in the Drakensberg in two phases, so you now have the option of coming for the weekend only or the entire 5 days! The cost for the weekend retreat is R2 100, we'll start Friday evening and let you go Sunday mid afternoon. The center is only 3 hours from Jhb, so an easy drive without having to take a day off work.

Dragon's Nectar Tantra Retreat

Level 1: 20 - 22 November

Level 2: 22 - 25 November 2009

Shakti Malan and Stephen Tredrea
Drakensberg Mountain Retreat Center

Tantra

Tantra is a collective name used for the ancient mystery practices that access, channel and catalyze sexual energy as a force of awakening. These practices have now become available to us, and opening to their gifts can happen remarkably quickly with the guidance of experienced Tantrikas. Sexuality is a potent force because

• it gives us keys to integrating what is in our unconscious and
• our sexual energy or vital life force, also known as kundalini, can take us into pure presence.

The practice of Tantra invites you to be fully alive, without judgment or suppression of anything that is in your life. It beckons you into a state of unconditional love, where existence itself becomes the beloved. It opens your heart and your being to the presence of your sexual beloved in blissful, transformative meditation.

Dragon's Nectar retreat

The Dragon's Nectar is an opportunity for you to become acquainted with, and drink deeply from, the well of experience that is Tantra. the retreat is structured to accommodate both newcomers and those of you who have already started your exploration of Tantra. If you have a deep commitment to awakening, and if you are willing for profound transformation  of your reality and your sense of yourself, then this retreat is for you. You are welcome on your own or with a partner, and persons of all sexual orientations are invited.

The theme of this retreat, Dragon's Nectar, points to two essential elements of Tantric practice:

• Awakening the fire of your sexual energy or vital life force and
• Refining the quality of your sexual energy into the nectar of the divine.

This intensive will be an opportunity to open up the flow of your dragon power, your raw sexual energy - and then to refine this dragon juice into the nectar that feeds the sweetest quality of presence and awakeness in your life.

The objectives of the retreat are:

• To awaken and release the flow of your sexual energy into the flame of presence
• To free up your capacity for feeling, experience and sensation
• To assist you in integrating dualities that keep your energy and your sense of yourself in limited expression
  
• To introduce you to methods and techniques that bring the fire of Tantric presence into your lovemaking
• To refine your sensitivity and awareness of energy and the presence of the other
• To increase your ability to direct sexual energy as a force of awakening
• To welcome the inner lovemaking that happens when we open up to the unique expressions of feminine and masculine energies in ourselves and in each other
  

The challenge of Tantra is: How much bliss can you stand? This retreat is an opportunity for you to explore further - how much are you willing to let yourself feel? Are you willing to feel your raw instinctual power? Are you willing to feel all your emotions and sensations without judgment and suppression? Are you willing to increase your capacity to stand the bliss of subtlety? Are you ready to start feeling the blue flames of tantric presence ripple over your skin? Are you ready to let every breath become an act of love?


Levels 1 and 2

Level 1 will give you a solid introduction to the theme and level 2, a deep immersion. Level 1 will be packed with group activity and level 2 participants will have the opportunity to get some individual focus to assist your unique pathway into this work. If you are at all able to do the full 5 days, that would be the option to go for.

Methods

 For this we will use a combination of Tantric methods:

active meditations
dance and movement
breath work
sound work

tantric meditations
sensory exploration
touch sensitivity training

Shakti and Stephen, the presenters

Shakti Malan is presenting this retreat and will be assisted by Stephen Tredrea. We are both members of the Advait Tantraschool (tantraschool.co.za). Shakti is a dakini (female tantra teacher) with a full and lively practice based in Cape Town and has been running retreats across South Africa. She has extensive experience in retreat facilitation and a deeply lived understanding of Tantric work. She holds Ph.D. in Sosial Anthropology. For more on Shakti's work and approach, see shakti.co.za and totalitytherapy.com. Stephen is a daka (male tantra teacher) who beautifully embodies in his life and work the right approach of the masculine towards the feminine. For more on Stephen, see stephentredrea.com

The venue: Drakensberg Mountain Retreat

The Drakensberg is the ideal setting for this retreat. This exquisite mountain range has been named "Dragon Mountain" because it evokes exactly the quality of a dragon for the onlooker. The Drakensberg Mountain Retreat has been home to some of the finest retreats in the country since its opening. Do yourself a favor and go have a look: www.drakensbergretreat.co.za. The center is situated a mere 3 hours from Johannesburg on the road to Durban. We will endeavour to coordinate transport between retreatants coming from Cape Town.

Cost and bookings

The cost for the weekend is R2 100, all inclusive. The cost for the five days, all inclusive, is R3 500. We have kept our facilitation fee at a minimum to make this experience accessible to you.

Please book now!

Please contact Shakti at shakti@shakti.co.za if you have any questions.

