ᎢᎻᎬ ᏟᎾᏚᎷᏆᏟ ᏟᎾNᏚᎾᎡᎢ
There is no mortal that can meet the longing of this heart and flesh, for only when this chalice is filled by spirit's intoxication does it know the true communion.
For even in two-bodied love, is it not yet a container for the eternal presence to be tasted between the two lovers?
What does it mean to be a cosmic consort? To be enraptured by existence?
In tantra we choose our relationship with the Divine, whether that of a mother and child, a guru and disciple or a lover and beloved.
When we see the formless Divine as our consort, we court that which is eternal. When we experience pain we recognize it as the truest longing that comes from our separation from this source of love, and we use this pain to again and again call this beloved back into our heart. When we experience pleasure we recognize the reunion of the beloved spirit in the vessel of our flesh. Both pain and pleasure become our dance of love with divinity.
As long as we seek fulfillment from other "vessels" our rapture will be temporary and fleeting and often times leave behind an even greater longing. It is when we recognize that we are each but a chalice that the divine pours itself into when we are empty enough to receive that we come to know true fulfillment. This is the alchemical marriage of spirit and flesh, two becoming one, when we realize the rapture of Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram; truth, auspiciousness and beauty.
When our consort is the cosmic divine first and foremost, we then claim the sovereignty needed to have fulfilling relationships here on the earth plane; relationships that are no longer selfish, no longer conditional, no longer tainted by our attempts to fill a hole inside that can ONLY be filled by the omnipresent.
In the rapture of what is, we can open ourselves to that which can truly fill us to the brim, and allow our being to pour forth beauty into the world in devotion to its magnificence, spiraling into the ecstasy of being deeply engaged with life.
How do we live when we are courting life as the beloved, when even the mundane becomes infused with love, tenderness and eroticism?
Reach within beloved, not without, to be embraced by the eternal source of ecstasy.
Read More by Halo Seronko
Discipline And The Divine Masculine
Discipline in a dying art in this modern age of distractions and quick fixes. In a time when we need to be more focused than ever, more resourced than ever, and more connected to the well of truth within, our energy is being leaked in a million different directions.
When I look into the gifts of the true masculine, the Divine masculine I see the exalted qualities of responsibility, accountability and discipline as containers that hold that which is sacred. Without creating these containers in our lives, that which is subtle such as truth, beauty, presence and love cannot be fully known. There is a powerful level of integrity that is needed to attain these subtleties of being. All great spiritual paths and traditions hold high levels of discipline at great importance, for if we are not able to discipline ourselves for our higher good, we will not be able to attain that which is worth more than gold. Our minds, our bodies and our souls all require a certain level of discipline in order to be tuned to their highest octave.
In calling upon the structure of the divine masculine in my own life, I am heeding a call towards greater responsibility; response-ability. This is the ability to respond with choice and awareness to my thoughts and emotions, thus taking responsibility for them; the responsibility to hold myself accountable to walk my talk and take the time each day to be in the container of my practices where I seek communion with the eternal; the accountability to my own souls growth and evolution for the sake of all beings, the accountability to dot my I's and cross my T's so that each action is total and in harmony with the whole. In this way I claim my sovereignty, I claim my center and I claim my power.
How do we show up for ourselves? How do we show up for our beloveds? What does it look and feel like to stand for life and love with strength, courage and discipline?
YES, we need the feminine to rise at this time, but we simultaneously need the reclamation of the true and divine masculine within us all that takes a stand for that which is the beauty of the world, the container in which She flowers.
Heiros Gamos within is the gateway at which we stand. The sacred marriage will not be complete until we hold within our own chalice the great alchemical union of the masculine and the feminine, stepping out of victimhood, stepping out of overwhelm and distraction and into the steadfast knowing of our true and divine nature.
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Devotion And The Divine Feminine
In conjunction with my last post on Discipline and the Divine Masculine we now surrender into the feminine flow of devotion, for what drives us to be disciplined but to realize the beauty of existence in devotional merger?
