Review: East Meets West in a Good Book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 18, 2012
For the most part, people in our society have, at some point in their lives, been able to experience sexual desire for another person. And at some point in their lives, those selfsame people have (hopefully) been able to experience a very satisfying, emotionally-charged, mind-bending orgasm---the kind that leaves you gasping for breath, laughing out loud, snuggling in closer to your pillow and/or your partner, and smiling with happiness whenever the thought of it is conjured up in your head.Such an experience is but one building block of lifelong experiences we encounter within our humanity. And it is precisely this larger extrapolation of the unique human experience that does not allow ourselves to ever be truly divorced from other similar aspects in our life journey---love, death, mourning, triumph, fear, friendship, birth, anger, war, laughter, and countless other aspects of the human condition.Stephen Williams alludes to this concept in "Tantric Sex." Williams ascribes in its pages the importance of connecting sex to more than just the orgasm---he asserts that simply going from Point A to Point B does not even begin to measure the full experience to be had.The term "tantric" is an old one, originating in India within the Sanskrit alphabet to mean theory, principle, or doctrine. For many spritualists throughout the Indian subcontinent, the entire universe was interrelated with itself---meaning that all action (and inaction) was inseperable from the larger universe, which later evolved into Hinduistic thought and belief. The contrast is seen in the West, with its emphasis upon spiritual dichotomy, e.g. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and subsequent further compartmentalization of distinct ideas---mind/body; sex/love; emotion/reason, etc.---into conventionally acceptable philosophical systems.Tantric sex involves more than just foreplay, intercourse, and falling asleep when done. It involves actively fulfilling a larger role outside of the bedroom: it means getting to truly know and experience not only your partner's likes, dislikes, fears, feelings, and goals, but also knowing how those selfsame attributes apply to you. Being able to break down the psychological walls that segregate our daily routines involve redefining what it means to be "normal," and allows two people to communicate on a deeper, more profound level when making love. Consequently, the emotional and psychological ties between both partners are strengthened as a result of all this reconfiguration.The results, according to Williams, are noticeable: "People who are very well satisfied in bed exude positive energies to almost anyone and anything they come across...(a)s an effect, better things are bound to happen to them day by day...(because) of the happy disposition they have" (ch. 1). Additionally, "(i)t (was) considered a vital part of rituals to keep a healthy mind and body" (1). In recent years, the medical establishment and other health professionals have colluded with psychologists to incorporate Eastern lifestyles and philosophy into their modus operandi, and have encouraged their patients to educate themselves in similar fashion, so as to promote better cumulative, long-term health."Tantric Sex" does follow a similar path as the Kama Sutra; both writings and accompanying illustrations do much to enhance both the individual's and the group's quality of life---an approach that is invaluable and indispensable within Williams's book.