David Deida offers trainings around the world on spiritual growth and sacred intimacy. He is the author of Finding God Through Sex: A Spiritual Guide to Ecstatic Loving and Deep Passion for Men and Women and many other books and audio courses. In the introduction to this one, Lama Surya Das calls him "a bridge-builder between East and West, between ancient and modern wisdom traditions regarding this least understood of all spiritual teachings: the mystery of intimacy as a yoga of transformation, transcendence, and self-realization." In this engrossing work, Deida salutes the spiritual practice of openness. What does he mean by this term? "A life well lived embraces death by feeling open, from heart to all, in every moment. Wide open, you can offer without holding back, you can receive without pushing away. Wide open, heart to all, you are openness, unseparate from this entire open moment."

Living in the present moment is a major motif in Buddhist practice. Waiting around or anticipating the next best thing takes you away from what is happening in and around you right now. Reading this paperback, you will find yourself asking the following questions: Am I closed off or holding anything back in the presence of people, events, and different situations?

All suffering, according to Deida, emanates from our refusal to be open. He sees love as the gift we give to others. It even goes beyond that: "How would love wash a dish? While standing at the kitchen sink, breathing love in and out of your heart, feeling outward to the moment's open edge, how does your body rub the soapy energy across the surface of each plate? How do you give your open-heart truth to co-workers, even when you disagree with them? Should you smile, tell jokes, act efficient, touch them, or walk away and give them space? Day by day, practice unfolding love as you body's skillful offering, from your deep heart outward to the moment's open horizon."

Deida also sheds light on what openness can mean in intimate relationships, "the art and play of sexual gifting," and the emotions of anger, jealousy, fear, and lust.

Try a Spiritual Practice on Openness