The Marathon Runner

It begins with excitement...

Not too long ago, we held a workshop for beginner couples.
We were excited. We always do. It is a good, pleasant excitement.
Even with a thousand more workshops we will go on with it.
It is an excitement of joy.

Couples stand at the door and the hug already tells us a story.
Some arrive with self assurance, openness and expectancy.
Others arrive with heavy anxiousness.
Who will be active? Who will remain dug in the trenches?

We like opening our workshops with some movement, music, dance.
It is easy to identify those who have a rough time.
Even those who try and hide it under a facade of "all is well",
they can't forge their movement.
Remember? We dance as we live!

...and continues with a struggle.

When the actual practice begins, suddenly it arrives.
We catch a glimpse from the corner of our eye.
There is a struggle, mostly concealed one.
At most times it is the man versus the woman, but not always.
She's fearful, uncomfortable, seeking to withdraw, diminish.
Body language and the look in the eyes reveal a bit.
Many times only we can detect it.
She's having a hard time in opening up to the practice.
Often, it is when we approach working in the nude,
or working on contact with other people.

He wants it so much. He has been waiting for it for so long.
At home, he was trying to convince her for such a long time.
Reading on the Internet, impressed and excited,
he told her about it, waited, expected.
"It will do us good, you'll see. It will renew our fire"
She was afraid, not really excited, not feeling ready yet.
But he pressed and pushed so much, nagged her, expected, wanted...
Finally she gave up, somehow became convinced.
What if he's right after all?
So she came, running scripts through her mind:
"What will be if...", "What will happen when..."...

Now he is disappointed, full of frustration.
We catch all those tiny hidden nuances.
He pushes her, whispers in her ear,
trying to expose some skin, remove a piece of clothing,
without being seen, concealing.
...and she - totally besieged and cramped,
pulls the cloth back to its natural, protective place,
her body squirms under his touch.

We approach quietly, whispering in their ears,
reminding her to remain loyal to her own good,
not to give up on herself,
restraining and moderating him, well, at least trying to.
Explaining calmly, attempting to clarify.
But mostly it ends with a disappointment,
sometimes evident frustration,
even in a fight.

The Big Bang

Sometime ago we had this nice couple.
She was the one who insisted that they can handle an advanced couples workshop.
It turned out that she lived in her own movie, disconnected.
They arrived and participated.
He continuously kept fighting himself and covered up.
We saw and perceived it, but he denied.
At some stage, another man only touched her leg,
but it was like open flame next to a barrel of gunpowder.
The poor guy just could not contain himself.
He literally teared her away from there and they went home with a huge blast.

The Marathon Runner.

We explain what is going on and provide an allegory.
Imagine yourselves participating in a running race.
One of you is the Marathon runner.
He's in great shape, a running champion. This course is nothing.
In the story of the Rabbit and the Turtle - he's the Rabbit.
The other one of you is a real Couch Potato.
You are determined to run this course, but together!
Should you run at the Marathon runner's pace,
the one in lesser shape will start, make an effort,
but soon enough will run out of breath, eyes popping out,
another moment and he faints.
As if to irritate, the Marathon runner looks back, calling:
"Well? What goes on? Why are you not trying?"
"Not trying??? One second more and I'm dying here, on the course!"
On the other hand, should you run at the Couch Potato's pace,
without him making a serious effort, where would it get you?
You will both accumulate a huge frustration.
The Marathon runner will feel as if not moving at all,
while his partner will feel as if restraining the other.

Olympic Training...

So, the one who finds it easier is the Marathon runner.
He can lower himself to a slower pace of running,
but one in which his partner is still making an effort,
still trying hard, slowly building up to great shape.

Some would probably question:
"If so, isn't it simpler to find someone in great shape too,
another Marathon runner, running together at the same pace?"
The answer is a bold "NO".

There are many aspects in life where our balance tips over.
One will be more sexually daring while the other more emotionally open.
One is strong in the financial arena whereas the other is a champion in social networking.
One is excellent in analyzing a situation to the smallest details,
but his partner is amazingly able to view things from a holistic paradigm,
able to catch the birds eye view.

There will never be a situation where "we are both champions of the world in everything".
Moreover, we are dynamic creatures, changing.
Sometimes we run forward, sometimes we stop or even back off.
As an Arab proverb says "Youm Assal, Youm Bassal" -
One day is Honey, One day is Onion.

