Thyme in the Pools: Music, Tantra, Language

I went to sit on a tent platform this morning to play my practice chanter (for my Scottish Highland Bagpipe) and startled a deer, a stag, that was resting on the ground. It stood up and moved away from me and the platform, but not far at all. This deer had a large sack hanging under its right eye, and it also had antlers; although it looked fairly mature, it only had one antler with one spike and the other antler had no spikes. I started to play my practice chanter, and the stag stayed around as if listening. It even moved closer to me as if appreciating the music and wanting to 'join' with it. It's my reading that this deer was drawing close to me listening with the intention for a kind of oneness. Lyrical and melifluous sounds elicit a kind of connection and connectivity that I thought this deer wanted to further, as it edged closer to me, with its head down.


I went to a Tantra workshop facilitated charmingly by Steve Carter in the Harbin Temple last night that was listed in the Harbin schedule.


Here's a loose structure of last night's workshop.


Imaging and Imagining
A golden orb


Tantra

When Steve first heard about Tantra, he thought it was about orgasm. Someone else said they thought it was about sex, when they first heard about it.

Steve said Tantra was about 'yes' and 'receptivity,' and good communication, that can then facilitate great intimacy, including sexuality.


In practice, and with a couple modeling this, they (and we later) created a bubble around themselves, while sitting facing one another.

What emerges are a series of rituals, or practices for good communication and intimacy.


They honor each other by bending forward to bring their foreheads together.

From this imaginary bubble, they added and took out 'things' they didn't want to have in their Tantra session. "I add openness," he said speaking outloud, and she said "I add good communication." And "I'll add my shiva energy," she says. "And I'll add my shakti energy," he says

"And I'm going to take out impatience," and "I'm going to remove from the circle frustration." "I'm going to take out my monkey brain." And they do this by physically play-acting the removal of something from their circle.



They then communicate their desires, fears, and boundaries - first one, then the other.

Then Steve encourages the woman model to sit in the lap of the man model, if they want to. And they do, and model intimacy.


With some New Age language and ideas (mostly drawn from India), they developed a series of practices, which would be very helpful and therapeutic for couples wanting to deepen intimacy and communication.





Thyme, who looks like she was a 'flower child,' {there's a light in her face, and her long hair is free, and she's relaxed, open and alternative is normal for her} is probably in her mid-50s, and has been around Harbin for a long time, enjoys the pools a lot, I think, - a little like an otter enjoys water. I often see Thyme in the pools, and while there she plays and explores, as if at home like a river otter. In my observations, her comfort in the water, and attraction to it, is unique-to-Harbin fit by someone touched by the 1960s and 70s, - hippie.



Anonymity at Harbin can be great . . . and a variety of names, including spiritual ones, exist.


Sexuality

In a kind of hippie language and understanding, men have sex with sisters, it's part of being a sister – and sisters have sex with brothers. The language and shared understandings seem to shape this opening, that's widespread, and different from many current norms vis-a-vis sexuality.