Passion – What does it mean for you?
Before you read further, what was the first thing that came into your mind when you read the word Passion? Which one of the definitions below fit your first impression?
1. An intense or overpowering emotion such as love, joy, hatred, or anger
2. A strong sexual desire and excitement
3. A sudden outburst of an emotion such as rage, hatred, or jealousy
4. A keen interest in a particular subject or activity
5. The object of somebody’s intense interest or enthusiasm
I’ll venture to bet that it was the one about strong sexual desire – right?
An Oprah quote: “If you don’t know what your passion is, realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it.” She is absolutely right. But this isn’t the one about sexual desire it’s the one about all of your life.
Here’s a quote from Martin Luther King: “Everyone has the power for greatness-not for fame but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.”
This is a modern version of the ancient Hindu precept that states that the most important thing you can do in life is to find what you are best at and develop those traits to their fullest, so that you can then serve humanity with your gifts. This means that each and every one of us is unique and has those gifts and talents that, when developed, lead us to our very best life fulfilled, both for ourselves and for our fellow humans. This is your gift to the world and finding your passion is your gift to yourself.
I had dinner the other night with a young woman I hadn’t seen for a few years. She looked vibrant and when I asked her what she was doing for a living she just lit up. She told me that she was a loan broker helping people get their first homes and helping others reduce their debt by refinancing their existing loans. It’s what we might say is a ‘regular job’ but it was decidedly not ‘regular’ for this gal. She was full of Passion with a capital P! She was so excited that she was helping people help themselves and because of the visible passion she portrayed her energy was contagious.
The rest of my evening was fantastic, primarily because of her energy. Because Tantra and Tantric sex fuels my consciousness practices, I realized immediately what was driving my energy. The next logical step was to then pass that energy on to others, which is what happened. Can you imagine what kind of a world we would live in if this kind of passion happened on a regular basis to all of us?
Passion is what we all long for in our love relationships. We long for it to rule our lives so that we might feel that we are on the right track. We want to be good – no great – at the things we take on in life so we want Passion as our fuel. We want to be passionate and we want passion to come back to us in the form of love, caring, and commitment. Passion makes us feel as though we are really LIVING.
The great part about Tantra is that it teaches you about Passion in all of your life through the practices of sex! You can find your Passion through passion! Tantra doesn’t really have much to do with wild new sex techniques that are just for fun and play. While this is a part of the practices they also include conscious communication, presence, focused attention, breathing fully, health, meditation, yoga, and a myriad of other practices that provide a chance for introspection into the life fulfilled.
Consciousness growth, realized through many aspects of life’s practices, includes sexual practices for those who see that sexuality’s ‘energy’ can be used as a transformational, alchemical process. Harnessing, and thereby utilizing, our bodily functions, emotions, and thought processes through Tantra can produce the desired affect. This process then leads to a realization, or kind of enlightenment, that can then be used by the individual to help transform humanity. As Buddhist Tantra would say: the Hinayana Path (lesser vehicle or individual person) first transforms so that they might help the Mahayana Path (the greater vehicle or all of humanity) transform.
Until the time in which all men and women are enlightened we have our work cut out for us. So have more Tantric sex and continue your studies in consciousness practices to develop your passionate existence in this lifetime. It will fuel every cell in your body and the feedback loop will continue to grow and expand in all aspects of your Body, Mind and Spirit and therefore your life!