So if you wish to run together, as this is most fun,
learn to identify those places where you are the Marathon runners.
Hold on a bit, take you foot of the gas pedal.
But it would be worthless without a transparent, sharing communication,
so that your partner would also know what's going on.
Give a chance to your partner to know and choose to make an effort to advance.

And if you're looking for Olympic coaches,
we know this couple... :-)

Have a pleasant running.

The Greatest Freedom

Years ago, when we were little...

Remember, the years of our childhood?...
That huge excitement we felt throughout the last days of school,
the feeling of relief, when we tossed away our school bag,
sensing we will not be seeing it for a veeeeeeery long time?
How the great Summer vacation, seemed... say... great!!!?

The delightful perspectives of childhood on time,
caused those months to seem like eternity,
and although we know a few parents for whom even today,
Summer vacation seems like eternity :-)
from an adult perspective, this time span really flies by.

...and we truly felt free.
We could do "whatever we wanted",
(which really was, we could, for a while,
not do what we were required to do).

But that - was not freedom at all.

Freedom is not something we get from someone.

In his book "Man's Search for Meaning", Viktor Frankl clarified the term "freedom".
Frankl was a Jewish Psychiatrist, captured in a concentration camp during the Jewish holocaust.
One day, after much suffering, he realized that even in a concentration camp,
he has Liberty!
Freedom, understood Frankl, differs from liberty.
Freedom is the physical ability to move and act.
Liberty is something we give ourselves from within.
To have freedom, one usually depends on others.
Liberty comes from an internal choice and it can be expressed even in the darkest of places.
On account of this liberty, Frankl quickly became a support for his fellow captives and eventually even for his Nazi prison guards.
We heartily recommend that you read this short book and delve into it.



In the present article we use the common word "freedom",
out of writing and reading convenience,
but we absolutely refer to the internal liberty, derived from our ability to choose.

People tend to relate to freedom from a dependency paradigm.
"I got time off work/spouse/duty..."
"Oh, I'm dying to go on vacation already...", etc.

Freedom is something we allow ourselves from within

We accept people for sessions, personal processes, Tantra workshops.
We ask "Allow yourself to be free",
we coax them into self expression, moving, making sound,
to freely express their emotions, their sexuality.
In most cases we're faced with a squelched response.
Most of us are tightly bound with social cables.
Cables of education, culture, manners, opinions and more.
Every tiny thing is drastically filtered through the thinking mind.
"That is allowed", "That is forbidden", "That's polite",
"That is is disgusting", "What will they think of me",
"That's not cultured", "Mom said I should not"...

Many don't know and fail to see,
how adherence to social conventions is simply castrating, mutilating.
It makes us miss the joys of life,
feeling guilt, inferiority, lack of self appreciation.
It causes us to remain stuck in place, refrain from advancing,
to make wrong decisions derived from wrong considerations.

Dance as though no one is watching you

Are you familiar with the situation?
Party, pass-time, perhaps a workshop...
A hall full of people dancing.
Some really dance, some move their body in well known patterns.
There's always that "Champion", standing outside,
sometimes hands in pockets, sometimes holding onto a drink,
and the look... Oh that look...
It would move from a degrading look, style "Watch those looneys..."
to a yearning look, desiring to be "like him", "like her",
them, who truly allow themselves to freely move about, laugh, go wild...
He would find a thousand excuses,
all related with comparing himself with others, with social conventions.
"What would they think of me?", "I would look silly",
"I'm too respected to allow", "It looks cheap",
"I can't without three drinks"...

But it does not start neither end with dancing!
Every situation in life is measured upon these values,
be it at home, in social events, in business.
It paralyzes, it grounds, it turns off the fire of originality.

Are you willing to go even deeper?

Me? Get out of here. I'm daring, free & liberated...

Really??? :-)

How deep is the phenomenon.
How thick is the mask we all wear.

As you may know, every once in a while,
we hold daring workshops for advanced couples.
We work directly on various issues related with sexuality.
Our sexuality simply reveals it all.
It touches the deepest layers of our being, as it is so basic.

We often run into people wearing a facade of "free & liberated".
It comes down for a test when we have a group activity.
Then one (man or woman) gets into the circle center to receive touch.
We ask, then inform "X has no boundaries. All is permitted"
(within our workshop boundaries of course).
You will be surprised to know -
Here are those who expressed this and that on themselves,
they come to the moment of truth, where all is allowed,
an do NOTHING!!!

