Liberation Absorption in Tantra

Liberation & Absorption
Yogic Mystery School™

Liberation And Absorption In Tantra—Russill Paul Page 1 of 20
Yogic Mystery School
Tantra And Liberation
The goal of Tantra, according to many of its texts, is liberation.
The idea is to become free of all that inhibits and limits us. This
notion is central to Hinduism and Indian spirituality. For instance,
Yoga, too, according to Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutras,
is, ultimately, “kaivalya,” which means emancipation. The
western New Age movement of the 70s and 80s interpreted this
sense of liberation to do whatever you want spiritually: unbridled
Copyright © 2021 Yogic Mystery School™ russillpaul.us

freedom that was in continuance with the sexual freedom of the
60s. Tantra was incorporated into this mentality to develop
methods of sexual intimacy, at times, touted as forms of therapy.
Traditional Tantra is not to be accepted blindly without
discrimination because there never was any regulation or
accountability. The main form of authority was the brahminical
Vedic tradition, and so, much of Tantra was against the status
quo or what was considered orthodox. For instance, women
were not allowed to visit temples when they were menstruating, a
process considered “unclean.” Some Tantrics, therefore,
conducted their rituals with menstrual blood to make a point that
it was a vital aspect of life, the Shakti herself, and therefore
sacred. There were, however, dark aspects of Tantra, such as the
use of underage girls in sexual rituals.
Sri Vidya was a form of Tantra that emerged around 500 CE and
solidified in the 10th century. The word “Sri” connotes the

goddess Lakshmi, wealth, and, above all, respectability. Sri Vidya
was, in other words, a respectable path, a path that even the
orthodox brahmins could follow. And many did. The South Indian
brahminical tradition has many
practitioners of this path that
upholds instead of
disregarding the Vedas. The
great Adi Shankara himself, a
key proponent of Advaita (non-
dualism), could be associated
with Sri Vidya. As a result, this
path integrated many Vedic
rituals, mantras, and practices.
At the same time, there are
many unique features of this
path that are discretely Tantric.

Today, one may find schools and teachers of Sri Vidya, each
teaching their particular variations and interpretations of this type
of Tantra. Although we have studied the traditional Hindu
approach assiduously, our Yogic Mystery School differentiates
itself in many ways. For instance, we feel it is vital to integrate the
last 300 years of western psychology and its development from
Freud and Jung to the Transpersonal Psychology of Maslow and
Stan Grof. The fascinating field of transpersonal psychology
includes spiritual the sense of self beyond the ego, meaning, the
transcendent self or spiritual self central to eastern
enlightenment. It is also respectful of mystical states, such as
spiritual highs and trances, and non-ordinary states of
consciousness tapped in such states as conducive to deep
healing and self-realization.
Tantra is very much like Transpersonal Psychology but missing
the psychology. While Tantra is fantastic with offering us ways to
tap into non-ordinary states of consciousness and the healing

and enlightenment that comes with it, the problem is the lack of
psychological development that can lead to mental illness or
corrupted states of spiritual consciousness. Spiritual bypass is
unfortunately too prevalent among practitioners of eastern
spirituality because teachers themselves are so susceptible to it.
Spiritual bypass is substituting spiritual practices and concepts
in place of crucial psychological development.

Another area that we differentiate ourselves from other schools of
Sri Vidya is our integration of holistic health. We are keen on
caring for our physical bodies in addition to our minds, and this
care goes far beyond the general interpretations, particularly in
spiritual circles. We seek to understand the brain-body condition
through food and thinking to integrate the latest research in
health and neuroplasticity.
We also evaluate and apply dietary regimens in ways that go
beyond Ayurveda, Veganism, and Vegetarianism. For example,
we find many contemporary practitioners of spirituality harm their
health by insisting on certain types of a diet solely because they
are “spiritual.” In other words, they take the medical data coming
in through their tests and their ailments and try to find “spiritual
ways” of addressing it. Unfortunately, this is another insidious
way that spiritual bypassing affects someone’s overall health and
happiness.

Liberation, we might say, is also becoming free of concepts,
ideas, and practices that we consider “spiritual.” Tantra is mainly
well known for this bold stance, even in the face of spiritual
authority. Instead of interpreting this as being deliberately
counter-culture, we can be inspired to go against the grain of our
own habits and beliefs that restrict our consciousness.
Tantra And Absorption
Meditation, we often tell my students, is about control. At least,
there are many forms of meditation that are about controlling the
mind. If the mind behaved itself, we would not need to meditate,

would we? By its very definition, many schools of meditation
offer their techniques to still the mind, quiet the mind, calm the
mind, and so on. You get the picture! However, once there is a
state of calm, it can also lead to boredom. We want to do
something.
Another aspect of meditation is relaxation. Relaxation is
beneficial, even essential for those of us who are easily
disturbed. Many external factors, like covid, or the economy, or
the threat of war, can activate our internal existential anxiety. We
learn to relax in meditation so that our emotions can settle down.
This aspect of meditation, we might say, is to still the motions,
quiet the emotions, calm our emotions.

