From Amazon
As in his previous bestsellers
Care of the Soul and
Soul Mates, Thomas Moore wants us to think more deeply about the spiritual implications of everyday life. Which is to say that this is serious stuff--anyone looking for sexy beach reading won't find it here. What
does interest the popular theologian, therapist, and former Catholic monk are the historical, philosophical, religious, and psychological aspects of sexuality that people tend not to consider. "We have a habit of talking about sex as merely physical, and yet nothing has more soul," Moore begins. If only we realized that fact, he then argues, it might relieve us of the guilt we so often feel over our own sex lives. "The problem may be that we are accustomed to imagining morality from a purely spiritual point of view as a way of limiting rather than enhancing sexuality," he continues. Yet if we paid more attention to beauty, sensuality, and pleasure, writes Moore, we might actually
enhance our spirituality.
There's much more to this wide-ranging meditation, which moves from the history of the word "orgasm" to the mythic presence of Marilyn Monroe. Those willing to follow Moore's mind as it courses through these subjects will find it a fascinating journey, one that ends by stimulating their own thinking about the relationship between sex and the spirit.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Moore has been offering advice about how to live a loving, fulfilling, and imaginative life in a series of books that includes the best-sellers
Care of the Soul (1992) and
Soul Mates (1993), as well as
The Re-enchantment of Everyday Life (1996), all of which paved the way for this creative and positive discussion of eros and human sexuality. A psychotherapist and self-described "specialist in religious studies," Moore states at the outset that he believes that sex has incalculable spiritual and moral dimensions. He develops this theme in bold interpretations of the sexuality implicit in the myths and representations of such archetypes as Greek gods and goddesses, particularly Aphrodite, and their modern incarnations, most notably Marilyn Monroe. At the core of his far-ranging and soothing discourse is his emphasis of the fact that there is no such thing as separation of body from mind and emotion. Sex can never be "merely physical"; it always involves the soul. Moore explains how in agile considerations of works of art, religious practice, and the experiences of his patients, reminding us at every turn that "sex can put us in touch with the sublime" and make us feel that life has meaning. Moore's energizing, innovative, and accessible inquiry into the true nature of human sexuality, and our society's reductive and unhealthy attitudes toward it, helps us envision a world in which eros is celebrated rather than condemned.
Donna Seaman
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