So what can one do?

Practice the genuine liberty, which comes from within, more and more!
It should blend in several planes of awareness and consciousness.
First - the understanding:
The very basic understanding is, that total freedom will not bring about anarchy.
Many express that fear, but the opposite is true.
It is more when a man's freedom is limited by conventions which are not his,
that he develops some hidden rebellion.
It is then, when one takes action in the direction of anarchy and less in the direction of true nature.
Beyond that, it is important to understand legitimacy of freedom,
the necessity in true freedom to be, to express, to be who I really am.
It is crucial to understand that not everything society thinks is true.
Mostly, the opposite is true!
Whole societies were wrong, went astray!
Nearly the entire world was certain that Earth is flat, that it is the center of this Universe.
Whole nations were certain they should rule the world,
that destruction and elimination of other nations is a must.

Bind that with daring.
Dare to inspect and break boundaries. Step out of our comfort zone.
Inspect our emotions once we dared, once we did:
How much closer are we to our own internal truth?
Initially it is difficult, even confusing,
but this is simply a creation of new, positive patterns and habits.
This creation is not always effortless or easy.

Freedom is the basis!

For Tantra, freedom is the basic and most valuable legacy.
One of the central books of Tantra deals with the MahaNirvana,
obtaining the ultimate freedom, the total Nirvana.
We already described in previous articles(*), what acts,
which in our eyes would seem extreme and crazy,
were taken by the ancient Tantrika to rebel social consensus,
to obtain a total inner freedom to be who they really are.

[* The articles we refer to here, will shortly be published
in our blog]

We know a charming personal coach, Joe Rubino.
It all starts and ends, says Rubino, with self esteem.
Self esteem is certainly of the most basic human needs
in order to live a happy and joyous life,
to reinvent oneself each time anew.
How can one build high self esteem?
For us, the way to it is first of all, practicing freedom.
Freedom from social and emotional dependence,
from what others "think of me" or "evaluate me".

This inner freedom is the very basis for building wonderful relationships,
since we do not emotionally depend on those with whom we live.
We may then support, contain, accept other opinions.
We are not afraid to change,
for if we choose to change,
it will only be based on our freedom and personal choice.

Freedom enables us to live a life of braveness and fearlessness.
It enables the permission we give ourselves to advance, to develop,
to choose a unique and different direction,
in contrast with what others may think;
Parents, Teachers, Friends, Media...
...and follow that path only because our heart tells us,
that this is the right way to go.

So allow yourselves to dance as tough nobody is watching you,
and if you wish to practically practice breaking boundaries,
you already know who to turn to... ;-)

ignore

2akux57hrp

Ogres are Like Onions...

Who am I? What am I?

You all are probably familiar with the phenomenon.
People in their mid-life, done with growing kids,
done with paying the mortgage, financially based.
Now, they have enough time and energy to ask
themselves: "Who am I actually?"

From Buddha to Shrek

Around 2500 years before the movie "Shrek" (remember? "Ogres are like onions")
Buddha said that a person (the self) is like an onion.
Peel a layer and another layer. You end up finding nothing. An emptiness.

This emptiness, or nothingness, is one of the basic paradigms of Tantra,
mainly the Buddhist Tantra.
Tilopa, in his song of Mahamudra, said that the emptiness,
the void, needs no reliance.
The Mahamudra (the great gesture, the great freedom),
needs no support, no substance to rely on.

The huge idea is lack of identification.
We are not our bodies. We are not our thinking mind.
We are actually nothing and with that, we are also all.
It is a hard-to-grasp paradox.
Many found difficulty in explaining it throughout history.

The might of Tantric way of life comes through blending
lack of identification, with the ability to be in super awareness.
Watching your thoughts and all that happens around you, as an observer.
The more we peel layers (of identification) off that onion,
we get closer to its core, to the nothingness.
When nothing is left there,
who is there to suffer???

OK, So who am I really>

As human beings, our conduct is of identification with many things.
Ask any person "Who are you?"
The automatic response will immediately arrive:
"I'm John","I'm Jane"
Ask - "What are you?"
"I'm Tall/Short/Fat/Thin/Pretty/Ugly",
"I'm a Chicago Bulls fan/Computer Expert...",
"I'm Christian/Jew/Muslim/Lesbian/Gay",
"I'm American/French/Astronaut/Plumber..."
"I'm hungry" (NO!!! Your body is hungry),
"I'm sick" (NO! Your body's sick),
and more, and more...