Full payment is required now. Banking details are:

Dr. S. Malan
Standard Bank current account
Merriman Square branch (02-11-09-00)
Account number: 073152811

With love
Shakti


"Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we will harness for God the energies of love; and then for the second time in the history of the world, men will have discovered fire!" – Theilard de Chardin

Fwd: Johannesburg/ Cape Town/ KZN sacred sexuality events November/ December

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cathwrynn <cathwrynn@gmail.com>
Date: 2009/11/9
Subject: Johannesburg/ Cape Town/ KZN sacred sexuality events November/ December
To: Shakti Malan <shakti@shakti.co.za>

Dear Friends

 

Baba Dez Nichols is visiting South Africa this year on a World Sacred Sex Tour. He is also a keynote speaker of the First Annual African Conference and Gathering of Sacred Sexual Educators and Practitioners in Johannesburg in Nov 2009, together with local practitoners of sacred sexual arts. Details of the conference on sedonatemple.com. Then 5 days of Daka / Dakini training follow in December 2009.

 

BABA DEZ is an Internationally renowned speaker and teacher, daka, author, singer-songwriter, and transformational guide, trained in the Sacred Temple Arts to share, inspire, and support others in their integration of the divine masculine and feminine (Shiva/Shakti) energies within. He is the founder of the Sedona Temple, International School of Temple Arts and the Annual Daka-Dakini Conferences for sacred sexual healers, Tantra teachers and practitioners.  He has studied, assisted, and been blessed with the presence and wisdom of many masters around the world for over 30 years.

 

A main feature of Babadez's work is creating safe spaces for people to dialogue around sexuality in a way which many of our cultures don't readily allow. He travels worldwide helping others deepen in their truth and power, find healing & enjoyment in transformation, and manifest grounded results through integrated sexuality. While in Cape Town he will be hosting public talks to meet and teach those interested in conscious sexuality and transformation.

 

In Johannesburg

 

TONIGHT  a Shamanic Healing/ sex magick talk will take place.

 

Monday 9th November"Shaman Method of Sex Magic" - with Dez Nicholls
Venue: 17 Anreith Street Franklin Roosevelt Park
Time: 7:30pm
Cost: R100 per person Teas and snacks provided contact: Don @ Shakti Gardens 082 961-5454 (if you would like to attend but cannot afford it please call us...)

 

 

 In Cape Town

 

the following events are taking place:

 

11^th Nov-  7-9pm- Mystic Cove in Durbanville for a dialogue and discussion on Shamanic Sexual Healing: R85 per person

 

This talk will be an informal discussion and teaching session for those with a more esoteric interest in sexuality, shamanism and magick. Organic refreshments will be served.

 

12^th Nov-  7-fifteen to 9-thirty- Erin Hall in Rondebosch for a talk on Creating an Exquisite Relationship through Conscious Sexuality: R50 per person

 

This talk is for singles or couples wanting to deepen their capacity in relationships and reach their full potential as lovers. Organic refreshments included.

 

14^th Nov for a full day workshop at Medispa/ Ubuntu Wellness Centre in Cape Town on Conscious Touch and Tantric Technique: R1500 per couple

 

This workshop for couples (or singles working together as a pair) will teach touch and tantric technique which will enhance presence, awareness and sexuality capacity for Bliss. The experience includes teaching, breath work, meditation, movement and tantric touch. It is suitable for adults of any age, sexual orientation or religious background. Organic vegetarian lunch and teas included.

 

  

In KZN

 

We are looking for an event organiser who might be able to introduce Baba Dez to local energy practitioners, witches and shamans etc. Also maybe arrange a talk which he could do. Please contact me on 0741120466 to offer your services (an offering of 25% of the profits go towards the organiser) in this regard...

 

 

Private Sessions

 

Baba Dez is available for private sessions with couples, men and with women to assist them in moving to the next level of their sacred sexual journey, or for healing sessions.

 

Please contact Cathwrynn on 0741120466 to book a private session with Babadez or to pre-book your space (discount of 15%) at an event. Please also contact us should you want to attend an event but require financial assistance.

 

Here are links to 2 YouTube video's of him talking about his work:

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxULJAWYmPU     healing male sexuality

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obL9YENfjok          sacred sexual arts

 

 

Friends please forward this on to your friends or mailing lists for me...

 

 

Namaste and Bright Blessings,

 

Cathwrynn Williams

 

 

 

Conference for Sacred Sexual Educators, 27 - 29 January

Hello beloveds,

This is to draw your attention to the First African Conference for Sacred Sexuality Educators and Healers that is happening in Johannesburg 27 - 29 November. I hope to see you there. If you book before tonight midnight, you get a significant discount in the conference fee! All details on http://www.sedonatemple.com/event/1052/First-Annual-African-Conference-of-Sacred-Sexual-Educators/

Namaste
Shakti