With any use of words to represent ideas, it is impossible for readers to understand what the writer means without the writer explaining how the terms will be used. These terms used by Western Tantra are compiled from a broad range of religious and scientific texts. None of them are new terms or unique uses, but most have different meanings, so the meaning Western Tantra will be using will be explained here. Whenever a term is used in a particular way, it will be capitalized, and the meaning for the term will be listed here. Capitalized words that are italicized are book titles. Lower case terms are defined by context and common usage as listed in Webster’s dictionary. A few key terms in lower case are included below. Western Tantra uses these words in the same way as other spiritual traditions commonly use the terms, but are included for clarity.
Addiction: The inability to limit the use of a substance or behavior, including excessive food, alcohol, drugs, sex, work, gambling, electronic games, social media, and many other things to the extent that the use is harmful to oneself or others. The modern term for the outdated term Gluttony, one of the West’s “seven deadly sins.”
All: See God.
angel: The Western term for a sentient being whose Heart is in communication with the Divine, and who is able to appear in the Material or Spirit realm to benefit others using what skills and resources the angel has available, similar to the Buddhist term bodhisattva (awakening being) and the Western term saint. Angels may or may not be Enlightened. Enlightened angels are the same as buddhas.
Apparition: See Ego.
Back: See Past.
Base: When referring to religion or philosophy, this is one’s core religion or philosophy, often the religion one was born with or committed to in some way.
Between: See Spirit.
Beyond: See Divine.
bodhisattva: The Buddhist term bodhisattva means “awakening being.” Bodhisattvas care for all sentient beings and appear in the Material and Spirit realms to help others. This term is similar to the Western terms angel and saint. Enlightened bodhisattvas are the same as buddhas.
Body: A physical human Body in the Material realm made up of ordinary matter and energy. The Body has a mostly fixed form and is mortal, having a finite lifespan. The thinking organs for the Body are the brain and nervous system, referred to as the Head.
Body-Mind: A thinking organ called the brain located in the skull. Synonym: Head.
Breath: See Energy.
buddha: The Buddhist term meaning “awake” designating an Enlightened being of the Divine realm who is able to appear in the Material or Spirit realm at will, has an aspect in all three realms, and who benefits others in the ways that are most beneficial for all concerned.
Bullet-Time: As seen in the movie The Matrix, Bullet-Time is experiencing reality with the faster speed of the Soul rather than the normal speed of the human nervous system, making events appear to happen in slow motion.
Cause and Effect: See Karma.
chakra: An Energy distribution center of the Spirit Body.
Chi: See Energy.
Child/Children: Children are humans who have not yet reached their final adult form, often needy, selfish creatures needing development from infant to child to young adult, including many full-grown adults. The term Children refers to a level of maturity, and many adults have not yet reached full maturity. Capitalized, Children refers to the broader use of the term as humans not yet fully mature, regardless of age.
Coaches: Coaches teach humans how to perform and excel at specific activities, often how to coordinate with other humans as part of a team. Functions may overlap with those of Parents and Teachers.
Commitment: A promise to persist with Path practices for a lifetime.
Concept: See Spirit.
consciousness: Our sense of awareness. Its nature and origin is currently unknown, but may be a fundamental property of the information that defines physical systems, including spin, charge, and mass.
Dark, Darkness: Aspects of the universe that science has so far been unable to explain. Synonyms: Hidden, Unseen.
Divine: The Divine or Formless is the invisible and formless realm that pervades all realms of existence. Buddhists call this Emptiness, meaning empty of fixed inherent existence. The Divine or Formless is Pure Potential, anything that could exist. All things manifest arise from the Divine and eventually return to the Divine. The unwritten laws of the universe which determine all reality are placed here. The Observer, our Soul, lives here as does Love, joy, and awe. God concepts described as nameless, secret, and unknowable belong here. Consciousness rules here. Synonyms: Formless, Eternal, Ultimate, Un-manifest, Ineffable, Transcendent, Beyond the Beyond, Unknowing, Emptiness, Fullness, Infinity, Ground-State, Pure Potential, Pure Awareness.
Dream: See Spirit.