But we are not all of those!

Alright - So what ARE we?

Tantra (and not only Tantra) teaches that we are an infinite entity.
We are a direct extension of the source, the creator, the divine.
We are not really created when we are born,
we do not cease to exists when we perish and leave this world.
Actually, if we simplify Mahamudra,
we'll say it is the condition a person attains while being alive,
experiencing precisely he will, while not being realized physically.

The Greek who gave up Ouzo :-)

There's a (historically true) story about the king Menander.
A Greek born in India, who was a great conqueror,
no less than Alexander the great (135-155 B.C.).
His Indian name was milinda.
Milinda invited an enlightened Buddhist monk named Nagasen to teach him.
There were many rumors about his wisdom and rare manners.
The king sent a messenger with an invitation.
The messenger came back, surprised and puzzled.
The answer was "Yes, if the king invites, Nagasen will come,
but do tell him, there is no more Nagasen, no more "I am".
I am no more.

Menander was Greek, with a logic way of thinking.
He was not accustomed to the eastern way of thinking,
which is based on contradictions and vagueness.
He could not understand the riddle.
"If he doesn't exist, how can he come?".
He invited Nagasen to come, as by coming he will prove his being.




When Nagasen arrived, the king accepted him at the gate
and immediately asked:
"You arrived and your'e here, yet you say you are not?"
Nagasen answered: "Indeed. Let us settle this now. Ask a question".
Milinda, surrounded by his court members asked:
"First, if something does not exist, how can it come?
You have arrived, so it is logical that you are"

Nagasen laughed and said:
"Look at this Ratha" (Bullock Cart with which he came)
"You call it Ratha, a cart"
"Indeed" said Milinda.

Nagasen asked his followers to remove the bullocks off the cart.
"Are these bullocks the cart"? he asked.
"Naturally not" came the reply.
Then, Nagasen asked for the wheels to be removed.
"Are those wheels the cart?" -- "Of course not"...
All the parts were removed and on each part,
the same question was asked and the same answer was given.

When nothing was left from the cart, Nagasen asked:
"Where is the cart with which I came?
You yourself approved that all we have removed is not the cart,
Where is the cart?"
...and continued:
"Exactly so is Nagasen. Remove his parts and he's gone"

This long dialog was fully recorded in the writings know as:
Milinda Panha
(Milinda's questions).
In its end, Milinda became a Buddhist.

C'mmon, get out'ta here... Let me identify...

These days, with the developing science and medicine,
we can understand this attitude in a more lively manner.
The science of medicine can maintain a person
(at least for a short period of time),
without arms, legs, kidneys, heart, pancreas and more.
Clearly, the person is not his body and its organs.
He's also not his thoughts, since while in deep meditation,
thoughts cease, but the entity, the being does not cease to exist.


People like to identify. It is convenient.
it provides some satisfaction.
It provides an illusion of clear self definition,
but merely an illusion.
Without notice, many are unaware that identification is a prison.
Identification creates boundaries, limitations, borders.
It creates opponency and separateness.
Identification limits our Love to a narrow group,
instead of allowing it to expand and be all embracing.
To be in the way of Tantra - to be Love as a state of being,
boundaries and limitations should be diminished and canceled.
s
When all shells of identification are being peeled off,
when nothing remains - arises the beauty.
All boundaries separating the commune of man and Universe disappear.
This commune is then enabled at all possible levels, with the one,
the source, the creator, the divine.
When the drop merges with the Ocean, it is no more,
it becomes the Ocean.
When nothing is left, the person turns into all.

Well now,
Before you completely disappear and merge,
give us a hug!
:-)

Ruth of Moab - A True Princes.

We recently celebrated the holiday of "Savuot" in Israel.
This is to commemorate the receiving of the Torah on mount Sinai.
It is the custom to read the scroll of Ruth, the great grandmother of king David.
In the story, we found some beautiful aspects, which are worth sharing...

(for those of you who are not familiar with the original story, note that we twisted some stuff for the sake of humor. Here's a fine opportunity to open the Bible)

The recession

The days are days of recession.
The Hi-Tech collapses, people are being laid-off in thousands.
This one guy from Bethlehem, and he was a prosperous one, left the country.
He, with the wife and two kids pack their suitcases and move to reside in Moab.
(Hey guys, we're not talking of Moab Utah, this is Moab next to Canaan :-)

The story is so familiar, but it folds within some amazing human aspects.