While discipline is the masculine container through which devotion can be held, without the devotion of the heart it is empty. It is in merging our devotion to the eternal with our discipline to strive towards the object of our hearts longing that eventually leads to an embodied experience of union between polarities. Through devotion we come to recognize the Beloved in all of creation and thus become servants of that immense beauty that cracks us open into existential ecstasy.
Discipline is of the higher mind while devotion is of the spiritual heart. Discipline is governed by the intellect while devotion lives in the realm of feeling. If one of these aspects is imbalanced with the other we will lack either the sentiment or the follow-through to achieve our souls dharma of awakening.
Devotion exists in the realm where the personal and transpersonal merge; where what is of the world merges with the mysterious energy that is beyond this world. As existence manifests in countless unique forms, we each have our own devotional path. Devotion needs to be stirred, so it is up to us to find that particular ray that incites our heart to throb.
What is it that inspires your devotional heart? What ignites you to offer yourself in surrender to a greater force? What does that greater force look like or feel like? How can you offer even more of yourself, your longing, your rapture to that which stirs the passion of your heart?
Devotion and discipline are primary ingredients in any spiritual path. When we find a system or a practice that marries our masculine discipline with our feminine devotion, we have found a map toward wholeness through the alchemy of that which is in form and that which is formless.
Click Here To Read Writing #3
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Jade In Her Temple: The Origins Of The Jade Egg Practice
The worlds women are increasingly arriving at a state of curiosity about our sexuality, our wisdom, our embodiment, and our power as we become more and more aware of the necessity to take exquisite care of our bodies, minds, hearts and spirits in an increasingly complex world. In this process of feminine awakening, many of us are looking to ancient maps of practice, philosophy and embodiment to guide us in our modern journey. The Taoist female sexual energy cultivation practices with the Jade Egg are one of those poignant maps, and as we come to discover the Taoist secrets, it is important that we remain honoring and understanding of the tradition from which they came. It is in this way that we can truly acquire the merit of these practices that have survived millennia.
So what is the history of these profound practices?
The Jade Egg practices originated from a philosophy of harmonious being known as Taoism. Taoism was birthed in ancient China by the revered sage Lao Tzu, the author of the famous Tao Te Ching. Taoism was the foundation of many of China’s healing and self-cultivation practices such as Tai Chi and Qigong. In order to deeply understand the Jade Egg practices, one must have at least a minimal understanding of Taoism and the energies at play within and outside of the human body.
So lets take a deeper look at Taoism. Tao literally translates to “The Way”. It is more a philosophy than a religion. The underlying teachings of Taoism are teachings of presence, simplicity, acceptance, harmony and balance. It is an extremely feminine philosophy in that, unlike modern day life, it teaches us how to flow with the naturally occurring cycles of existence. In our modern world we are caught up in striving, achieving, and bending the world to our will. Taoism is literally a teaching of ease and grace by harmonizing with the forces of nature within and without the body. It teaches us to listen deeply, and to act with an intelligence that is always assessing what is in the interest of balance moment by moment. Within Taoism we work with nature instead of against Her. Taoism is extremely simplistic in it’s nature; it is again, simply “The Way”.
Many of us are familiar with the Taoist symbol of the Yin and Yang. The dark Yin represents the feminine receptive principle, and that stillness which is the base from which creation takes form. The light Yang represents the masculine active principle, and that which is in motion. Within the Yin there is Yang, and within the Yang there is Yin. Ultimately the two are inseparable, constantly spiraling into each other, merging into each other, and becoming one another. Nothing in this holographic realm is fixed, all is in constant flux and flow, and this motion is the dance of Yin and Yang. When we are in a state of peace and balance, we can recognize this blessing as a point of equipoise between the Yin and Yang aspects of our being and life. It is important to familiarize with the concepts of Yin and Yang before practicing with the Jade Egg, as the highest goal of these practices is the alchemy of Yin and Yang within the body, consciousness and spirit.
