As Amara says, “It’s fun and healthy to flirt!” …but what happened to subtle? She turns the tables on Woody in describing her encounter with a younger man in… Reverse Flirting; The Unlikely Tale of an ‘Older’ Woman.

For that’s what chakras are—invisible yet impossible-to-live-without pools of moving energy that spin like rotor blades when we’re healthy, and sputter and finally stop when we die. According to Quodoushka (pronounced Qua-dosh-ka), the native teachings of Turtle Island (1), we have ten major vortices of spinning light inside our bodies—which they perceive as luminous eggs cocoons. In their view, if you could accurately see what the human body is made of, you would see an egg—shaped ball of light, with ten spinning wheels inside that are more commonly known as chakras.

Medicine Wheel of Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains

Why Would You Want To Know How Your Chakras Are Doing?

Truth is you’ll live just fine even if you’ve never heard of a chakra. However, when you find out that feeling insecure, fearful, anxious, uncreative, or unsexy has a lot to do with sluggish chakras, the subject gets more interesting. The subject gets even more interesting when you learn that women’s chakras spin one way and men’s another. It’s also one of the hidden reasons why it feels incredibly nice to have our whole bodies next to someone we love. It’s not just our skin that touches—we have these spinning balls of energy flowing between us in opposite directions.

The robustness of our chakras also explains how we are irresistibly attracted or totally turned off by someone. Chakras either put out gusts of energy or they suck energy like vacuum machines. When they are vibrating with gusto everything is abundant, when they are slow everything is difficult. The good news is that there are several ways to balance chakras when they start slowing down or turning in the wrong direction.

The Quodoushka teachings locate ten chakras. For brevity’s sake I’ll just mention one here to show you how they work.

The First Chakra
Life begins and ends at the first chakra. It’s where our sexual, creative energy collects. Quodoushka calls it the Sun Wheel because when it’s open, uninhibited and used with respect, this chakra becomes a magnet for intimacy and love. What blocks the flow of our sexual, creative sun energy is the enemy of guilt. Every time we feel guilty about our natural sexual urges, or we repress, misuse or deny our sexual feelings, we put a plug in the first chakra. Since all the chakras are connected,
when we shut it down for too long, everything else becomes listless. Our emotions wobble, our minds dim and our spirits become lethargic. Quodoushka teaches that sex is natural and good. This means enjoying touch, affection, kisses, hugs and yes, good old sex too.

The first step in getting all ten chakras turning brightly is to accept the beauty and naturalness of our first chakra. When a woman joins her heart (4th chakra) with her genitals (1st chakra), it opens her 5th chakra or third eye of wisdom.

When her partner is doing the same, the merging of their chakras raises the power of love, making each act of kindness ripple into the universe like a single drop falling on a great wheel about to turn.

Quehestemehah
‘You Dance in My Heart’

May you walk In Beauty,
Amara Charles

(1) Turtle Island refers to ancient land masses from North, South Central America along with New Zealand and Australia. Quodoushka is the spiritual sexuality teachings from ancient native sources.

Amara Charles is the founder of Nourishing Arts, a healing center providing training courses in the spiritual sexual arts. Author of Sexual Agreements, Aching to Open and Erotic Touch for Two, Amara has been teaching spiritual sexuality workshops throughout the US, Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand since 1987. Her programs include Taoist White Tigress, Shamanic Quodoushka Sexuality and the Yin Yang of Sexual Restoration. She also hosts Men’s Sex Forums promoting better, healthier sex. She has been a special guest on BBC and ABC Radio shows and a guest lecturer at Arizona State University. She writes articles on sexuality for a variety of publications.Offering Retreats and Private Sexuality Training for Women, Men and Couples.

