What Sophia & Tantra Have in Common
Is there really any connection between the Judeo-Christian Sophia and Eastern Tantra?
Short answer, YES!
Hopefully, one day, maybe, let’s pray, church services will be doing sermons on this topic, and pastors, far more educated and eloquent than me will do it proper justice.
Until then, forgive me for opening a can of worms that might lead to more questions than answers for you, but I do so with the sincere belief you *might* thank me later.
Today, my goal is simply to plant some seeds.
Years ago when wrestling with how my divine feminine spirituality and sensibilities aligned with my Christian faith, I wrote in my prayer journal, “If Jesus is my Northstar, Sophia is my Compass.”
Sophia I my embodied compass. I do not read her directions for my life via the bible or other sacred text. I receive her guidance for me via resonance in my body and coherence in my heart.
Cultivating my relationship with Sophia over the years has come through praxis and devotion, rather than religious studies or sermons.
In this post, I’d like to share a few things I see that Sophia and Tantra have in common, as an entry point into exploring Tantric Christianity.
A quick bit about my background for reference…
Earning a Master’s Degree in Eastern Philosophy gave me the opportunity to study Tantra from an academic perspective.
20+ years of yoga practice and advanced teacher training in tantric lineages, as well as training in tantric practices as a Sex, Love and Relationship coach, has given me embodied experience on tantric teachings.
My personal spiritual practice has always been anchored in contemplative and mystical christian teachings, meditations and prayers.
My hopes is that my experiences both professionally and personally allows me to be a trustworthy bridge for those who are curious about how to begin cultivating embodied spiritual practices of their own, and perhaps even resurrect their Christian faith.
Here is the understanding my experience in both Tantra and Sophia has give me….
The connection between Sophia and Tantra lies in their shared understanding of delight and desire as a form of spiritual wisdom, divine feminine energy being an active force in the world, and the centrality of the body and embodiment practices for unity or union with God, i.e. wholeness.
While Tantra and Sophia may be associated with different cultural and spiritual frameworks, they share at least 4 common threads…
Divine Feminine Wisdom: Both Sophia and Tantra embrace the divine feminine as a powerful and essential aspect of spirituality. In various traditions, Sophia is revered as the embodiment of divine wisdom and the feminine principle, the feminine face of God. Tantra, too, acknowledges the divine feminine energy, often symbolized as Shakti, representing the creative and transformative power of the universe.
Sacred Union: Tantra emphasizes the union of opposites, particularly the union of the masculine and feminine energies. This concept of union is central to many Tantric practices, where the aim is to integrate and harmonize these polarities within oneself and in the external world. Similarly, Sophia represents the wisdom that arises from wholeness, the integration of opposites and the harmonious union of masculine and feminine energies.
Embodied Spirituality: Tantra and Sophia both encourage the importance of embodiment and the integration of spiritual practices into everyday life. Tantra recognizes the body as a sacred vessel for spiritual realization and emphasizes the cultivation of presence and awareness in all aspects of life. Sophia, often associated with wisdom that manifests in the material world, encourages individuals to engage AND DELIGHT in the world with consciousness and intention, embodying the divine qualities in their actions and relationships.
Mystical Union: Both Tantra and Sophia traditions explore the idea of mystical union or communion with the divine. Tantra seeks to attain a state of unity with the divine through various practices, including meditation, breathwork, and ritual. Similarly, Sophia traditions emphasize the direct experience of union with the divine, often described as the mystical union of the soul with the divine essence through sensual appreciation of the natural world.
In a nutshell, both Sophia and Tantra playfully seduce and invite the seeker into an embodied spirituality instead of a set of religious beliefs. Both view the full range of human experience (from the “sacred” to the “profane”) as a wide and equal opportunity field for mystical communion with the Divine. Both see sacred union or wholeness as the integration— not the rejection or minimization— of opposites. And finally, both embrace the erotic energy of playfulness, desire and delight as a super-highway to God.
In Tantra and Sophia, everything belongs. Every moment, no matter what you are up to, is an opportunity for sacred, sensual and delightful communion with your body, your soul, and the divine.
Can you imagine a Christian faith that delights in sensuality and even pleasure?
Can you imagine a relationship with Jesus at the intersection of both sacred and erotic energies? Do you long to call God, Beloved and not just Father?
If it’s hard to imagine but something. you deeply desire, I’d love to support you in my private practice.
The heart and soul of my private practice is called Sophia Embodied. It’s Sensuality & Confidence Coaching and so much more.
Sophia Embodied is a transformational 1:1 coaching program to break free from fear, guilt and shame and uncover the whole woman within you. Whether you are needing support through a dark night of the Soul, clarity around a major life decision or transition, or desire for deeper embodiment tools to integrate therapeutic insights and more rapidly shift old patterns, Sophia Embodied sessions go deep and equip you with somatic practices, blueprinting tools, and new ways of seeing that unlock your sexuality, spirituality and personal power.
Discover the wisdom of your own pleasure and desire as I walk you through the same exact process that gave me what nothing else could: true self-love and total freedom in the bedroom and beyond.
Sessions happen 2x month and begin with a 3-month container.
If you are ready to drop the shame, return to wholeness, uncover your deepest desires and powerfully embody your feminine energy, I invite you to fill out the application to the Sophia Embodied 1-on-1 Program here.