While the Jade Egg practices were very much inspired and molded by the simplistic Taoist masters who often lived simple lives in the mountains, they were originally utilized by the concubines of ancient China’s courts. The women of the courts used these practices to maintain their youthfulness and vitality, perform exquisite acts of love, and to merge their potent sexual energies into high spiritual pursuits. It was said that they ruled from behind the curtain, meaning that the Kings true power and precision came from the women of the palace. It is interesting to note that in both the Taoist and Tantric systems of practice, women were seen to be the keepers of power. This led male practitioners in both of these systems to worshipping and exalting these women from whom they sought initiation. On the darker side, it also led to extorting and hoarding the women to draw their power from.
While many ancient practices of feminine power were nearly lost as the power of the patriarchy swept across the lands, the Jade Egg practices were preserved by Taoist Priestesses in underground mystery schools. Today they are re-emerging with passion as the rise of the Sacred Feminine ignites, to instill our power unto ourselves yet again.
Click Here To Read Writing #4
Close Writing
BIO
Halo Seronko is the founderess, creatrix, Temple Dancer, Tantrika, and Priestess of Shakti Temple Arts. She is deeply devoted to a life of cultivation and beauty through the feminine arts and radiance practices of Sacred Dance, Tantra, Taoism, and Priestessing. She is devoted to the universal forces of existence; the masculine, Shiva, and the feminine, Shakti. She dedicates her life and work to the recognition, balance, harmony, respect and compassion in the dance of these Divine forces, specifically the re-awakening of the Divine Feminine principle.
Halo considers Taoism to be the root of her spirituality, the system from where she began her spiritual quest studying with her father in her early teens. She has studied multiple lineages in the Taoist tradition, and has combined many threads from her father, as well as Mantak Chia over the last decade. Tantra is the flower of Halo's spirituality and Halo has been studying both the Kashmir Shaivist and Sri Vidya traditions for nearly a decade. She has studied at Agama Yoga in Thailand, been initiated into the Sri Vidya tradition by her Guru AmritanandaNatha Saraswati in India, and gone on extensive pilgrimages to sacred Shakti sites. Her predominant guru has been the profound resonance and embodied experiences within her own body and consciousness.
Along with Taoism and Tantra as Halo's spiritual paths, she is also a Temple dancer of a Classical Indian Temple Dance known as Odissi, which she has studied intensively over the last 7 years in India with gurus Padma Charan Dehury and Sujata Mohapatra. This she considers to be her souls calling as her form of Bhakti (or devotional) yoga; an offering of beauty to the divine. Halo is also a Temple Fusion Belly Dancer as a soloist and a member of the Devadasi Dance Collective along with her dear sisters Monique Trinity Rose of the Omnique Method and Sedona Soulfire of Soulfire Sacred Dance Ensemble. She has been initiated into the 8 Elements format by Rachel Brice, and has studied with Zoe Jakes as well as many other noteworthy teachers.
Discipline in a dying art in this modern age of distractions and quick fixes. In a time when we need to be more focused than ever, more resourced than ever, and more connected to the well of truth within, our energy is being leaked in a million different directions.
When I look into the gifts of the true masculine, the Divine masculine I see the exalted qualities of responsibility, accountability and discipline as containers that hold that which is sacred. Without creating these containers in our lives, that which is subtle such as truth, beauty, presence and love cannot be fully known. There is a powerful level of integrity that is needed to attain these subtleties of being. All great spiritual paths and traditions hold high levels of discipline at great importance, for if we are not able to discipline ourselves for our higher good, we will not be able to attain that which is worth more than gold. Our minds, our bodies and our souls all require a certain level of discipline in order to be tuned to their highest octave.
