In years past, tantric spirituality was generally dismissed in the West as kinky sex or denigrated as an insidious come-on used by fake gurus to seduce naive devotees. Recently, however, the 3000-year-old Indian science of generating powerful sexual energies and transforming them into heightened states of consciousness has moved toward the center of the self-help/spirituality movement. In a practical guide that applies tantric skills to ordinary life, Anand (The Art of Sexual Ecstasy) presents a program designed to achieve "everyday ecstasy" outside the context of sexual activity. "The way we live our sexuality is a metaphor for the way we live our life," she writes. "Intimacy, opening the heart, visualizing, focusing, letting go of the mind, being fully present, loving self and others, and moving beyond fears are, in fact, the essential skills of life." Offering a wide variety of rituals and contemplative exercises that have been adapted for daily practice, she shows how their use in conjunction with regular observation of the seven chakras, or energy centers in the body, will help track the transforamtion of energy as it moves through the body and will enhance one's experience of those energies. History and myth, testimonies of practitioners and quotes from both ancient and modern spiritual masters help ground her teaching in classic tantric Buddhism. This fresh and accessible guide to relating sexuality to the spirit is a welcome addition to the self-help bookshelf.

from Publishers Weekly, May 18, 1998