Ecstasy: Ecstasy is a transcendent state of being in which the False Self or Ego and even the entire Material world disappear momentarily, silencing discursive mind.
Ego: Our life plan for interacting with our environment which includes: our mental images of ourselves which more or less correspond to the way we look physically, and the way others tell us we look and act, and the ways we typically relate to the world. This set of Form images exists in the realm of thought, the Spirit realm. Because the Ego is a mental concept with no Physical reality, it does not necessarily die with the body. If adopted and fed by the immortal Soul, Ego can be carried to the next life. Synonyms for our human Ego as the term is used here include False Self, Personality, Spirit, Apparition, and Ghost.
Ego Mind: The thinking functions of the Ego, our habitual ways of thinking. Ego Mind is a mental construct with a point of view or focus of attention. If Ego Mind does not have its own thinking functions it may just focus its attention on the Body’s brain for rational thought or the Soul’s Heart for intuition. Ego Mind can be changed and trained to be still. Synonym: Selfish Mind
Emptiness: See Divine and God.
Energy: When capitalized, Energy means a source of consciousness energy called Prana, Inner Fire, Chi, Qi, Ki, Kundalini, Power, Mana, Medicine, Juju, Life Force, Breath, Light, and other names. Many spiritual systems divide this energy into two flavors, often called male and female energy. This Energy feels like Love and may be Love, but we will mainly call it Energy or Life Force. This Energy is not the ordinary energy which has a matter equivalence.
Enlightened/Enlightenment: Enlightened or Enlightenment refers to the Buddhist use of the term meaning a consciousness that has full access to the Divine realm, in fact complete access to all three realms. The Christian translation of this term is one who is in union with God.
Envy: Resentment for an advantage possessed by another person and wishing to have what they have. A type of mental theft. One of the West’s “seven deadly sins.”
Eternal: See Divine.
Ethical: Ethical refers to actions that are intended to benefit others, or at least benefit the most with the least harm to the fewest number.
Experts: Experts are those with special skills or knowledge who have usually spent over ten thousand hours of training, over five years of full-time study, to be able to do what they do. Over twenty thousand hours would be more typical. For some, it is a lifetime of work.
Fact: Something generally accepted as accurate from a particular point of view, relative to the user. The opposites of Fact are Fiction and Lies. This differs from the conventional definition which assumes facts are independently and inherently accurate for everyone. It is a mistake to try to impose your Facts on another person living a different reality from yours.
False Self: See Ego.
False: Frequently used in Eastern Tantric texts, false as used both here and in Webster’s is something that appears to be true but is not. The important thing to note is that false things appear to be true, as opposed to things that are just plain wrong. Synonym: Illusory.
Fantasy: See Spirit.
Fighter: Used here figuratively, it means someone who does not quit under duress.
Form: Form means having some sort of manifestation, either physical or mental. Physical Forms include visible and touchable things, sounds, smells, and energy that can be sensed with the ordinary bodily senses and with scientific instruments. These are things made of ordinary matter or energy that make up the Material world. Mental Forms are thoughts and concepts that can imagined in the mind, including mental representations of words, numbers, symbols, sounds, smells, ideas, images, visions, concepts, and anything else that can be represented in our minds. These are made of thought, not matter or ordinary energy, but can be sensed in the “mind’s eye.” There are two Form realms of existence: The Material world made of physical Forms and the Spirit world, made of Mental Forms. A synonym for Form is Manifest.
Formless: See Divine.
Free Will: Free Will is our ability to affect the Present.
Fullness: See Divine and God.
Future: This aspect of time is what is affected by what happens in the Present. At any given moment of time, the Future only exists as a set of probabilities for what may happen. By our actions in the Present, we can affect what Future probabilities become the next Present moment. Synonym: Next.
Ghost: See Ego and Spirit.
Gluttony: See Addiction.
God: As used here, God is defined as the entire universe or multiverse encompassing everything: all that ever existed, exists now, or ever could exist, both seen and unseen, Form and Formless. Synonyms for God: Universe, Ultimate, Reality, Totality, All, Infinity, Emptiness, Fullness, Allah, Yahweh, others.
Godhead: See Soul.