In calling upon the structure of the divine masculine in my own life, I am heeding a call towards greater responsibility; response-ability. This is the ability to respond with choice and awareness to my thoughts and emotions, thus taking responsibility for them; the responsibility to hold myself accountable to walk my talk and take the time each day to be in the container of my practices where I seek communion with the eternal; the accountability to my own souls growth and evolution for the sake of all beings, the accountability to dot my I's and cross my T's so that each action is total and in harmony with the whole. In this way I claim my sovereignty, I claim my center and I claim my power.
How do we show up for ourselves? How do we show up for our beloveds? What does it look and feel like to stand for life and love with strength, courage and discipline?
YES, we need the feminine to rise at this time, but we simultaneously need the reclamation of the true and divine masculine within us all that takes a stand for that which is the beauty of the world, the container in which She flowers.
Heiros Gamos within is the gateway at which we stand. The sacred marriage will not be complete until we hold within our own chalice the great alchemical union of the masculine and the feminine, stepping out of victimhood, stepping out of overwhelm and distraction and into the steadfast knowing of our true and divine nature.
In conjunction with my last post on Discipline and the Divine Masculine we now surrender into the feminine flow of devotion, for what drives us to be disciplined but to realize the beauty of existence in devotional merger?
While discipline is the masculine container through which devotion can be held, without the devotion of the heart it is empty. It is in merging our devotion to the eternal with our discipline to strive towards the object of our hearts longing that eventually leads to an embodied experience of union between polarities. Through devotion we come to recognize the Beloved in all of creation and thus become servants of that immense beauty that cracks us open into existential ecstasy.
Discipline is of the higher mind while devotion is of the spiritual heart. Discipline is governed by the intellect while devotion lives in the realm of feeling. If one of these aspects is imbalanced with the other we will lack either the sentiment or the follow-through to achieve our souls dharma of awakening.
Devotion exists in the realm where the personal and transpersonal merge; where what is of the world merges with the mysterious energy that is beyond this world. As existence manifests in countless unique forms, we each have our own devotional path. Devotion needs to be stirred, so it is up to us to find that particular ray that incites our heart to throb.
What is it that inspires your devotional heart? What ignites you to offer yourself in surrender to a greater force? What does that greater force look like or feel like? How can you offer even more of yourself, your longing, your rapture to that which stirs the passion of your heart?
Devotion and discipline are primary ingredients in any spiritual path. When we find a system or a practice that marries our masculine discipline with our feminine devotion, we have found a map toward wholeness through the alchemy of that which is in form and that which is formless.
The worlds women are increasingly arriving at a state of curiosity about our sexuality, our wisdom, our embodiment, and our power as we become more and more aware of the necessity to take exquisite care of our bodies, minds, hearts and spirits in an increasingly complex world. In this process of feminine awakening, many of us are looking to ancient maps of practice, philosophy and embodiment to guide us in our modern journey. The Taoist female sexual energy cultivation practices with the Jade Egg are one of those poignant maps, and as we come to discover the Taoist secrets, it is important that we remain honoring and understanding of the tradition from which they came. It is in this way that we can truly acquire the merit of these practices that have survived millennia.
So what is the history of these profound practices?
The Jade Egg practices originated from a philosophy of harmonious being known as Taoism. Taoism was birthed in ancient China by the revered sage Lao Tzu, the author of the famous Tao Te Ching. Taoism was the foundation of many of China’s healing and self-cultivation practices such as Tai Chi and Qigong. In order to deeply understand the Jade Egg practices, one must have at least a minimal understanding of Taoism and the energies at play within and outside of the human body.
So lets take a deeper look at Taoism. Tao literally translates to “The Way”. It is more a philosophy than a religion. The underlying teachings of Taoism are teachings of presence, simplicity, acceptance, harmony and balance. It is an extremely feminine philosophy in that, unlike modern day life, it teaches us how to flow with the naturally occurring cycles of existence. In our modern world we are caught up in striving, achieving, and bending the world to our will. Taoism is literally a teaching of ease and grace by harmonizing with the forces of nature within and without the body. It teaches us to listen deeply, and to act with an intelligence that is always assessing what is in the interest of balance moment by moment. Within Taoism we work with nature instead of against Her. Taoism is extremely simplistic in it’s nature; it is again, simply “The Way”.