The couple, probably were not experts in positive thinking and creating one's reality, if they gave their boys the names Mahalon and Kilyon (In Hebrew, "Mahala" means sickness and "Klaya" means perishing).
Thought creates reality, so tells the story, and the man, Elimelech, returns equipment to the quartermaster and dies.
Soon afterward, Mahalon and Kilyon follow his footpath and die too, not without leaving behind two young widows.

The Drama Begins

So the widowed wife, Naomi, reads in the Financial Times that the recession in Canaan has ended and abundance have returned.
Wow, after more than 10 years abroad and deserving the legal rights of a returning citizen, it's worth going back home.
Here, beloved readers, begins the real human drama.
Imagine yourselves a princess (yes, a true one, daughter of the king of Edom) in that sort of a situation.
Her Father-in-law has gone. Her husband and Brother-in-law croaked.
Now, her elderly Mother-in-law returns to a foreign, unfamiliar country.
Think of the situation - Broke and penny-less, perhaps without a language, she follows the footsteps of her Mother-in-law through fire and water, not giving up, despite Naomi's resentment.
This is the prime of self leadership, of decisiveness.
A True Love.

Proactivity and Positive Thinking

Nothing will stop Ruth.
In contrast with Naomi's whining (who says to people "Don't call me Naomi [meaning pleasant], Call me Mara [meaning bitter]),
Ruth decides to avoid being victimized.
She chooses Proactivity, Positive thinking and creativity, thinking outside of the box.
One has to make a leaving. Right?

It is harvest time.
"By chance", she goes collecting sheaves of wheat, in the field of the richest guy around.
She also avoids gathering with the other poor fella's in the crowded locations of the field corner and forgotten piles (these are left behind for the poor).
She only collects the fallen sheaves, after the harvesters, visibly sticking out...
She chooses a successful marketing strategy.

Boaz, the field owner, obviously shows interest.
Quick search through Google and he already learns about the remarkable story.
The tribe of Ruth receives immunity :-)
With the immunity, Ruth brings back home to Naomi half a sack of wheat.
Not bad for one day of collecting.

Sometimes, a neat trick is what's needed

Now, the old lady's deviousness shows up.
She realizes that she and Boaz are friends in Facebook and quickly sorts things out.
Short email from close associates reveals that there's work tonight at the granary.
Ruth is being sent for an image change.
Quick shower, some scented oil of Ben and Efrat, an airy light new skirt from Dolce & Gabbana...
Off she goes, to the granary.

Real Tantrika, she is. Not being aggressive, but with devotion. Silently, secretly lays besides Boaz, just letting him feel her energy.
Breaths with him in circular breathing.
In the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up in terror, but a conversation develops.
Ruth gently hints, that if he will arrange things, she will say "Yes".
After all, princess or no princess?

...and a few bucks in the pocket never hurt as well...

Sophie Tucker once said "I've been rich and I've been poor; Believe me, honey, rich is better."
Boaz shows, that having some dough surely helps.
He purchases the late Elimelech's lands and the lands of his two dead sons and - he also buys Ruth.
(and he wasn't even in the MLM business...)
Quickly booking an expensive kitsch wedding hall and getting married.
It doesn't take long for kind David's grandfather to be born...

...and now seriously

Laughing's great, but we see here a story of genuine self leadership of the highest rank.

Ruth have amazingly proved, that when one is being Proactive, uses positive thinking, courage, persistence, wisdom and resourcefulness - everything is possible!!!

It matters not if you are strangers, broke and penny-less, have no language or social class.
If you are truly determined and conduct with faith, trust and confidence, if you see success in your mind's eye, nothing will stop it.

On account of a tiny nail

Tiny Nail

We just returned from "Zorba" festival in the Israel Desert Ashram.
It is a piece of jewel in the Southern Neggev Desert. Green oasis
with several houses and a huge spirit of love.
We have been conducting festival workshops there for several years now,
since the early days when the place was less known and intimate.
Many things have changed since. The social structure and members, some
of the facilities, even the size of the festivals which are around
10 times larger now.
One of the things that haven't changed since, is a tiny nail.

In a secluded corner at the bottom of the blue painted doorpost in the men's rooms, there is a tiny nail.
Half out, protruding - it has always been there.
In the early days it used to bother me (Ben), thinking of what will happen
if anyone bumps into it, but along the years it turned into an icon, a symbol
of a stable, never changing thing there, at the Ashram.