Greed: Taking for oneself more resources than one needs or more than one’s fair share. One of the West’s “seven deadly sins.”
Ground-State: See Divine.
Guru, Guide: In the Eastern Tantras an experienced and trustworthy spiritual advisor who is well familiar with the scriptures and practices providing access to the Divine realm.
hate: A form of sustained anger. Hostility or aversion arising from anger, fear, or perceived injury.
Head: The brain and nervous system of the physical Body. Body sensory organs gather information from the outside world in the form of nerve impulses which are sent to the brain where they can be processed or stored as needed. Discursive thought and reasoning take place in the Head. The Head is capable of thought using mental constructs called words, numbers, symbols, and images which represent aspects of outer reality derived from stored sensory information that we call memory. Synonym: Body-Mind.
Heart/ Heart-Mind: The sentient aspect of the Soul, the seat of consciousness or Subtle Mind. Heart thoughts are no-thought, intuition, doing without thinking, instant knowing. Instant knowing is like a burst transmission, containing compressed meaning which can be instantly available or can be unpacked to play out over time in the realm of thought as emotions, poetry, art, music and dreams. Synonyms: Intuitive Mind, Subtle Mind.
heaven: A peaceful state of mind characterized by mental stability, happiness, and Love. As places, heavens are peaceful regions created by Loving or Enlightened minds which are conducive to learning the Path to Enlightenment. The term is not capitalized because its use here is similar to common usage. Synonym: Pure Land.
hell: A state of mind characterized by lack of control, suffering, disorder, harmful emotions, and wishing harm to others. As places, hells are regions inhabited by suffering beings who harm each other and where learning the Way to Enlightenment is made difficult. Beings can leave hells by changing their state of mind. The term is not capitalized because its use here is similar to common usage.
History: See Past.
Honor: As used here, Honor means to make your word your bond and make your actions match your words, as in “We Honor our commitments.”
I: The focus of each person’s attention or concentration is our “I, me, or my” point of view. Its location is usually in the Head attending to the sensory information from the Body and one’s thoughts. Our focus of attention is very mobile and can be almost anywhere. When our focus of attention is our Heart, the seat of consciousness, we have access to intuition. The “I” is who we say we are, as in “I am” this or that. Most people use “I” to designate their Ego, but those who identify with Soul and have become selfless still have to use the words “I, me, and my” to refer to themselves when inhabiting a human body.
Illusory: See False.
Imaginary: See Spirit.
Ineffable: See Divine.
Infinity: See Divine and God.
information: Information in general is that which reduces uncertainty (entropy). Physical information is the information such as spin, charge, and mass which defines physical systems, such as particles and fields. The fundamental physical information defining a system cannot be destroyed. This is conservation of information, currently a law of physics.
Inner Fire: See Energy. This term also refers to the Energy which powers the Spirit Body described in the section on Tantric Sex. Inner Fire can be generated by the advanced Buddhist practice called Tummo, which requires Buddhist commitments and initiation.
Integrity: As used here, Integrity means to make your thoughts match your words and actions, worthy of trust, honest.
Interpenetration: During sexual practices, this refers to the penetration of both partners by the other with Divine Energy. Both genders are capable of doing this.
In-The-Moment: See Present.
Intuitive Mind: See Heart.
Journey: See Path.
Juju: See Energy.
Karma: This is the relationship between effects and their causes. For we who live in Linear Time, a cause is something which precedes and determines an effect. In the Present moment, we are experiencing effects determined by causes which occurred in the Past, and our actions in the Present are causes which become effects in the Future. Karma can also refer to the effects that have occurred or will occur as a result of our prior thoughts, words, or deeds. Karma is often described as positive or negative based on whether our actions were intended to benefit or harm others. Synonym: Cause and Effect.
Ki: See Energy.
Laziness: Failing to realize that our human life has a duration, and if we want our life to have meaning, then we do not have time to waste. One of the West’s “seven deadly sins.” Synonym: Sloth.
Life Force: See Energy.
Light: See Energy.
Linear Time: Time which progresses from Past to Present to Future with no branches. This is the time we ordinary human beings perceive, but this may not be universal.