Dancer and educator, Annetta Luce spent several weeks living with a Maasai family while teaching in Kenya recently. What she experienced as “traditional” African tribal practices will be vividly remembered for the rest of her life. Jane Kamuasi is a Maasai woman here in America seeking amnesty, a mother determined to protect her 12-year old daughter who remains in Kenya, from the traditional Maasai rite of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Because I live in a Global Village I have clients all over the world… and the Web keeps extending. Amara Charles and Anna Venice are two such people, teachers of Daoist Tantra in Arizona. They filmed a video interview and sent it to me for production. I got so involved in learning about the Maasai people and FGM as it is known at WHO and the UN – where November 25 is remembered each year as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – that I am now knee-deep in producing a 30-minute documentary on the subject.

Here is my 3-minute intro, a director’s cut that I have rushed to the Web because of the timely nature of the subject and the season for giving thanks. I know it will take a generation or more to possibly eliminate FGM and educate people bound by religious tradition in a culture far distant from my own but… if everybody just throws a few bucks in the kitty we can make a profound difference in one young girl’s entire life.

Join us if you can, each Thursday evening starting at 11 pm EST, 10 pm CST, 9 pm RMT and 8 pm PST for this one-hour live discussion with chat on our weekly BlogTalkRadio Show at BlogTalkRadio.com/Quantum-Sexuality . You can ask questions live by calling in throughout the hour at: 646.929.0049. We look forward to introducing call-in listeners throughout the hour to participate.

If you can’t make it, all of our shows are recorded and will remain available at: blogtalkradio.com/Quantum-Sexuality

Rip down my shield of pretty lies and jeweled defenses.
Expose my cautious heart to the wild flames of your thunder.
Drench me in your vault of warm honey

Until I drown
And have to find new lungs to breath in here.
Drag me in no matter what I say,

No matter how quickly I escape
Or how cleverly I dress myself into safety.
Capture all my petty movements away from You

Only my childish doubts are threatened by this brilliance.
And I am so amused watching them wither like old vines
No longer alive with life’s syrup.

Though it is dangerous to keep opening this way
And this perilous breeze of radiance relentlessly changes
direction.
I am hopelessly addicted to intimately following its course.

It sounds like falling leaves from here.
My reasons to stay are even more insubstantial.
The unshrouded shine in your eyes
The impossible wetness of your lips

Old ways and habits
Seem like dear familiar,
Though distant friends.

Turning away now for even a moment
Bruises my skin and leaves beautiful scars
From strange surgeries that heal my wounds in the night.

Let me wake by you in the morning.
Open me again.
Keep opening me forever.

Amara Charles

Amara Charles is the founder of Nourishing Arts, a healing center providing training courses in the spiritual sexual arts. Aching to Open, is filled with works like the above that celebrate the sexy power of woman in which Amara adds her feminine voice to the tradition of Lalla and Mirabai. Amara has been teaching spiritual sexuality workshops throughout the US, Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand since 1987. Her programs include Taoist White Tigress, Shamanic Quodoushka Sexuality and the Yin Yang of Sexual Restoration.

SAN DIEGO, CA – On December 4, San Diego women will have a unique opportunity to learn a whole new way to gather and nourish their feminine body, mind and spirit. Amara Charles, a renowned spiritual sexuality instructor, author and poet will provide an introduction to the Taoist practices and exercises that women have used for hundreds of years to restore their spiritual, energetic and sexual chi.

“There are many paths one can take to evolve spiritually and I realized that using sexual energy with understanding and discipline can open one’s heart into a more compassionate way of living,” explains Amara. “Jade Maiden reflects my passion for the teachings of female Taoists who have inspired methods for achieving health, tranquility, and longevity by their example. Jade Moon is feminine alchemy, focused on timeless theories and practices of internal restoration and spiritual refinement for women.”

Amara Charles will be accompanied by Shyena Venice in presenting a one-evening, introductory workshop on the Jade Maiden teachings from 6:30 – 9 pm at a private residence in the Carlsbad area of San Diego.

“Jade Maiden has gifted me my juicy femininity. The teachings unlocked fears that have held me back from living my life as a woman, a mother, and a lover,” says Helen Heatly, a New Zealand participant. “Jade Maiden gave me the tools I need to maintain my youth, beauty and vibrancy and they are shared in the most moving way.”

