The sad truth is that in American cinema sex is usually measured by the foolishness of an American Pie, or the media fuss over Sharon Stone uncrossing her legs for a fraction of a second. In other words, the emotional maturity of the viewer is assumed to be that of 12 year old. This film breaks through the “lowest denominator” barrier of Hollywood, and presents a serious drama about the implosion, healing and rebirth of a troubled marriage.

Stamp as the tantra master

The husband (played by the your typical square jawed leading man, Craig Sheffer) who is a loving a faithful husband. His wife (played by Sheryl Lee) is a beautiful woman debilitated by an obsessive compulsive disorder. This disorder is eventually is revealed to be the result of a repressed childhood trauma… which makes her emotionally frigid with her husband.

Anyway, the inciting incident – where Hollywood acts true to form – is when Lee tells Sheffer that she has never had an orgasm with him. Whoa, bummer, dude!

Through a somewhat complex device plot, Sheffer and his construction crew buddies spy on a shady sex therapist who “services” wealthy and beautiful women. Of course, once Sheffer looks through the telescope… there’s his wife walking into the den of iniquity. Of course, this eventually leads to an explosive confrontation between husband and this rogue sex therapist.

However, during that confrontation, Sheffer realizes that there is more than meets the eye with this therapist. He’s not your typical hippie tantra master though. He plays concert quality violin, smokes Cubans, wears $200 shirts… all while spouting throwaway lines like, “Conscious sex that achieves bliss, is the greatest healer there is. Only ecstasy can heal the unconscious.”

After some soul searching, Sheffer decides to learn from this tantric master – requiring only (please!) that the guy stop banging his wife. This may be the most surprising plot twist around a love triangle that Hollywood has ever produced. For this courageous act alone, Bliss is remarkable and should be remembered as a courageous act by a filmmaker.

Any serious daka or dakini will appreciate the realistic tone of Stamp’s tantric  instruction. I mean, I’d guess that this is the only theatrically released Hollywood feature film to use the  word injaculation.

Like a brilliant NLP master, the film drops post-hypnotic suggestions about the nature of tantra throughout film – hidden in the set designs and buried within the dialogue. You see it on clippings tacked to Stamp’s wall in his gorgeous live/work loft. Phrases like – Sex does not equal orgasm. You are not your body. To be a real lover, you must commit to and participate in a perpetual dance of intimacy with your partner.

Even better are Stamp’s slow and melodious monologues about the nature of sexuality and transformation. For example, his lecture on the goal of sex: “The goal of sex is not orgasm, it’s ecstasy. There are nine movements to a women’s orgasm. Most lovers only achieve level four, the ultimate release. But it’s just the threshold. Between movements five and nine are where true healing occurs.”

Teaching advanced pranayama

Anyway, this is a great date film, because it strives to establish a more healthy context for emerging relationships. The film deals with real issues and true wisdom. It is the kind of film that no conscious human being can experience without engaging in deep thought and frank discussions about the meaning of sexuality and relationship.

There’s a great scene in the end, where Stamp completely nails poor Sheffer with yet another throwaway line. “Have you ever thought, that maybe your focus on your wife, is a distraction from your own fear of abandonment? Your own emptiness? You want to be a healer? Then heal yourself.“

These words can actually resonate deep within the ego of viewer of the film as well. We usually watch a movie as a distraction and escape from our lives. Here is a film that suggests that existential healing is not only possible, but here is your chance – right now – to move from observer to participant, from viewer to seeker, from entertainment to personal healing.

As for the sexuality depicted onscreen, it’s treated very respectfully, with a few modest lovemaking scenes, and no scene ever loitering near softcore porn territory. No full frontal here, nor explicit instruction in tantric techniques. However, the orgasm scenes are pretty dramatic and over the top – since they’re trying to depict” movements 5 through 9″ of female orgasmic response. Definitely, you should watch it first before deciding whether to let your children learn from it.