Love: When capitalized here, Love means universal unconditional love or the Energy and power of unconditional love for all. Love for all with no conditions whatsoever. This is the Love between God and humanity. What naturally follows from Love is the wish to provide all living beings with pleasure and to remove pain from all beings who are suffering, which we call compassion. Love is the principal practice of Western Tantra.
Lust: Sex for personal pleasure, Plan A. Lust is one of the West’s “seven deadly sins.”
Mana: See Energy.
Manifest: See Form.
Material: The realm we ordinarily experience is the Material or Physical realm or world, the physical universe made up of ordinary matter and energy that we can experience with our body senses, and science can measure with instruments. This is one of the two Form realms. Synonyms: Physical, Real, Visible.
Medicine: See Energy.
Mental Form: See Spirit.
Mindfulness: A type of meditation in which one pays full attention to whatever one is doing at all times.
Miracle: A Miracle is a natural occurrence that is either so rare or so improbable in its timing and beneficial in its outcome that it suggests the presence of Divine intervention.
Mystic, Mystical: The Mystic is one who has a direct link to the Divine realm or to the Spirit world acting as an intermediary to the Divine realm. The Mystic gets instructions and knowledge directly from Ultimate Reality rather than scriptures. Mystical means that which is in direct contact with Ultimate Reality. As used here, Mystic and Mystical do not refer to occult or “dark magic” practices in any way.
Next: See Future.
No-Self: See Soul.
Now: See Present.
Observer, The: See Soul.
Occam’s razor: A philosophical and scientific principle stating that among competing theories, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected as the one most likely to be true.
Parents: Parents are humans that take on the responsibility to support a child from some stage of infancy, childhood, or young adulthood, providing food and shelter and discipline and guidance in how to behave as humans. As used here capitalized, True Parenting has nothing to do with biological reproduction.
Past: The past is something that already happened and cannot be changed, relative to our particular location, velocity and acceleration. The Past is what we use to predict the Future. Synonyms for the Past: History, Then, Back.
Path of Ethics: The Path of Ethics is the Western Tantric spiritual Path characterized by ethical action in the material world. Action means doing something tangible and visible. Ethical action is action which is intended to benefit others or at least benefit most people with the least harm to the fewest number.
Path: Used in its capitalized form here, the term Path refers to a set of techniques to reach Ultimate Reality. Spiritual Paths are always meant figuratively as a recipe or steps to achieve spiritual realizations. Synonyms for Path include Way, Journey, Road, and Vehicle.
persona: The social façade an individual assumes or the character in a book or play.
Personality: See Ego.
Physical: See Material.
Power: See Energy.
Prana: See Energy.
Present: The currently active moment of time, based on our particular location in space-time. This is the only moment when reality is fluid and we can change what is happening. From our perspective, only the Present moment exists. Synonyms: Now, In-The-Moment.
Pride: A mental state of mind which exalts one’s personal attributes, achievements, or possessions used by Ego to protect itself from change. It is one of the West’s “seven deadly sins.”
Pure Awareness: See Divine.
Pure Land: See heaven as places.
Pure Potential: See Divine.
Qi: See Energy.
Real: See Material.
Reality: See God.
Renunciation: Rejection of the Material world and physical possessions as solutions for most problems. The mental state of one who looks to the Spirit and Divine for the pathways to the eternal.
Road: See Path.
Scientific Method: The systematic and objective process used by Western science to formulate and test theories about the laws governing the universe and extend human knowledge of how things exist and function.
sentient: Consciously aware and able to process and respond to the senses; the ability to do mental work. It may be a measure of how well information (consciousness) is integrated.
Sin: A bad translation from an original Hebrew archery term which meant “to miss the mark,” to fail to hit the center of the target one is aiming for. Used here, sin means that some of our actions fall short of what a sentient Universe would like from us. We missed the point, we failed to hit the center of the target God set for us.
Sloth: See Laziness.
Soul: Soul refers to our deepest ultimate nature or aspect, pure consciousness dwelling in the Formless realm, our Divine nature, our pearl of great price, the pure light hidden within each of us, our ground state of being, the godhead within. Soul is Formless and without boundaries. Soul outlives the Body and may be immortal. Our Soul seems to be centered in the Body near the physical heart and may extend beyond the Body. Synonyms used here for Soul are True Self, True Nature, No-Self, Godhead, The Observer, Subtle Consciousness or Subtle Mind.
