Jun 24 2021 The Urban Tantra Post-Pandemic Process—Step 3
Step 3: Find Your Superpower.
We all have Superpowers. While we can easily name and describe other people’s superpowers, it can be difficult to identify and name our own. That’s partially because we take our superpowers for granted, but it’s also because bragging about how great and talented and kind we are is generally considered an super-uncool thing to do.
I’ll bet that the pandemic revealed at least one superpower you didn’t know you had. Maybe it was patience, or perseverance, or the ability to give strength and hope to others. This newly recognized superpower can be an important insight in your Post Pandemic Process.
Let’s have a Brag Festival. In the comments below, please tell us one of your Superpowers. (Extra brag points if you can name one discovered during the pandemic.) If you can’t think of one, ask a friend or family member to tell you the one they see in you. If you can think of several, go for it—brag away!
Ready, set…..BRAG!
I’ll go first. Living through this last pandemic reminded me that I am really good at long-haul endurance projects. Linda Montano calls it Art/Life performance art. I excel at it.
Jun 22 2021 The Urban Tantra Post-Pandemic Process—Step 2
Step 2: Forgive Yourself.I am forgiving myself for everything I did not accomplish last year while everyone else (I imagine) was baking sourdough, remodeling their house, writing a book and learning to speak Italian.
Whatever you and I did or did not do was perfect because we stayed alive. That was our only job. We don’t have to make amends to ourselves or work harder now to make up for all the things we imagine we should have done.
I have am forgiving myself for…- not having read all the books
- not having cleaned out the basement, the drawers and the garage
- not having prepared a complete archive of my work
- not having written an updated version of a previous book
- not having driven more rescue dog transports
- not having stayed in touch (or even gotten back to) all the people who reached out to me during the pandemic
- not having lost weight
- not having worked harder, longer or faster
- [This list is still in progress…]
How about you? What can you forgive yourself for?Jun 20 2021 The Post-Pandemic Summer of Love
Fifteen months ago, a client told me that one of their intentions was to get ready for the “Summer of Love” they they suspected would follow all the quarantines, lockdowns and social distancing. Well, for some of us that Summer of Love might be starting now, or will be starting later this summer of 2021. Are you ready?Honestly, I am not sure I am. I don’t want to unconsciously jump back into “life as normal.” I want time to discover who I am and how this pandemic has transformed me.I am in the process of re-entry. While I am enjoying the summer sun and the possibilities of returning to art and performance and music and group erotics, I want to be mindful. So much has changed. Who am I now and what do I want?This is the first in a series of posts that I call the Urban Tantra Post-Pandemic-Process. Basically, it’s my process as I find my way out of the pandemic and into this new chapter of life. I’m sharing it to start a conversation with like-minded folks about how we re-enter the transformed world with love, kindness, sensuality and purpose.
I discovered Tantra during the AIDS crisis which is the only other pandemic I have lived through. What appealed to me most about Tantra—then and now—is the invitation to experience everything life throws at you—from the ecstatic to the terrifying, as deeply, consciously and fully as possible. When you walk through the fire of a situation and come out the other side, you are transformed, purified and forged into something stronger and finer. Each one of these walks through the fire of earthly existence brings you one more little slice of enlightenment.Here is Step #1 of the Urban Tantra Post-Pandemic-Process:
Reflect/Assess: What did you like (or even love) about the Pandemic Year? What did you loathe?Here are some of my Likes,/Loves and Loathes:- I loved how as the world got slower nature seemed to move faster. I loved being in one place for an entire year and observing the minute details of how the seasons changed.
- I loved that theatres around the world opened their archives and put them online. I saw brilliant pieces of theater that I never would have been able to see in person.
- I loved the creative challenge of teaching embodied practices online. I loved teaching for audiences from all over the world at the same time.
- I loved not being in airports.
- I loved the freedom of not having to dash all over the city. I realized how much time I spent just getting from place to place.
- I loathed not being able to share smiles with random people on the street.
- I loathed not being able to go to Camp Crucible and other large erotic events.I loathed masks. They made my nose run and then I would sneeze a lot and that made people really nervous.
How about you? What did you like/love and loathe?