Bliss is the kind of movie that Hollywood should make all the time, but doesn’t. If you haven’t seen it yet, we recommend it highly!

Two thumbs up!

From the YES movie

Have you seen the new Jim Carrey movie? In Yes Man, he plays a lonely divorced man, who works as a cautious bank loan officer. This is the kind of guy who minimizes risk in personal life as well, and as a result, he’s switched off… just like his cell phone.

And like all good movies, an inciting incident happens when he finds his way into a motivational lecture, where Terence Stamp makes a masterly pitch for the joys of just saying yes. (Of course, this particular yes is to all the good  things – activities and challenges that lead love and joy and growth. You should always say no to things that are bad for you!) By the way, Stamp also provides a gangbuster performance as a revolutionary sex therapist and tantra master in the film Bliss… we wrote a review here.

Browbeaten at first, our protagonist discovers that YES has the potential to change his life, in a variety of hilarious ways. The thing that makes this movie special is that this premise isn’t far from the truth. Last year, a tantra teacher suggested to me the possibility of saying yes to the Goddess in every possible way, and in every manifestation she chooses. So like Eddie Murphy in Golden Child, for a few months, I just assumed that every woman who smiled at me was a manifestation of the goddess, testing me. I would open my heart, seek her beauty and fill with genuine gratitude for her company. Whatever they wanted – attention, flirting, time, connection, whatever… I’d pretty much comply.

After a while, I didn’t even wait. I just go up to a woman and out of the blue say, “Yes.” Of course, she’d reply, “Hee hee, I didn’t say anything!” And then I’d be risking a line… “it doesn’t matter what you’d say, because my answer would still be yes.”

Well, I can tell you that those three months provided an incredible exploration into the opening of the heart chakra. It led to wonderful predicaments, situations and inciting incidents in real life. And I’m not just talking about sex. What I’m talking about is saying yes to the perfection of the present moment. Ariel White, a brilliant and beautiful tantric workshop leader in San Diego says it best, when she explains, “Tantra is all about sucking the juice out of this moment. This perfect moment now.”

What I learned through my personal exploration with yes, is that deep inside, everyone actually wants to say yes, but are conditioned to seek the comforting stasis of no, or silenced by the fear of saying anything at all. Or worse, they’re constrained by fear into never really going for it 100% – even if they do say yes. Such a mind goes into hyperdrive with excuses when presented with an opportunity to grow, to risk, to stretch, to venture, to say yes to life. Those are the tests.

In the movie, there’s a hilarious sequence when the universe presents Carrey with his first true test. An elderly neighbor, played by Fionnula Flanagan, approaches him as the voracious grandma cougar who leaves her teeth in a glass when going to bed. Heck, little old grandmas need love too, right? Unfortunately, Carrey is unable to go the distance and finally says no, but the universe provides some immediate feedback for breaking the “covenant of yes”. Sobered by the feedback, he agrees to submit himself… to the world’s greatest blowjob… sans teeth. The Universe is pleased with is breaking through to a higher level of yes, by rewarding him with true love, as played by the immensely likeable Zooey Deschanel.

In the film, the greatest lesson is taught when Carrey realizes that he has been saying yes, out of fear, in the hope of the rewards of yes, instead of truly wanting to say yes to life. This is the deeper transformation of faith, the true antidote to the fears and resistance to living life out loud.

What I find interesting is that as people age, the resistance to yes becomes more plentiful and slowly hardens, like concrete, and bang! – all of a suddenly you’re trapped in a life you never really chose, in a less than fulfilling relationship with someone you settled for, in a corner you painted yourself into over the years.

But there’s hope. There always is. I remember that there was an anthropologist at UCLA who studied with Toltec shamans, and one sentence from his work has forever etched itself into my mind. He wrote that a shaman once said to him, “There are times when life offers you a square centimeter of chance. And if you grab that square centimeter of chance, your life will be utterly transformed.”

This moment, right here, right now… is one of those moments that could utterly transform your life. We, at One Tantra, are dedicated to providing you with those “square centimeters of chance” with the leading teachers of the tantric arts and philosophies.