Spirit/Spiritual: Spirit is the realm of words, ideas, concepts, thoughts, images, projections, states of mind, dreams and visions including visualized forms as products of consciousness, Mental Forms. Pure lands, heavens, and hells are here. Religions which assign their highest supreme beings definite form and characteristics place them in this realm by definition. The concepts of Ego and Self live here. Synonyms: Thought, Imaginary, Fantasy, Word, Concept, Ghost, Dream, Between, Beyond, Bardo, Mental Form.
Spirit Body: A visualized structure which distributes Spirit Energy throughout the Body. The Spirit Body or “diamond” body is thought to have a hollow central channel from the top of the head to the floor of the pelvis. The central channel is flanked by two thinner channels, said to convey male and female Energy to an Energy center at the navel, where male and female Energy combine to power the Spirit Body. Energy distribution centers called chakras are spaced along the central channel.
Subtle Consciousness: See Soul.
Subtle Mind: See Soul.
Tantra/Tantric: The methods of spiritual transformation described in this site. These include visualizing ourselves and acting at all times as if we have actually achieved the ultimate goal any person can reach and harnessing the power of our emotions to drive our vision of our transformation.
Teachers: Teachers provide the functions and skills humans need to think for themselves and manage their lives. Teaching and Parenting functions overlap and some Teachers also guide how to behave and may even provide food and shelter for some.
Then: See Past.
Thought: See Spirit.
Three Times, The: The three elements of Time: Past, Present, and Future.
Time: Time is a dimension of the Universe which is used to express the duration of existence and rate of change. For us, Time is an arrow that points and moves only to the Future, although physics says time is flexible and may be reversible.
Tool: A Tool refers to a single technique or method that will help achieve a particular objective as part of the Western Tantric Path.
Totality: See God.
Transcendent: See Divine.
True Nature: See Soul.
True Self: See Soul.
True: Often used incorrectly in Eastern Tantric texts, both here and in Webster’s, True and Truth will designate something that is correct, real, and can be relied on.
Ultimate: See Divine and God.
Universe: See God.
Unknowing: See Divine.
Un-manifest: See Divine.
Vehicle: See Path.
Visible: See Material.
Warrior: Broadly defined, a Warrior is one engaged in a struggle or conflict who is able to confront and overcome obstacles. To be a Warrior is to have a state of mind that accepts adversity to benefit others. Similar in meaning to “fighters,” figuratively meaning someone who does not quit under duress.
Way: See Path.
West, Western: The West is the collection of democratic, pluralistic countries of the developed west; occidental. Roughly, this means regions influenced by European cultures. Cultural belief systems of the Western world include democracy, individual and personal freedom, equality, human rights, the Abrahamic religions, capitalism, science and the scientific method, and public education.
Western Tantra/Tantric: Western Tantra as a specific practice is the universal aspect of the traditional forms of Tantra practiced in the Eastern religions, stripped of its Eastern cultural trappings and reframed and re-populated with the cultural foundations of the Western nations. When used in italics, Western Tantra refers to the title of this book. As used here, the term Western Tantra never refers to neotantra or its modern practices or occult practices.
White Path: The Western Tantra White Path of Ethics. In Buddhism, white symbolizes the crown energy center and skillful means or actions. The White Path of Ethics refers to the spiritual path that uses performing altruistic acts in the Real world to create positive Karma and the capacity for Universal Love.
Wisdom: Wisdom means understanding how Reality works, that nothing exists on its own, independent of the rest of the universe. All things are interdependent. Wisdom is a complete understanding of Emptiness and the Divine realm which pervade all things and from which all things manifest arise.
Word: See Spirit.
Wow Moments: Brief experiences of synchronizing with a dynamic Totality, resulting in an emotional rush, a moment of ecstasy, a taste of eternity. Losing oneself in the joy of the present moment. Experiencing wonder or awe.
Wrath: Anger or hate, especially extreme anger. One of the West’s “seven deadly sins.”