The cost for the December 4 Jade Maiden Introductory Workshop in San Diego is $20 before December 1 and $35 per person thereafter.

Space is limited, so interested individuals are encouraged to ask questions or arrange an alternative means of registering by phone at 760-729-1102 or by e-mailing amara@NourishingArts.com.

Nourishing Arts, has scheduled its first Los Angeles event, a two-day Jade Maiden Workshop, scheduled for December 6 – 7, 2008, designed to restore and cultivate sexual vitality. It will be a nourishing weekend of learning, sharing and adventure in a luxurious place full of laughter, warmth and great women.

Amara and Shyena

INSTRUCTORS:
Amara Charles
Delivering workshops and presentations throughout the United States, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Amara provocatively inspires men and women to cultivate passionate, authentic lives. She is a co-founder of Nourishing Arts, a learning center in Phoenix Arizona providing training that enables people to experience the beauty of spiritual sexuality. Amara is trained in both the Taoist White Tigress and Quodoushka traditions and has been practicing and teaching since 1987. Amara has been featured as a special guest on HBO Real Sex, BBC and ABC Radio shows. She is the author of Sexual Agreements: A Guide for Reawakening Sexual Passion, Aching to Open and Erotic Touch for Two. She currently lives in Phoenix, AZ.

Shyena Venice
Trained in the Taoist White Tigress tradition and co-founder of Nourishing Arts, Shyena specializes in devotional music and has performed worldwide for over 15 years. Teaching people how to connect with their inner rhythms, she teaches throughout the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Shyena is a master masseuse with over 25 years experience and is an international entrepreneur for natural women’s products. She is also a studio and performing artist as well as a healer. Shyena playfully offers her inspirational gifts in devotion to spirit.

There is a secret to gathering Yin Essence.

What is Yin Essence? While it’s invisible, illusive and impossible to contrive, everyone has felt it. It lives in the smile of a young child, it breathes when you lie back to absorb the blue sky. It happens when you laugh, it appears when you weep, you see it flash in people’s eyes.

Without the mysterious activity, of yin essence, life is inexplicably dreary. You could say it’s an unknown force that can pull you out of bed no matter how bad it seems.

Is it Real? Does it really exist?

What matters is that it seems to exist. It is far better to imagine there is some sort of nourishing essence (let’s call it Yin Nectar for a moment) sustaining you. Why? Watch what you attract when you forget to smile, drink a little yin nectar, make love, laugh, hug someone or purely give. Every time you do one of these things, you get an infusion; a whiff of yin essence to lift your spirit, even if you’ve never heard of it. Notice how deflated your spirit becomes chasing thoughts of doom. Here’s a great description from ‘Anna’s Book,’ one of my favorite collections of stories told by a young girl who was rescued from the London slums by her friend Fynn.

Fin say if you live in a house and you let the window get sploshed and dirty and if you look out of the window it look like the world is dirty bit it is not. If you look inside it look dirty too but it is not dirty because the window is dirty.

Fin say all of the people have two windows. First people have got eye window and then a hart window. The eye window is to look out and the hart window is to see inside to see you. Fin say wen you cry it is for to wash the window so you can see better.

One day I ask Fin for som sweet and Fin say no and I was sad and I cry some ters and I cry som ters to wash my eye window because my eye window was all dirty, dirty greedy for sweets. And Fin did not say nothing and Fin piket me up and put me to a luking glas to see my face reflechun and it was al funy like rain on a hous window. And I could not see proper and then I stop the cry and see Fin face reflechun and it was al smilig. And so I smile too and then I see my eye sparkling because I can see good. And then I see that Fin say no, becas he have got no mony, because he give it all to Missis Barkr to buy som penuts to sell to get som mony to buy som food and I did not see good because I have got dirty eye window and it was all sploshy with greedy dirty.”

Seeing Through Sploshy Windows

Annal saw it well. You see, the reason our innocent yin energy slips away is because we have sploshy windows and we can’t see the truth. We get greedy dirty eye windows, one looking inside us, the other looking out, and as Anna says, we can’t see right. The good news is, it is not the truth, it’s only a dirty window.