Our thoughts and our emotions are related. We use the term
"mental health" to characterize how we feel, which ties into our
thinking. And we go to therapy to address our emotions and our
difficulty integrating strong emotions like anger and fear.
Meditation is a helpful tool to help calm our thoughts and
emotions; however, the source of certain types of thoughts and
emotions lies embedded in the unconscious. In other words, we
cannot solve the problems of our minds solely through
meditation. Unfortunately, many eastern teachers have instilled
the notion that through meditation, we can solve our
psychological conditions instead of teaching that meditation can
help us with our psychological problems. When people use
meditation alone to solve their psychological conditions, they
refuse to engage in the psychological development process,
classifying it as spiritual bypass.

There should be no doubt that meditation practices can play a
decisive role in our overall health and well-being. However, when
we look solely towards meditation practices, or any other type of
spiritual practices, to solve our psychological conditions to avoid
the developmental processes essential to our growth, we are
hurting and harming ourselves. Unfortunately, many well-
meaning spiritual practitioners (and teachers) realize this only
when things get way out of hand.
In our Yogic Mystery School, we teach absorption as a way of
fulfillment and as a prism through which we can learn about parts
of ourselves that are psychologically broken and need attention.
We are all wounded in some way, shape, or form. We all carry
wounds and scars from the challenging experiences in our life.
Some of these wounds might have healed previously, but they
can open up again. It is hard to know why, but they do. Perhaps

we did not work deeply enough with them. Or maybe they were
layers hidden from us in the first round of healing.
Meditation, I often tell my students, is about control. At least,
there are many forms of meditation that are about controlling the
mind. If the mind behaved itself, we would not need to meditate,
would we? By its very definition, many schools of meditation
offer their techniques to still the mind, quiet the mind, calm the
mind, and so on. You get the picture! However, once there is a

state of calm, it can also lead to boredom. We want to do
something.
Another aspect of meditation is relaxation. Relaxation is
beneficial, even essential for those of us who are easily
disturbed. Many external factors, like covid, or the economy, or
the threat of war, can activate our internal existential anxiety. We
learn to relax in meditation so that our emotions can settle down.
This aspect of meditation, we might say, is to still the motions,
quiet the emotions, calm our emotions.
Our thoughts and our emotions are related. We use the term
"mental health" to characterize how we feel, which ties into our
thinking. And we go to therapy to address our emotions and our
difficulty integrating strong emotions like anger and fear.
Meditation is a helpful tool to help calm our thoughts and
emotions; however, the source of certain types of thoughts and
emotions lies embedded in the unconscious. In other words, we

cannot solve the problems of our minds solely through
meditation. Unfortunately, many eastern teachers have instilled
the notion that through meditation, we can solve our
psychological conditions instead of teaching that meditation can
help us with our psychological problems. When people use
meditation alone to solve their psychological conditions, they
refuse to engage in the psychological development process,
classifying it as spiritual bypass.
There should be no doubt that meditation practices can play a
decisive role in our overall health and well-being. However, when
we look solely towards meditation practices or other spiritual
practices to solve our psychological conditions to avoid the
developmental processes essential to our growth, we are hurting
and harming ourselves. Unfortunately, many well-meaning
spiritual practitioners (and teachers) realize this only when things
get way out of hand.

In our Yogic Mystery School, we teach absorption as a way of
fulfillment and as a prism through which we can learn about parts
of ourselves that are psychologically broken and need attention.
We are all wounded in some way, shape, or form. We all carry
wounds and scars from the challenging experiences in our life.
Some of these wounds might have healed previously, but they
can open up again. It is hard to know why, but they do. Perhaps
we did not work deeply enough with them. Or maybe they were
layers hidden from us in the first round of healing.

Absorption is straightforward: at least, it should be. From a
conceptual point of view, absorption is becoming absorbed into
the very nature of being, into the ground of being. The self is our
natural state, so we relax into the heart of the self. If only
absorption or samadhi were as natural and effortless as many
eastern teachers tell us it is, we would all be saints absorbed in
the highest consciousness all of the time.
What does the experience of absorption feel like, one student
asked. I explained with an image of water seeping into the
ground. Absorption is the peace and joy of resting and residing
within ourselves, effortlessly. However, there are unique
challenges each time we try and sink into the naturalness of our
being.
In the type of Sri Vidya Tantra that we study, practice, and teach,
we use a vocabulary of techniques. Mantra is undoubtedly a key

element. And we utilize the broad scope of mantra found in the
Vedic, Tantric, and Bhakti traditions to develop aspects of our
voice. Our incorporation of the psychological with the esoteric
and spiritual is one of the chief characteristics in our school. For
instance, we use the Tantric mantras to develop power in our
voice.

