David Deida is known internationally for his transformative work in the area of men's and women's spiritual growth. In this frank and incisive book, he notes at the outset: "You can open to God through sex. By learning to open your heart and body while embracing and trusting all energies, from rough ravishment to sublime gentleness, you can open to be lived by the mystery that lives the entire universe."
Deida believes that sexuality is very different for men and women. Each chapter opens with a sexual vignette followed by practical suggestions for men and women to deal with their energies, moods, attractions, compulsions, etc. According to the author, the masculine desire for freedom and the feminine desire for love are two paths to "one spiritual bliss."
Along the way men and women are challenged to come to terms with surrender ("the doorway to the deepest possible sex"), letting go into ecstasy, unguarding your deepest heart, loving beyond neediness and separation, and understanding spiritual lust and sexy humor.
The author believes that true communion in an intimate relationship is the result of feeling your own sensations fully, feeling into your lover's sensations fully, and feeling through your lover into the divine. Although great sex remains a holy grail for many couples, there are still those who resist "the infiltration of divine love."
Deida explores the feminine desire for the fullness of love and the masculine yearning for the freedom of emptiness. The reticence of one and the consciousness of the other can be the gateways to spiritual growth. Deida concludes this excellent guidebook with this advice: "Practice communing with the divine through the physical form of your lover. Actually feel your lover's form to be a divine body of love."