All it takes to grab that square centimeter of chance is to say yes.

All it takes is to realize there’s nothing to be gained by waiting.

All it takes is a deep breath… and then jump!

You have entered the OneTantra blog and we’re happy to have you here with us. So come on in… oh, please take your shoes off by the door… zafus are over there. And, yeah, sure, feel free to let your avatar sit anywhere you like. All are welcome.

And now that you’re all comfy, let us tell you what we’re all about…

What does it mean for you to be part of One Tantra?

It means being part of a tide of people all over the world moving into The Great Yes.

You may be new to Tantra. You may be part of a classical Hindu or Tibetan Mahayana or Vajrayana lineage. You may practice Taoist internal alchemy techniques.

Or maybe you belong to one or more of the vibrant new neo-Tantra communities that has sprung up over the last twenty five years… Source Tantra, Ipsalu, Skydancing, Kabbalist, Cosmic Love, Osho’s teachings, Sex Magick, BodyEcstatic…

Maybe you’ve discovered and integrated shamanic breathwork, psychosexual re-integration, non-violent communication, or, for the daring, iron penis qigong. (We’re not kidding about that…)

Or maybe you are just standing at the door, looking in with curiosity.

What unites us all?

Each of these lineage contains an esoteric school which involves working with sexual energy as a doorway into, and expression of, awakening.

One Tantra brings together the beauty and understanding of these schools for mutual discussion, learning, play and exploration.

This is the perfect moment to bring everyone in together.

Why? You hear it all the time. People saying things like, “hey, that’s not real tantra,” or “mine is the only authentic tradition”.

Which is all a way of ego saying, “my guru can beat up your guru”.

OneTantra is our way of throwing open the doors and bringing a happy, inclusive new energy to this world.

We look at the art of tantra as an art. A life art.

Like every work of art, each expression of Tantra offers meaning. Offers gifts.

As such, we respect them all for their diversity and passion and positive intention.

Abstract art may feel foreign to a Rembrandt enthusiast.

Likewise, the psychosexual techniques of a neo-tantric therapist may seem heretical to someone who prefers classical Shaivist tantric rituals or traditional Tantrayana meditation. But this new art of modern tantra — as it unfolds — is equally beautiful and worthy of exploration and appreciation.

Remember — all tantras were brand new at some point in history.

OneTantra is devoted to bringing you the world of Tantra, unfolding now in all its incarnations, to help you to find greater happiness, communion and bliss in every moment. To nourish you as you love more fully, and feed greater love into the world.

We believe that we are witnessing something quite rare and beautiful – the emergence of a new kind of spiritual endeavor, a merging of old and new, of mysticism and psychology, of spiritual and sexual.

OneTantra is bringing together this birth of a new kind of spiritual lineage, that transcends the limitations of time and geography…

This is a new spiritual endeavor. Woven together by the freedom of the world wide web. Nurtured by the birth of a radical new global consciousness. Inspired by the knowledge that we are one world, that all peoples are one people.

And, singing from the essence of all Tantras, One Tantra.

We invite you to join the One Tantra community.

If you have been wanting to make sense of this modern day big-bang of Tantric theories and practices…

If you have been wanting to deepen your practice and knowledge…

If you have been wanting to connect with other men and women worldwide who are equally devoted to transforming sexual energies into greater spiritual awakening…

If you have been hoping for a happy, embracing, safe community to express the full “yes!” of your self…

You have found a new home.

Within the OneTantra Community, you will learn the most respected and compelling teachers of Tantra today. You will be able to learn the source texts and origins of different lineages. You will be part of a daily global discussion of Tantra topics (at your own pace) and be able to participate in weekly webinars taught by teachers from a wide variety of schools.

You will learn, experiment, connect, deepen and discover what really works for you, and with whom you’d like to study delve deeper.

Welcome to the Great Yes of OneTantra.

With all our heart, Welcome!!!