It is a universal principle.
Very often Shakti is used in a more specific way to define feminine qualities.
It is in that way I use it in this article...
For men, Shakti is what you look for when you engage in connecting with a woman.
When you want to experience her femininity, what you really want to feel is this femininity inside of you.
You want to merge with her mind so that the Shakti she gives you is a direct inner experience in you.
When you make love, what you want to experience is the play of energies IN you.
The sensations trigger are chain of biochemical reactions in your brain and body.
These are not happening out there!
They are happening right in your being.
Within the tantric tradition, Shakti is life force!
She is a Goddess!
She is the consort of Shiva.
A woman will be a messenger for Shakti so that you can experience this energy in you.
Shakti triggers pleasure, delight, beauty, harmony and freedom in you.
When you touch her skin, when you feel aroused by her presence, it is because her Shakti force impacts on your being.
You feel an opening!
You feel a streaming of new energy inside of you.
Now, this Shakti force is an experience you can have in many other contexts, not just tantric exchange with a woman.
You can experience Shakti through artistic expression, singing and music, being in nature, invoking the Shakti force in you through meditation and invocations.
In fact, most of the tantric path - the full tantric path, not just tantric sex - is aimed at mastering Shakti.
It is aimed at fully understanding how to play with this energy in you and how to transmit it too.
Imagine for instance that you are in nature with a music instrument and that you are touched by the beauty of the landscape.
You play some music that expresses that beauty.
You create a piece that you play later for your friends.
By listening to this music, your friends experience the beauty you felt.
That's one example of mastering this Shakti energy.
You had an experience which was the merging of your energy with nature.
Then, you take that experience and turn this Shakti force into a refined musical piece that you use to initiate others into that experience.
In Sanskrit, nature is Prakriti!
It is essence and is simply another name for Shakti.
So... When you experience Shakti by tantric sex union with a woman, this woman is your agent and initiates a stream of Shakti energy in you.
When you are in love with her, you are in fact in love with that experience!
You are in love with the experience of Shakti because Shakti opened your heart Chakra and freed your mind.
This is simply a way of describing something which is of course much more complex.
Sometimes, we need a romantic vision of love and what I give you now is this romantic vision.
We talk about personified gods and goddesses.
In fact these are universal principles.
Your path as a man is to be able to master Shakti with or without a woman.
When you feel extremely needy sexually, it means that you feel desperation.
You get the impression that if a woman doesn't trigger this Shakti experience in you, you will have no way of accessing it by yourself.
This isn't true!
Accessing your Shakti power is a skill you can develop.
In fact, I believe this is one of the core challenges men will face in life.
When you discover how to master and activate your own Shakti flow, you enter into a whole new dimension in life.
That's a new state of unity and bliss!
You feel connected, united with the world around you and joy streams through you.
You are one!
You have many possible pathways to master this Shakti energy.
My favorites are music, singing, dancing, sensual exchange with a woman, swimming in the clear waters of a lake or a river and so many more.
Another VERY direct way to connect with Shakti and invite her in your life is to use the sanskrit mantra for Shakti:
If you simply write this mantra frequently, you will start building the connection with this Shakti power inside of you.
You will create space to start playing with this Shakti force + You will as well be inspired to create more forms associated with Shakti.
I mentioned that this article is for men but in fact it is for every human being.
For instance, some women will have very little connection with their Shakti power and could develop it way deeper.
Some men will have total mastery over their Shakti force and need to connect with their male power or Shiva power instead.
If you are in a gay relationship, roles might be redefined too.
And even for a woman who fully expresses her Shakti power, her tantric sex play with a strong male might trigger even further the flow of her Shakti force.
It might empower her even further in her femininity.
So, this is NOT just a simple model.
What I give you here are general ideas and again as with any romantic vision, what I describe is only a very simple vision of a reality which is way more complex than that.
When I describe realities, I can use my rational thinking based on facts and science.
I can as well take a more romantic or mystical approach and give you glimpses of the exact same reality.
My language here is not poetic but it is not purely rational either.
Take what you can, use it and reshape it in your own way!
I want to say again as well, that depending on the way you look at it, you can see Shakti in every aspect of human life.
There is Shakti in business, in science and politics not just in arts!
Shakti is EVERYWHERE because it is a universal principle permeating all aspects of life on this planet.
However, the refined channels of creative art and beauty can be locked or limited within lines of expression which are very rational.
For instance, when you wake up in the morning, your intention is very often to deal with very practical things.
You will take a shower, make some breakfast and your whole focus might be to get to work.
The purpose of these actions is to maintain your life + get to work to express some of your creative power and make money.
Now imagine what would happen if you wipe out this whole scenario and you replace it by something totally different.
You wake up in the morning and your purpose for the day is to generate beauty and delight.
You take a shower with your partner and take time to explore the sensuality of this moment.
After that you prepare a delicious smoothie and take very special care in giving it a delicious exotic taste.
Then, you take your music instrument and let your fingers explore the inspiration of the moment while you are surrounded by picture of dancing goddesses.
In all these activities, the purpose is not money or practical.
The purpose is to manifest beauty and delicious sensations.
This is a VERY specific quest.
The Shakti we talk about here is beauty, refinement, delight and pleasure.
When you are able to manifest these qualities at will anytime you want, you can say that you mastered the Shakti energy.
You are a Shakti Master.
Enjoy!