For those disempowered by past experiences, this is a
formidable tool. The Bhakti tradition offers softness and beauty
through its methodology. It is not just the mantra but also how we
use the mantra that helps us address our psychological
deficiencies or excesses. This combination of the mantra and
ways of using it learned from the tradition in which it occurs is
how we rectify our imbalances.
We also use certain Tantric rituals for our healing. For instance, to
address issues around the feminine, we have a ritual that serves
as a healing container. If a woman has wounded us, or if our
feminine nature has suffered abuse, this beautiful ritual can help
us heal around the feminine. Similarly, we have a ritual to help us
heal around the masculine. Perhaps we've grown up with an
overbearing father. Our approach is that the pure principles—the
sacred masculine, the Shiva principle, and the divine feminine,
the Shakti principle—can be corrupted. The rituals and the
mantras and mudras help us heal the corruption, transform it,

and liberate us. When we heal, we can become more easily
absorbed into the naturalness of being. As a result, we feel
comfortable in our bodies, homes, and relationships. Therefore,
this type of Tantra is not seeking to become free of the world as
is typical in the world-negation views of eastern spirituality, but to
transform our world by changing ourselves. It is a form of sacred
alchemy.
Just as the ancient alchemists sought to transform lead into gold,
the esoteric paths, especially the esoteric mystery schools of the
west, sought to change the lead-like aspects of our human
nature, the types of thoughts and feelings that pull us down and
make us feel ordinary. We all have problems, we say. Tantra is a
path that, on the one hand, accepts the various conditions of self
that emerge, but on the other hand seeks to transform these
conditions so we can enjoy a better, higher, enhanced state of
consciousness.

Suppose you are serious about exploring non-ordinary states of
consciousness, healing yourself and the world, and studying
Tantra in the most authentic way possible while maintaining your
discernment and critical thinking. In that case, you might want to
consider joining our kula, our spiritual community of Tantric
practitioners in our Yogic Mystery School.
A vast quantity of our content is available online. We come
together frequently using Zoom and Skype, and we also meet
live in Austin, Texas and travel to India together once a year.

Reach out to us; or learn more at:
russillpaul.us and ashapaul.com
Yogic Mystery School™

Liberation Absorption in Tantra

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Liberation & Absorption

Yogic Mystery School™

Yogic Mystery School

Tantra And Liberation

The goal of Tantra, according to many of its texts, is liberation.

notion is central to Hinduism and Indian spirituality. For instance,

Yoga, too, according to Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutras,

is, ultimately, “kaivalya,” which means emancipation. The

sense of liberation to do whatever you want spiritually: unbridled

Copyright © 2021 Yogic Mystery School™ russillpaul.us

freedom that was in continuance with the sexual freedom of the

60s. Tantra was incorporated into this mentality to develop

methods of sexual intimacy, at times, touted as forms of therapy.

Traditional Tantra is not to be accepted blindly without

discrimination because there never was any regulation or

accountability. The main form of authority was the brahminical

quo or what was considered orthodox. For instance, women

were not allowed to visit temples when they were menstruating, a

process considered “unclean.” Some Tantrics, therefore,

conducted their rituals with menstrual blood to make a point that

it was a vital aspect of life, the Shakti herself, and therefore

sacred. There were, however, dark aspects of Tantra, such as the

use of underage girls in sexual rituals.

solidified in the 10th century. The word “Sri” connotes the

Copyright © 2021 Yogic Mystery School™ russillpaul.us

goddess Lakshmi, wealth, and, above all, respectability. Sri Vidya

was, in other words, a respectable path, a path that even the

brahminical tradition has many

practitioners of this path that

disregarding the Vedas. The

great Adi Shankara himself, a

key proponent of Advaita (non-

dualism), could be associated

with Sri Vidya. As a result, this

path integrated many Vedic

rituals, mantras, and practices.

At the same time, there are

many unique features of this

path that are discretely Tantric.

Copyright © 2021 Yogic Mystery School™ russillpaul.us

teaching their particular variations and interpretations of this type

of Tantra. Although we have studied the traditional Hindu

approach assiduously, our Yogic Mystery School diﬀerentiates

itself in many ways. For instance, we feel it is vital to integrate the

last 300 years of western psychology and its development from

Freud and Jung to the Transpersonal Psychology of Maslow and

Stan Grof. The fascinating field of transpersonal psychology

transcendent self or spiritual self central to eastern

enlightenment. It is also respectful of mystical states, such as

spiritual highs and trances, and non-ordinary states of

consciousness tapped in such states as conducive to deep

healing and self-realization.

Tantra is very much like Transpersonal Psychology but missing

the psychology. While Tantra is fantastic with oﬀering us ways to

tap into non-ordinary states of consciousness and the healing

Copyright © 2021 Yogic Mystery School™ russillpaul.us

psychological development that can lead to mental illness or

corrupted states of spiritual consciousness. Spiritual bypass is

unfortunately too prevalent among practitioners of eastern

spirituality because teachers themselves are so susceptible to it.

Spiritual bypass is substituting spiritual practices and concepts

in place of crucial psychological development.

Copyright © 2021 Yogic Mystery School™ russillpaul.us