We forget this a thousand times a day. Perhaps it’s the reason why in Buddhist, Taoist and other religious traditions, prayers, mantras or scriptures are spoken daily, sometimes several times a day. It is incredibly easy to forget how to feel innocent, relaxed and open. We need constant reminders to see the truth of our beauty.

Catching The Robber

Our bodies are neither beautiful or ugly, sex is not dirty or clean, difficult or easy to get; yet how often do we let these kinds of thoughts and judgments interfere with beautiful moments we could share with someone? How often are we putting our selves and others down, pouting for what we want, while really looking through dirty windows? In other words, how much are we making up?

We are especially prone to these kinds of false thoughts, especially about our bodies. I recently lost twenty pounds. I have to say, sex was good when I had the extra twenty, but it was just as good after they were gone, no two ways about it. Actually, in terms of how fabulous I felt, there was no difference at all. Somehow though, we get to thinking that if we could just change something about our body, we would feel more beautiful. I assure you, however, the beauty of Yin essence is not measured in pounds.

Turning Weakness Into Strength

This being said, if you would like to change something changeable in your body, it is your Yin essence that is going to give you the will to do it. It is true that many women feel better and sexier when they are lighter. There’s no question, gliding across a room, catching a few guys sneaking a peek, is a lot more fun than lumbering around, covering up what we can. It’s just that, if you lose your yummy yin on the way, what’s the point? The truth is, you are going to need the unlimited power of your yummy yin to make whatever changes you want. And in the end, you are going to see that it’s your Yin Essence that does all the attracting anyway.

Remember, Yin is the persevering, resilient, persistent part of our nature – not the nagging, complaining part that can’t stand the way we look.

While we often let the inner nag reign free by endlessly comparing, and cutting ourselves down, it is actually our open and relaxed yummy yin essence that can become much stronger… if only you will allow it.

While it’s true I generally feel lighter now, after losing a lot of weight, I realized most other people were not thinking about me the way I saw myself, and if they did, what on earth were the thoughts I think they were thinking doing in my head? The truth is, we think people are thinking about us a lot more than they actually are. The reality is, they are likely thinking about themselves, just like you are.

Things like losing weight, or any of the achievements we’d like to accomplish, are only important, or lasting, if some other changes go with them. Namely, watch out for the false thoughts, the dirty windows looking in and all the things you make up that people think about you.

We cry about things like Anna, waste tons of energy thinking about what we think we can’t have, what we no longer look like, or what we think we will lose. Eventually, we find that the things we convince ourselves into believing, are not even real and have nothing to do with the genuine story.

Amara Charles is the founder of Nourishing Arts, a healing center providing training courses in the spiritual sexual arts. Author of Sexual Agreements, Aching to Open and Erotic Touch for Two, Amara has been teaching spiritual sexuality workshops throughout the US, Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand since 1987. Her programs include Taoist White Tigress, Shamanic Quodoushka Sexuality and the Yin Yang of Sexual Restoration. She also hosts Men’s Sex Forums promoting better, healthier sex. She has been a special guest on BBC and ABC Radio shows and a guest lecturer at Arizona State University. She writes articles on sexuality for a variety of publications.

Offering Retreats and Private Sexuality Training for Women, Men and Couples

Amara is presenting The Jade Maiden Workshop, Dec 6 -7, 2008 in Los Angeles with Shyena Hsien Shen and Fay McGrew. It is a 2-Day Woman’s Retreat celebrating Feminine Vitality, and clearing up confusions around men. Presenting workshops, private sessions and trainings throughout the world since 1989, Amara is the founder of Nourishing Arts, a spiritual sexuality center dedicated to the preservation and continuance of the Taoist Sexual Arts. She is the first White Tigress initiated on Western soil.

Contact:

Nourishing Arts

3741 East Shangri La Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85028
amara@nourishingarts.com
602.765.9551