TANTRA: A Sacred Word Turned Empty Label

My perspective on the contemporary distortions of an ancient practice

“Tantra”—a word that has become trendy.

Whispered in yoga studios, chanted in spiritual retreats, presented as a gateway to divine sexuality.

But today, in many contemporary contexts—especially within Western queer and alternative communities—Tantra has lost its sacred depth.

Too often, it has become a seductive label, a spiritual veneer covering manipulation, projection, and abuse of power.

Once a path of union between body and mind, Tantra is sometimes reduced to sensual performance, an ego game, or even a marketing product.

"Tantra has been emptied of its soul, turned into a tool of desire rather than a path of awareness."

🕉️ The Original Meaning—and the Western Fantasy

Authentic Tantra does not focus on sex.

It is an ancient, profound, and rigorous spiritual system: meditation, breathing, ritual, philosophical reflection.

Its goal? To transcend illusion, not feed it.

In its modern version—neo-Tantra—the practice has often been eroticized.

Contemporary “Tantric workshops” frequently use the word to refer to sensual massages, nudity, and sexual exploration.

Nothing inherently wrong with that, as long as it is not presented as Tantra.

Eroticizing it fuels a fantasy: that sacred sexuality exists without consciousness or ethical responsibility.

"When Tantra becomes performance, the body ceases to be a temple—it becomes a stage."

Yet these neo-Tantric workshops often promise spiritual awakening.

They speak of “reconnecting with the divine through pleasure” or “liberating the body as a gateway to consciousness.”

In reality, these offerings often begin with vulnerability exercises: forced breathing, hyperventilation inducing pseudo-trance, simulated ecstasy, eye contact and touch games where openness is confused with exposure.

This mix of sensuality and spirituality creates an alluring emotional intensity—but rarely a stable one.

Many of these approaches rely on shock effects, inspired by passages from the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, a fundamental text of non-dual Kashmiri Shaivism.

This text describes 112 paths to consciousness, some involving careful observation of moments of rupture: fear, startle, breath suspension, sudden pleasure or pain.

But these “shocks” are meant to arise naturally in life, as opportunities for spontaneous awakening—never artificially provoked for dramatic effect.

In Abhinavagupta’s Tantrāloka (10th century), this subtlety is clear: the Tantric path is about recognizing consciousness already present in every experience, not forcing or simulating it.

Contemporary neo-Tantra, influenced notably by Osho, often reverses this logic.

Where Kashmiri Shaivism invites contemplation to dissolve duality, neo-Tantra stages experiences to reproduce their effects.

Awakening becomes a performance; practice, an emotion; emotion, a product.

A “higher level” of consciousness is promised—available at the next workshop, for a fee, of course.

This shift is well documented by contemporary researchers.

This accumulation logic—more workshops, more sensations, more stages—radically opposes the slowness and sobriety of original Tantra, based on inner discipline, contemplation, and silent recognition of what is.

Thus, what neo-Tantra calls “awakening” sometimes seems more like a search for intensity than a real expansion of consciousness.

And where traditional Tantra aimed to dissolve the ego, neo-Tantra may instead crown it with spirituality.

⚠️ When Spiritual Language Masks Manipulation

The misappropriation of Tantra becomes dangerous when it bypasses personal boundaries or legitimizes subtle exploitation.

This often takes the form of “gentle sharing” frameworks under the guise of intimacy or vulnerability.

In reality, it creates psychological levers that keep participants returning to the next promise, the “higher level,” or the next workshop.

It gives the impression that spirituality is something to be learned gradually, secretly, reserved for those in these workshop cycles—while its essence is widely accessible.

Foundational texts—Upanishads, Patanjali’s Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, as well as Kashmiri Tantras like Tantrāloka or Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra—are often public and freely available, offering a clear path to consciousness and awakening without artificial scarcity.

"It is easy to confuse vulnerability with trust when authority wears a spiritual mask."

When a guide presents themselves as a holder of sacred truth, participants’ vulnerability—exposed in body or emotion—can be mistakenly interpreted as trust.

In reality, this perception often arises from the influence of the framework and implicit hierarchy, not from free, informed choice.

True spiritual practice always relies on consent and individual sovereignty, not mystified authority.

🔥 Where the Sacred Meets Sensuality: A Necessary Reflection

Sexuality is at the heart of life—sacred, wild, beautiful, and awkward.

I believe in divine sexuality, but also in its animal, disorderly, imperfect side.

True Tantra is a philosophy of the sacred, a way of inhabiting life fully. Sexuality may have a place—but only when it arises from deep commitment to awareness.

Reflecting on these aspects, sharing experiences with others, can be a rich path of learning.

But this space cannot include physical sexual practices under the guise of spiritual workshops: that contradicts the spiritual path as Tantra envisions it.

