Welcome to
Mark Henson's Tantric Gallery!

This gallery is 'ongoing' as Mark continues to create and move forward through the millenium.
Included in this gallery is an essay on Tantra
from Ms. Monti, Mark's creative muse and director of Sacred Light Studio.

Om Shanti Shakti Om
LionHeart
March 2007

ON TANTRIC ART

"My youth was spent in very fortunate times.
It was the height of the '60's. Freaky things were happening all over........."

"Consciousness is the greatest aphrodisiac and I like to celebrate this connection in my work.
There is also a connection between the entheogens and Sex,
as the Tantric masters of old knew so well, naturally this also finds expression in my work.

A quick glance at what comes up when you use the word erotic on the internet search engines will give you the idea.
Most of our erotic imagery is centered around some form of exploitation or dominance,
situations I never felt comfortable with.I thought it might be a good idea to create some images
showing a loving form of sexuality in natural settings, where all the participants are enjoying themselves.

I thought that we needed to have more positive images of lovers scattered about in our society.
So I have been making some of these regularly and getting them out to the public
as prints and notecards, spreading a little more loving around the planet."

Ms. Monti's comments on Tantra and Immortality
From "Cheap Thrill to Divine Life"
 
"I want to share with you some my ideas about Tantra and Immortality.
In the west, in my lifetime, the word Tantra has taken many meanings.
I have met many "tantric masters" , many self-proclaimed tantric masters, many people who practice Tantra
and many people who do things calling it Tantra.
Its all good in the long long run.

Tantra is exciting. It is one of the eight limbs of yoga, "union with God" that focuses on the bodily senses.
Many other yogic paths focus inwards towards development of the soul, Tantra is outward development of the soul.

As we incarnate, we assume many bodily senses.
We develop them as we grow and mature.
Sometimes we identify only with our senses, forgetting that which preceeded our incarnation.
This is understandable for incarnating requires the birth process which can be quite shocking, or even traumatic.
It can be described as being whopped along side of the head.
Then most people are subjected to their family enculturation which may include
many outmoded and atavistic styles of acting and reacting to life situations.
Combine this with a chemical laden environment, nonstop intrusion of media,
global political tensions, illness and death and you have quite a love-fest mission on your hands, and soul.

To love all that our senses bring to us as if it were our beloved; this is the essense of Tantra.

It is easy to love the beautiful, the kind, the generous.
It can be trying to love the ugly, the cruel, the demanding.

The infinite source of all creation is so unlimited,
it can make a seperate universe for each and everyone of its creations.
There is an infinite supply of principles, rules, essences which operate in each universe,
and all the universes are combined in a million differant ways.
All limitations are merelyignorances finding their paths to awareness.

There are many great bodies of thought and tradition,
when we enter into them, the principles and rules operate.
In tantra, there are many techniques for arousing the senses.
Many traditions focus on sexual arousal, which is better than nothing.

So now what, you are aroused, is life any better?
You feel love for someone, yourself, something, someplace,
its all good,the glow is there, its awesome, its eternal,
its God(dess) all wrapped up in fuzzy warm instantaneous acceptance of the ultimate.

Its orgasmic!

Then eventually you are back, so to speak, the glow wears off, "other stuff intrudes",
like the rest of your life, the global paradigm, death, taxes, the whole "reason to be".

The universe between the ultimate partnering with God and "the rest of your life" is the landscape of practicing tantra.
When there is no universe left between the ultimate partnering with God and the "rest of your life",
it can be said that you have suceeded in practicing tantra.
Don't get me wrong, cheap thrills are good, they give you a taste of the excitement of life.
It is easy to be excited when we are young. The thrill of discovery abounds.
Learning to reach out into nature, to people, with an openess that is attractive to all life.
Everyone loves newborn life. Its God's new chance.
But thrills are temporary, the new born grow into powerful creatures,
as the essesnce of their creaturehood learns to interact with its world.

Growth and viability depend on the ability to act and react within environments.
Maturation and reproduction kick in as biological imperitives. We can play or not,
The energies are dynamic, and are acts of divine creation, conscious or not.
When you are conscious of your sexual acts of creation, it can be said that you are practicing physical tantra.
You learn how you can be in control of the creative, and how to be out of control with the creative and love it.

Deeper Sense of Union with Everything

Most people at some point in their life feel a deeper sene of union with everything.
The distance between orgasm and "the rest of your life" appears less obvious.
A deeper respect for all living things, all sentient life,
eventually for all manifestation become part of your repetoire of states of being.

If your waking hours primarily reside in this state of consciousness,
you are practicing a living and loving meditation as a way of life.
This is the ocean state of general love for all creation.
Some people feel very comfortable in this state of consciousness.
Its a very natural state. Some people want more.
They want the orgasmic state of identification with all life.
They want individuation and sense of self to extend to the end of time.

You may want immortality or the sense of self as a unique individuation
sharing the Universe with God(dess) as the beloved, forever.

OK, sounds good, but how do you stay there, all the time?

Begin now to do everything, with the sense that God(dess), your divine beloved,
is out there, in here, over there, under here, in back of, behind, in front of, all of everything, as you too.

Much of Tantric practice is ritual, making something divine out of the ordinary.
The most meaningful may be the rituals that you design yourself, involving your creative energy.
This is the personal touch that makes your relationship with the divine, ... divine.

And there's more... Gods(dess) a lot less uptight than you may think...
the rules and principles that we have all been taught are true all the time...well, not so...
God(dess) is not limited by our understanding of the laws and principles,|
God(dess) is a lot farther out than that...divine intervention and the unpredictable good
is as close as your hand, in fact it is your hand.

If someone really wants to play Sado-masochistic games with God(dess), you can do that too,
and thats what all the other stuff, your old life was about. It was a game, its over.
You can now choose to pack up all that past life and call it gone.
Karma done.
Yes, God(dess) is your lover and accepts that too.

Let the memory of who you thought you were go, how you thought everything was go,
and start now knowing its all God(dess) having a wonderful relationship with you.

So look up from this webpage, accept that you are immortal,
and live your life as if God(dess) was your Personal lover in the form of everything.

Treat every aspect of your life as if it was your love chamber,
be romantic, loyal, compassionate, have a celebration, a dance, an eternal universal party,
with as much joy and beauty that you can generate.

Step into time and space as living love,
as the osmotic womb,
as the divine spark.
 
Peace & Blessings
All my Love
Monti

Please Check at Mark's 'Online Galleries' at:
Sacred Light Studios

LionHearts Lover's Market

Clothing	Sensual Music	Books & Films

60s & Further Store

This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit Here.

Enter your search terms Submit search form Search The World Wide Web Get Your Results on 60s & Further

Please visit Chants & Mantras