As someone who has received all of the requests above and more, I know that before I can answer yes, I have to allow time for any inner triggers, judgements and stories of my own to settle before I can be centred enough to hear clearly and discern if the request is "clean" or if it is filled with shadow (and the two aren't mutually exclusive). By this I mean, has this person tended to enough inner work to:

a) Maintain a clear intention and understanding that their experience with me is about them; and as witness, my role has no "personal" involvement. 
b) If anything is to reveal itself out of the shadows, will this person maintain enough self-awareness to honour boundaries and are they "coachable" (will they be able to receive feedback without being triggered in a way that is unhelpful and/or unhealthy for either of us).
c) Does this person have a network of support beyond our sessions to unpack anything that needs unpacking further (counselling, psychotherapy, peer groups or similar) ​

For many, making a request is to temporarily place oneself in the vibration of vulnerability. How will my request land, will it be understood, will I get what I want, will I get something inferior or far removed from what I want, will I be judged, will I come across as needy or greedy, will I be rejected, outcast? These are just a small handful of possible core fears. You might resonate with some, and you might have others that you are aware of; and others still that you are completely unaware of (i.e. they are still in the shadows).

When the space is created for you to safely make any request you haven't previously dared to make, you may meet one or more of your fears right there, in that moment of making the request. If you can make the request anyway AND have the voicing of it witnessed without judgement and within the energy of loving acceptance, you are set free from the prison of that fear. In some circles this is referred to as "clearing" - we find a limiting belief/fear/behaviour; embrace it lovingly, let any stuck energy be discharged as a release of emotion, and through this find liberation or exoneration.

The request has been made, the witness's response offered, and now there is flow into the embodied expression of whatever has shown itself to be most appropriate. There may be a phase of "crossfade" in which some of that expression is part of the emotional clearing of X1. There could be tears, anger, tantrum; or giddiness, shyness, and trembles of excitement ~ The "what" doesn't matter so much as the continued commitment to exoneration by allowing expression. 

An agreement will be made at this stage around what IS available. It may be that you receive a wholehearted "YES, I would LOVE to witness you in the full flow of your sexual expression (or creative flow, sensual dance - whatever has been asked); or you may have received something more like "No - I don't feel able to hold space for that, BUT I could offer this instead". And now the embodied expression becomes focused on your request or the agreed upon "activity". This is the point at which you begin to remember and re-manifest the version of you that you feel has not been allowed expression in other areas of life. For someone who has become stuck in the parent or carer role it might be reclaiming their sense of "potency" by having their ejaculation/climax witnessed. Or perhaps you are creating/strengthening a new identity/role by feeling and expressing how it feels to hold yourself in a new posture with different mannerisms, voices, sounds etc.

The "finale" and something that many of us rush away from before it happens is the moment of exaltation. That precious sweet spot when we are aware something significant has just happened and we can't help but laugh or cry with joy, or at the very least, have a big inner grin of happiness rise up and reach our lips. 

Have you ever achieved something, some qualification or company target, and there is a rewards ceremony? Have you experienced being invited to go and accept the reward in front of others and felt the flush of extreme embarrassment, shyness, or other form of self-consciousness that has you faking humility, dismissing the glory, telling a self-deprecating joke or using flippancy to make the whole thing "lesser". I know some will answer "Nope, I LOVE being rewarded for my achievements, I adore being celebrated" and if that is you I hereby celebrate you!! 

Now... have you ever been joined in celebration of the most exquisite orgasm available to you? Have you been celebrated for setting your wild rage free? Has your voice, dance or other creative expression been celebrated (even if you're not a professional performer/creative)? Have you been witnessed in the moment of exaltation without your extreme joy triggering something judgemental from the other?

Many people have received negative reactions to their happiness and expression of celebration during their childhood and in later years. Parents and caregivers often dampen down a child's joy because "too much" can get overwhelming, or they might be concerned about promoting prideful or unattractive behaviour. "Show-off" "attention-seeker" "drama-queen" "calm down" and "you're getting embarrassing now" are words I've had used against me when in celebration mode, and previously, they have completely stopped me in my tracks and caused me to feel in some way "wrong". 

So as simple and insignificant as it may seem, the X3 of Exaltation is the crucial piece that must be tended to to make this the most empowering and complete experience possible. And it CAN be very simple. Just a few moments where your smile and/or laughter is mirrored back to you; or a few affirming words are offered. It might open a new wave of clearing as the inner child receives something new and nourishing; or it might feel extremely peaceful and be a drop into sweet surrender and integration time. ​

The mantra "Sat Nam" speak to this, "Truth is my identity" or "I choose to embody and be/live Truth".  Truth of course, is subjective and changeable, but in terms of the experience being spoken about here, it is that which is more truthfully "you" now that you have cleared something that wasn't true, and reclaimed something that feels more authentic to you. Layers of conditioned behaviour, false beliefs, limiting fears are sloughed off and the glistening of the inner jewel of you is more easily seen.

A final note: When both the evolutionary/upward flow AND the involutionary/downward flow are freely moving, we are opened to an experience of vibrant harmony. This harmony isn't stagnant or still, but the constant oscillation of creation. There may be moments of peaceful equanimity punctuated by dazzling action; the clear expanse of the empty-mind-space interspersed with rushes of inspired creative thinking. In other words, we begin to get comfortable with EVERYTHING life has to offer - we become...

​Well, I guess we become Tantric ;-) ​

As part of my eclectic range of self-exploration tools, I hold Human Design and Gene Keys in high regard as rich resources for contemplation and inspiration. A current theme I am journeying deeply with is the transmutation of the shadow of Desire to the gift of Lightness, and the siddhi blessing of Rapture. Relating to the 30th Gene Key in the system transmitted so eloquently by Richard Rudd, this key sits in the position of Vocation in my own sequence. It is a particularly powerful resonance in my life, and as one might guess, informs both my personal and professional explorations.