Many of us are familiar with the Taoist symbol of the Yin and Yang. The dark Yin represents the feminine receptive principle, and that stillness which is the base from which creation takes form. The light Yang represents the masculine active principle, and that which is in motion. Within the Yin there is Yang, and within the Yang there is Yin. Ultimately the two are inseparable, constantly spiraling into each other, merging into each other, and becoming one another. Nothing in this holographic realm is fixed, all is in constant flux and flow, and this motion is the dance of Yin and Yang. When we are in a state of peace and balance, we can recognize this blessing as a point of equipoise between the Yin and Yang aspects of our being and life. It is important to familiarize with the concepts of Yin and Yang before practicing with the Jade Egg, as the highest goal of these practices is the alchemy of Yin and Yang within the body, consciousness and spirit.
While the Jade Egg practices were very much inspired and molded by the simplistic Taoist masters who often lived simple lives in the mountains, they were originally utilized by the concubines of ancient China’s courts. The women of the courts used these practices to maintain their youthfulness and vitality, perform exquisite acts of love, and to merge their potent sexual energies into high spiritual pursuits. It was said that they ruled from behind the curtain, meaning that the Kings true power and precision came from the women of the palace. It is interesting to note that in both the Taoist and Tantric systems of practice, women were seen to be the keepers of power. This led male practitioners in both of these systems to worshipping and exalting these women from whom they sought initiation. On the darker side, it also led to extorting and hoarding the women to draw their power from.
While many ancient practices of feminine power were nearly lost as the power of the patriarchy swept across the lands, the Jade Egg practices were preserved by Taoist Priestesses in underground mystery schools. Today they are re-emerging with passion as the rise of the Sacred Feminine ignites, to instill our power unto ourselves yet again.
BIO
Halo Seronko is the founderess, creatrix, Temple Dancer, Tantrika, and Priestess of Shakti Temple Arts. She is deeply devoted to a life of cultivation and beauty through the feminine arts and radiance practices of Sacred Dance, Tantra, Taoism, and Priestessing. She is devoted to the universal forces of existence; the masculine, Shiva, and the feminine, Shakti. She dedicates her life and work to the recognition, balance, harmony, respect and compassion in the dance of these Divine forces, specifically the re-awakening of the Divine Feminine principle.
Halo considers Taoism to be the root of her spirituality, the system from where she began her spiritual quest studying with her father in her early teens. She has studied multiple lineages in the Taoist tradition, and has combined many threads from her father, as well as Mantak Chia over the last decade. Tantra is the flower of Halo's spirituality and Halo has been studying both the Kashmir Shaivist and Sri Vidya traditions for nearly a decade. She has studied at Agama Yoga in Thailand, been initiated into the Sri Vidya tradition by her Guru AmritanandaNatha Saraswati in India, and gone on extensive pilgrimages to sacred Shakti sites. Her predominant guru has been the profound resonance and embodied experiences within her own body and consciousness.
Along with Taoism and Tantra as Halo's spiritual paths, she is also a Temple dancer of a Classical Indian Temple Dance known as Odissi, which she has studied intensively over the last 7 years in India with gurus Padma Charan Dehury and Sujata Mohapatra. This she considers to be her souls calling as her form of Bhakti (or devotional) yoga; an offering of beauty to the divine. Halo is also a Temple Fusion Belly Dancer as a soloist and a member of the Devadasi Dance Collective along with her dear sisters Monique Trinity Rose of the Omnique Method and Sedona Soulfire of Soulfire Sacred Dance Ensemble. She has been initiated into the 8 Elements format by Rachel Brice, and has studied with Zoe Jakes as well as many other noteworthy teachers.