Funny, but real - every time I used to sit in the men's rooms and see it,
I would think of Tantra and the issue of our attachment to things.
Every time anew, I would think that if anyone ever comes and pulls this
tiny nail out, or hammer it in, it will not be the same Ashram anymore.
:-)

Tantra and Non-Attachment

Tantra is a vast paradigm which places a great importance on expansion.
One of the meanings for the word Tantra in Sanscrit, ancient Indian, is expansion.
Grasping this issue of expansion is a lot deeper than many understand it to be.
To really understand it (and understand what has it got to do with attachment), one must fully understand the principle of the one.
Tantra (among some other streams of thought), teaches that all is one.
We (not only people, but the entire creation) are one with the creator.
The basic idea is that the creation, as the creator, is whole and complete, yet, constantly expanding through spiritual growth and enhancement.
This is an exalted and unique concept which teaches us that the creator expands through us, through our spiritual empowerment, since we are all one with the creator.

People are habitual creatures. Some of our habits and patterns are positive.
Our habits protects us from the bombardment of information and tasks that we meet everyday.
Every seemingly simple task is made up of a wealth of actions, decisions and sensual information streaming at us.
When we develop a pattern, a habit, we manage to deal with this wealth of stimuli.
Think for instance, how many automatic activities we perform while driving.

But patterns and habits also affix us in place.
They actually drive us in many cases, to lose our free will.
Many times, our habits are so strong that we become controlled by them!
Attachment is an acute form of a pattern or a habit.

Tantra teaches vigorously the topic of breaking away from patterns - non attachment.
The basic idea is that sticking with an object, a person, a behavioral habit, a thought, prevent a person from the freedom to expand. They form an inner noise and imbalance.

To be expanded and expand the creation - the creator, we must let go of this attachment.

Attachment and Dependency

When we are attached to anything, we are in dependency.
Dependency is a limiting factor which we want to avoid.
A person is born dependent - physically, mentally, socially and emotionally.
When we grow, we gradually get rid of most of our dependencies, each in their own pace.
Easier to rid off is physical dependency. It is also the easiest to handle.
If a grown up person becomes, god forbid,  physically dependent, it is still workable.

Mental dependency comes next. We grow and learn stuff rapidly.
Our brain in early years can absorb tremendous amounts of knowledge and relatively quickly we lose most of our mental dependency.

The social-emotional dependency is another story. It is a dependency which is hard to get rid of. There are many, who even in their adult life, remained dependent to some level.
This dependency causes much grief!

When we attach to an object, a person, habit or thought, we are dependent, mainly emotionally.
This dependency expresses itself substantially once something changes in the relevant surrounding.
When something we're emotionally dependent on changes, great suffering is caused.

Think for instance, what many go through, when they (or even worse someone else) break by accident a precious or beloved object. The end of the world has come...
Irrational emotional eruptions spoil the beauty of the moment and break relationships.
Instead of being appreciative and grateful for the service of the object up to its breaking point, one gets all gloomy and feeling down for a while.
Instead of taking it easy, saying something like "Oh well, the time has come...", an emotional eruption leaves behind anger and emotional deposits.

Sticking with an object is easiest to deal with and is handled in many cultures. For instance, in the Jewish tradition, when a plate or a glass breaks everyone calls "Mazal-Tov" (Good blessings). In the Greek Taverns there used to be a custom to break plates as a sign of happiness and gratitude.

Colored Sand Mandalas

Practicing Non-Attachment is very important. It is being taught in Zen Buddhism and many other spiritual practices.
Buddhist monks practice drawing Mandalas with colored sand.
Mandala is a complex Sacred geometric drawing, based on a circle, with many spiritual meanings.
A group of monks assigns itself a mission to draw a Mandala on a surface.
The drawing is sketched in a precise manner.
Then, the patterns are being filled with colored sand.
The work is very strict, precise, meditative and lasts several weeks.
When the mandala is complete, it is being dismantled in a special ceremony.
During the ceremony, the sand is being spread in the near river. Establishing and dismantling of the mandala is an effective practicing of Non-attachment.
The dismantled mandala symbolizes the temporariness of life.
The highest Non-attachment which may be practiced is to life itself.

Attachment to a Partner.