As one who was raised in a devout Christian household and who absorbed unhelpful messages of the shame, sin and out and out wrongness of sexual pleasure, I have devoted many years in overcoming the limitations placed on me by well-meaning yet misinformed others.  The journey towards true sexual maturity (as opposed to forced and fumbled maturity that arises for most of us from the lack of empowering and healthy education during our adolescence) also continues. So when I first saw that "Desire" was named as a shadow in this system, I fervently  resisted and inwardly argued the point that desire is a natural and healthy human expression. Indeed, I very much encourage people to actively tune into and give expression to their desires during sacred-sexual/tantric experiences with me. It always comes with the caution that they might not receive (from me) what they desire, but to allow that feeling of want to build and amplify and contribute to the burgeoning of Eros so that the Eros itself can answer, and flood the whole system with pure orgasmic energy - oh my god YES!! And YES again! THAT is how I love to explore and experience desire, in its liberated and liberating state.

As I sit in embodied contemplation, feeling the response of Eros and Heart, supported by breath and gentle serpentine flexes of the spine, I can feel the importance of our wants and desires as the starting point of ALL experience, ALL action. We need an imperative to move us through life, and our wants supply that imperative. I want a house and land to call my own, I want a good steady primary relationship, I want multiple lovers, I want children, I want my family to feel safe and supported, I want an electric car, I want a promotion in the wealth department, I want to feel pleasure ripple through my body, I want to feel my potency and power, I want to F**K and ravish and penetrate, I want to draw towards me, to seduce to consume for the sake of delight, I want to succumb, to surrender myself  to oblivion, I want tenderness and adventure in equal measure, I want to set free my raw animal nature AND I want to emanate the pulse of the Holiest Celestial Flame... 

All of these wants arise out of an impersonal  evolutionary imperative to have experiences for the sake of experience. The impulse of desire is driven by wild nature and cosmic forces that aren't so worried about survival of the body-mind/animal, as the forces themselves are eternal. When we give ourselves over entirely to this drive and focus only on personal desires, we are in danger of creating an insatiable hunger; and that hunger, unchecked, may have us behaving in less than wonderful ways. Rape of others, rape of the earth for resources, stepping all over the boundaries and welfare of others, taking without regard of longer term consequence. We only have to look at the world we live in to see what unchecked personal desire turns into. From bullying in the workplace, to rape-culture, to wars and genocide... It all begins with desire in the place of the Shadow. 

Being in a state of lack evokes a state of suffering. Even when we attain the thing we desire, the fulfilment is short lived and very soon a new desire is created and the cycle of wanting/lacking begins again. Our personal desires, dreams and wants can quickly turn into frustration, resentment, jealousy, addiction and a whole host of miserable moods and behaviours.

As with all things there is wisdom in seeking the gentle oscillation of balance and harmony. And so in regard to desire, we seek to resolve it by turning towards the Gift frequency of this Gene Key, which is Lightness. There is a  light of awareness that shines into the shadow places to reveal that "the way out is through". And there is an energy form of light that gently pulses and emanates from within every atom of our being, ceaselessly, a resolute innocence that we can align with to remember our equanimity and inner peace. But the Lightness spoken of here is the attitude of good and compassionate humour that arises when we awaken to the cosmic joke. 

Desire is beyond our control, it must have it's way with us, and there is no escape BUT...

When we accept that the energy of desire will stay the same, whether we attain whatever has been our focus or not, then we get to drop further into the pleasure of desire WITHOUT following it into the chasing, grasping, needy game of the temporary and ultimately unfulfilling satiation of a hunger that can't be satiated.  Sometimes we will follow its dance and it will create action and lead us into experiences, for better or for worse. But mostly, we can simply be in its flames, enjoying its sensuality, delighting in the spark of brightness and mischievous twinkles that shine from our eyes. And when we dance with Desire infused with this awareness and with a smile on our lips, it might just bless us further by inviting us into a genuine state of Rapture.

Admittedly it takes some convincing for the conditioned mind and patterned body before either can trust in the truth of this, but I believe it is worth the effort. As we repeatedly experience as much desire as we dare thrumming through our body, setting our minds on fire, and then practice turning that desire inwards rather than projecting it outwards, we begin to re-pattern our habits.   It won't always feel like a supernova, sometimes the immersion will be more akin to easing into a deep warm pool, or perhaps becoming weightless, carried high on celestial currents. Whatever our subjective experience may be, the effect is to liberate ourselves (and others whom we may have projected previous moments of desire onto) from being slaves to, or victims of, our desires. Instead we are empowered by the lightness and pleasure of the dance, playfully watching where our wants are attempting to take us, then choosing when to follow, and when to simply smile and let go.

Although within session space, we purposefully employ Eros, sometimes sexual impulse, sometimes orgasmic, sometimes climatic; the ripples from these more intense peak experiences find their way into ALL of life, even that void of sexual or erotic pulsations. The potential is that we find ourselves applying the cellular knowing evoked by tantric ritual beyond the session space. The vibrations follow us into our intimate relating with others, into our understanding of our colleagues and the nature of collaboration, into our mundane purchases and investments. Everywhere that desire and want shows itself, (the car sales room, the local bakery with oh so tempting pastries and iced wonders), EVERYWHERE desire shows itself, we have opportunity to smile, twinkle, and remember that moments of Rapture arise when we free ourselves from HAVING to following. 

​If you would like a taste of this please do let me know!