What I am most thankfull to this forum for is that it has finaly helped me to understand how tantra can fit into ones spiritual practice in a genuine way. Done right, and especialy combined with other non sexual practices, it helps develop what Yogani cals extatic conductivity.
Before coming to this forum I struggled with figuring out if Tantra could be used for spiritual purposes by anyone other than the most advanced practicioners. The rules rerding tantric practices in Tibet and India have classicaly been extreemly strict. One was required to have done many years of deep cleansing practices and have a deep realization of emptiness. The Dalai Lama says that within the Tibetan system he himself is not yet qualified to practice Tantric sex. Acording to George Feuerstein Tantra as practiced without these prelimiaries and without proper guidance by a guru is just great sex and does not help on the path to enlightenment. His explanation for this is that one needs to use ones realization of emptiness to be completly non attatched to the sensations and to be able to make the transition from an orgasmic feeling of ego dissolving and onness to the genuine spiritual realisation of ego dissolving and oneness.
After pondering this it seems to me that these two aproaches might be seen like this: Modern aproaches to tantra without the prilimaries functiones mostly as a form of yoga or pranayam, cleansing the system and increasing the desired energyflow and openings. Classical tantra has this function as well but also functions as meditation on emptiness in a more or less budhist fashion. Whereas classical tantra has this aspect of meditating on emptiness from the begining, neo tantra only starts of as a "yogic" tool but can, once one proceeds with the overall practices, bring the practioner to the same level of realisation of emptiness as classical tantra. Then one has caught up with the calssical demands and tantra starts to function on both levels. I would add to this that the practice of neo tantra helps one catch up with classical tantra quicker than with only using non sexual practices. Also it is probably the case that way before a strong realization of emptiness has been achieved than there will be more short lived realisations of it and the practice of neo tantra will all the time be a practice of awareness and emptiness just as much as when one is practicing awareness during asana, daily life and even at times, as good a practice of awareness as meditation. Hence, it is beneficial spiritualy in many ways and not just great sex.