It is so easy to understand why people who are starting their developmental path, look at us with eyes wide open, sort of asking "Are you serious?", when we invite them in our workshops to work with other partners.
One of the most intensive attachments we have is to a partner.
With our partners we form the strongest behavioral patterns.
So many people treat their partners through attachment and emotional dependence.
When they allow themselves as partners to break these patterns, to use the opportunity and work with others, they arrive at a new, empowering place.
Partnerships based on total emotional independence are extremely powerful and effective.
Many are being managed by the fear of "What if my partner will leave me?...".
This is a conduct of closure and contraction while we are actually looking for the broadening.
One who attains Non-attachment with a partner is far more open to Love and acceptance.
Couples who attain that gain an enormous empowerment since their conduct is broad and fearless.

Freedom from attachment to society and ideas.

We also live with many social patterns which are not always good for us.
Society outlines many ideas to which we are attached.
Mostly, we are attached to these ideas with total lack of awareness.
It is difficult for us to see that we are not based on total conceptual freedom.
Again - Tantra is a concept of Total freedom and expansion.
Tantra teaches us to practice Non-attachment to social concepts.
The most powerful way to teach this is to encourage the testing of boundaries.
It is actually sort of an inner rebellion.
Rebellion against the limitations which are imposed by the society and to whom we are attached.

We often see in our work how hard it is for people to really let go of various social ideas, especially those who deal with body image, morality, sexuality...
One who practices Non-attachment to social concepts gains an enormous freedom.
He/She has a much greater ability to "think out of the box",
or better, as we like saying, living with no box at all!
Naturally, such freedom affects not only body image or sexuality.
It also affects business management, creative conduct, entrepreneurship abilities, relationship with family and society and many more areas of life.

Where have we come to, from a tiny nail.

Study yourselves carefully and bear in mind that attachment is a form of slavery and we are all freedom seeking beings.
So start working on yourselves.
You don't want to walk 40 years in the desert like the sons of Israel...
:-)

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!! Our secret recipe...

Here's something on the light ans tasty side of life :-)

We sent a while ago on Twitter a Tweet:

"Get yourself a bread maker! Start Ur day with a sense of abundance&prosperity as the scent of freshly baked bread spreads around."

Indeed, that great scent of fresh bread gets us into the right mood when we wake up in the morning, just before getting up, in those moments when we plan our being for the day and our doing for the day.
It really re-connects us with the wonderful sense of abundance and prosperity.

Tantra has a wonderful way of dealing with our senses. It regards making total use of our senses as a means of attaining enlightenment. When one practices this total sense, the smell of warm bread gets a whole different meaning.
Tantric eating is also part of this. Eating very slowly, sensually, using all your senses to smell and taste and also to follow the trace which is left by the food as it travels down-south to the stomach - it turns a meal into a celebration of living.
Now, what more can you ask for when you wish to create a great reality of prosperity?

Some time ago, our bread maker broke down. For three weeks we remained hungry at the end of a meal, even though we had 2-3 pieces of commercial whole-wheat bread.

So here it comes!!!
Well, it really is no big secret, only our small token of appreciation and gratitude to all of you.

Recipe for an amazing whole-grain bread with our bread maker.

(We have a Murphy Richards bread maker, so quantities may need adjustment for other brands).
[the measure of cup/spoon/teaspoon are of the utensils provided with the breadmaker].

If you bake overnight - add materials following this order:

3 1/2 spoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 spoons of pure cold-pressed high quality olive oil
2 full cups water
Float in layers:
1 cup white flour
1 cup Rye flour
1 1/2 cups whole-grain flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup ground flax (not essential, bonus :)
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 spoon (approx) of commercial baking improver
(this is an all natural additive, so no problem... and it helps a lot).
Yeast.


We use fresh, live yeast, but any type will do.
Experiment with quantities. We use about a 1/4" thick slice of fresh yeast.
Leave on a longer baking program in medium browning level.


Hey, we hope you enjoy and if you did - drop us a line and tell us.


Light, Joy, Abundance and Love,

Ben & Efrat.

Secret of the Seeds...

"Secret of the Seeds..."

Gardening and Meditation

Lately, we cleared some time for various occupations.
Among others, we cultivated the land and arranged a little garden in our new home.
We find a special uniqueness in garden works.
For us, it is a wonderful opportunity to re-connect with mother nature,
physical activity in the winter sun,
an opportunity for a good meditation and as always,
a chance to learn a lesson or two from nature.

