slices of mango

Slices of mango

Passing between the lips

Life is erotic

I've just been eating a mango, and as each juicy slice of flesh entered my mouth, the feeling was erotic. We usually associate that word with sex. And indeed those slices of mango did have something in common with a juicy vulva. But setting aside sex, life can be erotic.

Really bringing my awareness to each piece of mango, it was such a heady delight. It could almost make one dizzy. The pleasure was so intense, the taste of a ripe mango in the mouth. And feeling that, sensing that, it can overwhelm one in a way that makes oneself disappear. There is only the sensation, there is no me in it. Even the mango has disappeared into the intensity of that sensation, the texture, its moistness, and the taste. This I call tantra.

And if we allow it to be so, the whole of life can be tantric, the whole of life can be erotic. And with this we lose ourself in the mystery of life. Disappearing into the intensity of sensation in this way allows us to really taste life. And all it takes is a complete presence in the moment, forgetting about the thoughts in the head. And instead, allowing our awareness to rest fully on the senses, on the feel of that mango as it passes between the lips, and the taste of it in the mouth.