Description
Book SynopsisDiscover the secret relationship between erotic, the sexual, and the sacred Sex is not negative or positive. Sex is not just neutral, nor is it merely sacred because it creates babies. None of these old sexual stories work for us anymore. We need a new sexual narrative. This book gives the new sexual narrative, what the authors call Sex Erotic.
Erotic Mystics from the hidden tradition of Solomon's temple taught a secret doctrine: sex is the source of all wisdom. It's an expression of the erotic impulse of existence itself alive in us–the yearning for contact, pleasure, and aliveness. The sexual, however, is not the sum total of the erotic. Rather, the sexual teaches us how to live an erotic life in all dimensions of our existence. That is Sex Erotic.
A Return to Eros: The Radical Experience of Being Fully Alive, from Drs. Marc Gafni and Kristina Kincaid, reveals the radical tenets of the relationships between the sexual, the erotic, and the holy. They share what Eros actually means and also the 12 core qualities of the erotic, which are modeled by the sexual. These include being on the inside, fullness of presence, yearning, allurement, fantasy, surrender, creativity, pleasure, and more.
A Return to Eros shows why these qualities of the erotic modeled by the sexual are actually the same core qualities of the sacred. The relationship between the sexual and the erotic becomes clear, teaching you how to live an erotically suffused existence charged with purpose, potency, and power. To be an empowered lover—not just in sex but also in all facets of your life—you must listen to the whisperings of the sexual. Transform your understanding and experience of love, sex, and Eros inside these pages.
Trade Review"Marc and Kristina are going where few dare to go. They are showing us what it means to live a fully erotic life."
—John Gray, bestselling author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus "
A Return to Eros is the map for the new human. Read it and be forever enlivened and transformed! I believe this is the most compelling invitation ever written to live the Erotic Life. It changed my life."
—Kristen Ulmer, former professional extreme skier and author of The Art of Fear "Surrender to this book. Erudite, provocative, and filled with lively insights, there is much to be learned from it about the sexual confusion of our times."
—Adam Bellow, author of In Praise of Nepotism: A History of Family Enterprise from King David to George W. Bush "
A Return to Eros is a book written with no hang-ups, no compromises, and no holds barred. It rocks!"
—Jonny Podell, iconic American rock 'n' roll music agent at the Podell Talent Agency "I've known Kristina for many decades . . . great to see she is sharing her life work with the world . . . Join the outrageous love train!"
—Shep Gordon, legendary rock 'n' roll manager and New York Times bestselling author of They Call Me Supermensch "
A Return to Eros is a powerful and thought-provoking book—which has the potential to transform your life."
—Sally Kempton, author of Awakening Shakti "
A Return to Eros should be placed on the shelf next to the great works on emotional and sexual emancipation, including Marcuse's
Eros and Civilization and O Brown's
Life Against Death. Gafni and Kincaid remind us that eros and ethics are inseparable, that we must free the erotic from the ghetto of the merely sexual, and in so doing awaken our passion for truth and justice. There may be no more urgent lesson for our culture, which now stands on the brink of another descent into barbarism, that it is through and from love that true power flows."
—Zak Stein, EdD (Harvard), academic director of the Center for Integral Wisdom, faculty at Meridian University, scientific advisor for Neurohacker Collective, and cofounder of Lectica, Inc. Table of ContentsForeword by Barbara Marx Hubbard Foreword by Warren Farrell Preface: The Future of Love, Sex, and Eros Part One: The Cosmo-Erotic Universe Chapter One: A New Sexual Narrative Chapter Two: Evoking Eros Chapter Three: Sex in the Temple Chapter Four: The Dancing Master, an Erotic Story Chapter Five: The Secret of the Cherubs: Reality Is Eros Chapter Six: Eros: From Fear to Liberation Chapter Seven: Cosmo-Erotic Reality Unveiled Chapter Eight: Decoding the Solomon Matrix Chapter Nine: The Sexy Song of Solomon Chapter Ten: The Exile of the Erotic and the Boundary-Breaking Sexual Chapter Eleven: From Sexual Ethics to Sexual Ethos: On Eros, Subversive or Transgressive Chapter Twelve: The Sexual Models the Erotic: Healing the Split Part Two: The Five Essential Faces of Eros Chapter Thirteen: The First Face: Interiority: Living on the Inside Chapter Fourteen: The Second Face: Fullness of Presence Chapter Fifteen: The Third Face: Yearning and Desire Chapter Sixteen: The Fourth Face: Wholeness and Interconnectivity: On The Intimate Universe: Reality as Allurement Chapter Seventeen: The Fifth Face: Uniqueness and Identity Chapter Eighteen: More on the Fifth Face: Story, Voice, and Soul Prints Chapter Nineteen: The Harlot by the Sea, a Fifth-Face Story Part Three: More Faces of Eros Chapter Twenty: The Sixth Face: Imagination Chapter Twenty-One: The Seventh Face: Perception Chapter Twenty-Two: The Eighth Face: Giving and Receiving Chapter Twenty-Three: The Ninth Face: Surrender Chapter Twenty-Four: The Tenth Face: Play and Lishmah Chapter Twenty-Five: The Eleventh Face: Creativity Chapter Twenty-Six: The Twelfth Face: Pleasure and Delight Chapter Twenty-Seven: Union: The Erotics of Identity: A Deeper Cut Appendix A: On the Pain of Eros Appendix B: The Murder of Eros Appendix C: Testimonial by Dr. Kristina Kincaid Notes Permission Credits Acknowledgments About the Authors