A 2000 years old Palm Tree.

Around 30 years ago, an archeology team found on mount Massada some 2000 years old palm seeds. There was an amazing surprise when a seed that was planted in 2005, sprouted as a live "dinosaur" palm tree.
The unique structure of the palm seed, combined with the special climate conditions of the Judea desert, enabled those seeds to survive and maintain their liveliness for thousands of years.
But this - is an especially rare case.
Usually, things do not follow the same course.

Now and then...

We kept at home a very large box with hundreds of Blue Lupine seeds.
We laboriously collected these seeds three years ago.
We really love the Blue Lupine - large plants which grow as tall as 4-5 feet,
with a beautiful luminous blue inflorescence. We had years where the entire garden was covered with blue flowers - a marvelous view.

In each seed, there lies a delicate embryo, wrapped in a layer of rich, nourishing material.
Distilled, concentrated energy of life, rests in a few cells, waiting for a chance,
waiting for conditions of light and humidity to signal them to draw more and more of the amazing energy of life, which will enable them to begin the processes of utilizing the nourishing layer. To germinate a tiny root into mother earth and one or two green leafs, absorbing sunlight.
It is a magical and glorious process - seed turning into plant.

This energy of life has a special quality,
it does not wait forever!
Every seed has a limited life span, after which its germinating potential reduces and diminishes.
Generally, embryos in larger, heavier, richer seeds, have a much shorter life span.
The Blue Lupine seeds are very large and rich in nourishment, so their life span is one year only.

But we were not ready to give up.
We planted the Lupine seeds in a special section of the garden and prayed.
Every morning we would get out and check if the seeds have germinated.
After 3-4 weeks we realized that we're not going to see any Lupines this year.
We dug in the ground and found to our dismay, that the seeds have softened, but have not germinated. They rotted and were worm-eaten. At least the worms seemed to enjoy.
We were disappointed, although we knew the odds in advance.
The exceptional energy of life have gone, moved to another place.

"A great deal..."

Jim Rohn says smiling:

God cuts a great deal with us.
He says: It's a very complicated task, growing a tree.
So her'es the deal.
I will take care of all the complicated processes,
I will grow the trunk and roots and leaves and flowers.
You - just plant the sed in the ground and water it.


Really cool deal. We only have the easier part to do.
Still, as you may read,
not even that is done in a timely fashion.

The allegory to life is vast. It can be utilized everywhere.

Health comes first.

Think for instance, on our health.
The human body is a remarkable, complex machine.
We are born with this magnificent complexity and take it for granted.
Here, it is the same consideration as with the seed.
We need to invest so little, relatively speaking, to maintain our health,
and so many of us stumble even with this little.
We eat junk food, sleep too little, not enough exercising...
We drink, we smoke, we ruthlessly work our body until collapsed.
Here too, precisely as with the seeds, should we wait to long,
there are cumulative damages which are hard or impossible to fix.
We must plant the health seeds in our "ground" a moment earlier.
We should never wait.

...and a bit prosperity would not hurt...

Regarding material prosperity it works (or fails :-) the same.
How many times have you thought of a great, ingenious idea,
but for many reasons you haven't done a thing about it.
After some time you saw your idea realized by someone else,
as a product on the shelve, a book, an idea, a show...


"Money likes speed" says Joe Vitale,
one of the maker of "The Secret".
If you want to achieve something and you have an idea - act immediately!!! Don't wait.
Don't leave your box of seeds on the shelve.
Here too - there is a creative life energy.
Here too - like the little seed hidden in the ground,
we have the ability to attract to us, by the power of our thought, will, emotions,
more and more of the creative energy and it grows larger,
until it enables us to fulfill the idea and turn it into a reality.

Wisdom of Life

To end, we would like to bring a quote from "Everyday Tao" by Ming-dao Deng,
expressing the Tao attitude toward the seed, which symbolizes the whole above all.

"There is an entire plant in the seed,
An entire human is in the egg.
Every living entity in the world comes from a seed,
and every living entity dies and falls onto the ground.
Bodies rot to nourish the soil and release the seed.
This is the real re-birth...

The seed is all we want to know.
The seed is the center.
The seed is the source
and the source is the entire Tao."


We invite you to examine the shelves of your soul,
to identify, perhaps, some boxes of wisdom, love, development,
waiting so long for you to plant them.
Run off now, to your garden of life and plant,
before their expiry date.