Sacred
Pleasure
by Raine Eisler
Eisler's Chalice and the Blade (1987) has sold hundreds of thousands of copies, proving her own assertion that people are hungry for fresh perspectives on the human condition. In her new book, the bold paradigm-challenger continues her quest for a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural, spiritual, and political forces that drive us by exploring the complex realm of intimate relationships and posing some startling questions about our attitudes toward pain and pleasure, sex and spirituality. Why, Eisler asks, did sex, once the "sacred gift of the Goddess," become synonymous with evil? Why did veneration for women and their capacity for sustaining life change into such contempt and loathing? As Eisler traces the path of this destructive and pervasive bias, she reveals just how adverse its effect has been on every aspect of human life. Eisler makes some stunning points in this strongly argued, well-supported, and mind-stretching narrative, then urges us to imagine viable alternatives to the "sacralization of pain" and the "eroticism of violence" that stand in such stark and baffling contrast to our inherent "yearning for connection" and our aptitude for love. This is a gutsy and very important book. Donna Seaman
Aphrodite's Daughters: Women's Sexual Stories and the Journey of the Soul
Join Jalaja Bonheim on a
fascinating journey of exploration as she invites dozens of women from
a wide range of spiritual traditions and backgrounds to tell the stories
of their sexual experiences. By sharing our stories, and by contemplating
them in the context of the spiritual journey, we begin to heal centuries
of repression and shame and rediscover the innocence and beauty of
sexual pleasure. The stories gathered in this extraordinary book open
our eyes to the rarely acknowledged power of sexual experience to serve
as spiritual teacher and guide.
The
Future of Love
by Daphne Rose Kingma
The Future of Love: The Power of the Soul in Intimate Relationships (Doubleday l998). Groundbreaking and controversial, it delivers the message that it is actually the soul, our spiritual essence, which is creating both havoc and beautiful transformational possibilities in the world of our intimate relationships. The author has written several books on relationships, but when her own relationship fell apart, she re-evaluated her attitudes. This book calls into question the automatic assumptions of our culture about monogamy. A great introduction for people struggling to understand polyamory; although not mentioned specifically in the book, people with multiple partners are given as examples throughout the book. This book has been enthusiastically endorsed by Marianne Williamson and John Gray.
The
Men We Never Knew
by Daphne Rose Kingma
by David Schnarch
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Tantric Sex
"Dr. Judy" Kuriansky is an internationally renowned clinical psychologist and sex therapist, radio advice host, TV personality, popular lecturer, seminar leader, newspaper columnist, and author of top-selling books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to a Healthy Relationship, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dating, Generation Sex, and others in Japan and China. An adjunct professor of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University Teachers College, she is a pioneer of radio advice shows, sex therapy, couples counseling techniques, and relationship enrichment programs.
An expert on tantra, Dr. Judy is a certified associate Ipsalu Tantra Teacher with Tantrika International, having trained with TI founder Bodhi Avinasha. She has also studied extensively with Charles Muir, founder of the Source School of Tantra, and served as staff counselor at workshops by tantra pioneer Margot Anand. Also expert in relationships, trends, dating, sexuality, stress, creativity, depression, and brain styles, Dr. Judy is a consultant, spokesperson, and keynote speaker for many organizations and groups in the U.S. and abroad, including for the State of the World Forum and companies from Calvin Klein to Clairol. She also gives presentations and workshops on tantra, spirituality, and sacred sex. An expert on East-West relations, Dr. Judy has studied yoga and been initiated into Buddhism and in shamanism, and integrates these with Western therapeutic techniques including gestalt, psychoanalysis, and cognitive behavioral psychology in her work with clients. A world traveler, currently she collaborates with colleagues at the Shanghai Center for Reproductive Health in China, with whom she wrote a ground-breaking book about sex advice.
Chalice
and the Blade
by Raine Eisler
Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities. The Chalice and the Blade is one of those magnificent key books that can transform us and...initiate fundamental changes in the world. With the most passionate eloquence, Riane Eisler proves that the dream of peace is not an impossible utopia."--Isabel Allende, author of The House of Spirits
"The Chalice and the Blade may be the most significant work published in all our lifetimes."--LA Weekly
"Everyone...should have the opportunity to read it."-- The Chicago Tribune
"Eisler's highly readable synthesis...is an important contribution to social history."-- Publishers Weekly
"A gem....A rare combination of poetic expression and sober sustenance."--Jesse Bernard, author of The Future of Marriage and The Female World
"Validates a belief in humanity's capacity for benevolence and cooperation in the face of so much destruction."--San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
"As important, perhaps more important, than the unearthing of Troy or the deciphering of cuneiform."--Bruce Wilshire, professor of philosophy, Rutgers University
More
info about the book from the author's site.
by David Deida
Bliss (DVD video)
A troubled young wife (Sheryl Lee) and her repressed husband (Craig Sheffer) seek conventional therapy for their marital woes with no avail--until she secretly engages the services of an avant-garde Tantric sex guru (Terence Stamp). His advice leads the couple on a journey toward mutual trust and fulfillment, unearthing her buried memories of sexual abuse.
The Sacred Prostitute
by Nancy Qualls Corbett
Women
of the Light
by Kenneth Ray Stubbs
by Georg Feuerstein