Extracts from Carl Honoré's 'In praise of SLOW'
Carl Honoré experiences the 'Awakening the Senses' ritual at a Level 1, Diamond Light Tantra Workshop
"We then move on the showpiece event of the evening, the Awakening of the Senses. "In the modern world, when everyone is in a hurry, we often do not take enough time to use our senses," says Leora Lightwoman. "This is about rediscovering your senses and bringing them back to life."
Everyone puts on a blindfold and hold hands with a partner. After a few minutes, my wife and I are guided across the room and made to sit on some cushions on the floor. The only sound is the gentle rustling of angels escorting people back and forth. Instead of fidgeting, I can feel myself surrendering to the moment, going with the flow. In a soft voice, Lightwoman asks us to listen closely. The silence is then broken by the ring of a Tibetan bell. Deprived of other sensory input, my mind is free to concentrate on the ringing. The sound - clear, rich, noble - feels as if it is washing over me. I want it to go on for ever. Other sounds - hands beating on drums, maracas, a didgeridoo - have a similar effect. For a moment it occurs to me that I could stand being blind if my ears could always bring me this much pleasure. The ceremony continues, moving on to the sense of smell. The angels wave richly scented objects beneath our noses - cinnamon, rose water, oranges. The aromas are intense and exciting. To awaken our taste buds, the angels then pop morsels of food - chocolate, strawberries, mango - into our mouths. Again the result is a sensory explosion.
Touch is the final leg of the journey. The angels run feathers up and down our arms, and nuzzle our necks with furry toys, which is a lot nicer than it sounds. We are then given an object to explore with our hands. Mine is a bronze statuette of a woman. My fingers probe every nook and cranny, trying to draw a mental picture. We are then asked to investigate our partner's hands with the same spirit of wonder. This sounds lame, but actually turns out to be rather moving. As I slowly explore my wife's hands, I remember doing the same a long time ago, in the early days of our relationship, in the doorway of a bistro in Edinburgh.
Later, we remove our blindfolds to find the room darkened and everyone sitting on cushions in a large circle. In the middle, the objects used in the ceremony are artfully arranged on a red blanket draped over some boxes and dotted with candles. It looks like a luxury cruise liner sailing into a port on a summer evening. A warm glow envelops the room. One man, a lawyer who came to the workshop simply to please his wife, is blown away. "That was really beautiful," he mutters. "Really beautiful." I know how how feels. My senses are tingling. The evening has passed in the blink of an eye. I can hardly wait to come back for more."
. . .
Honoré learns about other tantrikas' experiences
"To find out more about the sexual pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I speak to a number of graduates from Tantra workshops. Most give it rave reviews. The Kimbers are an affable middle-aged couple from Rickmansworth, just outside London. Cathy, fifty-two, does marketing for trade fairs; Roger, forty-eight, owns and runs an electrical engineering business that manufactures ventilation systems for large buildings. They have been married thirty years. As in many long-term relationships, sex slipped down the priority list as children cam along - they have two sons - and work took off. The Kimbers were often too busy or too tired or too stressed for bedroom fireworks. When they did make love, is seldom lasted very long.
Extracts from 'in praise of SLOW', Carl Honoré (Orion: 2004, pp153-159).
