Near Enemy 13 – Everything Happens for the Best
Last week we addressed “Everything happens for a reason”. Sometimes that phrase is used to mean “You’ll see, some good…
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Near Enemy 11 – Speaking Your Truth
In 2018, ‘truth’ is a slippery concept indeed. Many people are proudly ‘speaking their truth’ which seems like a difficult…
Near Enemy 10 – Listen To Your Heart
Surely, one might think, there is no more unproblematic injunction in the self-help industry, and in popular spiritual culture, than…
Stuart Williams Spotlight Interview
Read on for insight into the life and musings of Tantrika’s Media Manager, Stuart Williams Team Tantrika Spotlight Interview Please…
Near Enemy 9 – Love Yourself
Surely, one might think, there is no more unproblematic injunction in the self-help industry, and in popular spiritual culture, than…
Near Enemy 8 – I Want to Be My Best Self
The self-help industry has perpetuated the story that the purpose of human life is psychological and/or spiritual growth, and that…
Near Enemy 7 – Finding Your Soul’s Purpose
In the alternative spirituality scene and New Age scene, the idea of “finding your soul’s purpose” or “giving your unique…
Near Enemy 6 – You Can Choose How to Respond
In spiritual culture these days, a lot of people say “You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can…
Near Enemy 5 – You Create Your Own Reality
This misunderstanding of ‘Eastern’ spiritual teachings has been around for decades, especially in the New Age scene, from which it…
Near Enemy 4 – Be in the Present Moment
This is perhaps the nearest of all the ‘Near Enemies’, in that the practice of presence is central to Tantrik…
Near Enemy 3 – Energy Healing
The “healing” industry is booming and its profits are soaring. I put the word “healing” in quotes here because I’m…
Near Enemy 2 – Negative Energy
First we have to establish what we mean by ‘energy’. There’s only one definition that applies across the board, in…
Near Enemy 1 – Follow Your Bliss
My father is a huge fan of Joseph Campbell, the famous mythologist and Jungian psychologist who wrote The Hero with…
Separating Feminism From Shakti Worship
Separating Feminism From Shakti Worship As a lover of Shakti and as a staunch advocate for women and girls, I…
The Tantrika’s Soft Belly
The Tantrika’s Soft BellyTantra is a spiritual path that seems to be all the rage these days. Gone (or quickly…
The Essence of Tantra: Introduction
The Essence of Tantra: IntroductionThis post presents the first section of Abhinavagupta’s Tantrasāra (“The Essence of the Tantras”), namely, its…
The Recognition Sutras: the story of a miracle
The Recognition Sutras: the story of a miracleOne thousand years ago in the valley of Kashmīr, a great tāntrika, Rājānaka Kṣhemarāja,…
Why spiritual growth does not lead to enlightenment
Why spiritual growth does not lead to enlightenmentWith my practitioner hat on (rather than my academic one), in this post…
The power of subtle impressions (samskaara theory)
The power of subtle impressions (samskaara theory)The yogic theory of saṃskāras, or subliminal impressions of past painful or pleasurable experiences,…