Workshops must not become a way to access physical intimacy or sexual performance in the name of “spiritual work.”

Awakening is not sexual in itself. It cannot be measured through orgasm, body exchange, or techniques.

Tantra is not a sexuality workshop with a spiritual label, but a path of consciousness transformation—where sexuality may have a place in a personal, inner context, not as spectacle or commodity.

Critical analyses show that many contemporary workshops confuse spirituality with sexuality for commercial or emotional purposes:

"The public perception of Tantra as primarily concerned with sex […] is manifestly untrue. Next to none of the scriptural sources of (Classical) Tantra teach a sexual ritual or sexual technique of any kind."

"Unqualified Facilitators… Overemphasis on Sex: Heavy focus on sexual techniques, nudity, or quick intimacy without deep spiritual context or rigorous consent protocols. Authentic Tantra uses sexuality (if at all) reverently, aiming for transformation, not just pleasure."

🏳️‍🌈 The Queer Context: When Desire Meets the Sacred

For many queer people, Tantra represents a way to reconcile with the body, to experience sensuality without shame.

This quest is legitimate and necessary.

But our communities carry wounds: rejection, loneliness, intimacy-related trauma.

When these wounds meet poorly framed spiritual practice, Tantra can become a misleading mirror.

Confusions are common:

* between erotic charge and illumination

* between spiritual connection and consent

Some guides—sometimes unconsciously—exploit this need for connection, blurring the line between healing and suffering.

"Our thirst for love can make us blind to manipulation disguised as liberation."

🌀 Fantasy, Power, and Occult Seduction

The word Tantra evokes mystery, exoticism, and taboo. This aura attracts—but also fuels a dangerous imagination.

Many so-called Tantric guides use this mystique to gain power, mixing pseudo-spiritual language with ritualized eroticism.

This blend is intoxicating—and dangerous.

At Fantasy Farm, we believe a clear framework is essential:

"Every activity is conducted with transparency and respect, where exchange and learning are shared without mystery."

Without this framework, Tantra ceases to be a path of awareness and becomes performance.

It manipulates desire archetypes instead of dissolving illusions.

"True Tantra dissolves illusion. False Tantra feeds it."

🌿 Reclaiming Integrity and Consciousness

To restore Tantra’s authenticity, we must return to its spiritual essence: awareness, discipline, union.

Not control, not indulgence.

Principles of Ethical Practice

Authentic Tantra relies on:

• 🕊️ Free, informed, continuous consent

• 🤝 Equality between participants and facilitators

• 🌱 Personal responsibility and clarity of intention

Facilitators are not gurus; participants are not disciples: everyone remains sovereign. At Fantasy Farm, we offer approaches that allow: "Exploring male sexuality in a natural, gentle, progressive way."

It is this gentleness, structure, and transparency that transform Tantra from performance to practice.

💫 A Philosophy That Requires Time, Not Performance

At Fantasy Farm, we believe true understanding of Tantra cannot be improvised in a few hours.

Tantric philosophy is a path of inner transformation, a deeply personal journey that requires time, silence, and sincere self-encounter.

This is why we prioritize immersive retreats, where each person can explore these dimensions at their own pace.

These retreats provide space to engage deeply with Tantra’s philosophy, away from performance pressures or erotic projections.

Rather than offering “Tantric practice workshops” often out of context, we invite customized spiritual reflection, tailored to each individual’s sensitivity and journey.

Tantra is not taught as a technique, but as a living experience of consciousness, woven over days through nature, sharing, silence, and presence.

🌸 Conclusion: From Illusion to Presence

Tantra holds immense potential for healing, unity, and love—but only when lived with humility and truth. If it serves to mask ego, fantasy, or power, it betrays its essence.

The invitation is simple:
To make Tantra sacred again, we must first make it honest.
"The sacred cannot exist without transparency."
This article is an invitation to reflection, spiritual responsibility, and conscious sensuality.
At Fantasy Farm, authentic space arises from transparency, respect, and humility.

🌿 Discover our upcoming retreats and workshops, and join a community where clarity, safety, and consciousness are the foundations of all exploration.

📌 Notes / References
1. “Is Tantra about sex or divine liberation?” phys.org, 2024
2. “Modern Tantra Retreats: Benefits, Practices & Choosing Wisely,” Compassion Retreats
3. Swami Lakshmanjoo, Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, 1999
4. Hugh B. Urban, “The ‘Power of Tantra’ in the West: Spirituality and the Market of Desire,” Religion and American Culture, 2003
5. Abhinavagupta, Tantrāloka, translated and commented by Jaideva Singh, 10th century
6. Osho, contemporary critiques and analyses
7. Urban, H.B., ibid.