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The Spirituality of Sex
J. Harold Ellens
ISBN: 0-313-36261-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-36261-3
185 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 3/20/2009
List Price: $39.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • "The Spirituality of Sex is not a how-to manual so much as a description of the deep meaningfulness that can be found in the spirituality of sex. It is designed to enlighten us about ourselves, to give names to what we feel all the time and do not know quite how to describe. It is about savoring the spiritual flavor of sexual play and sexual union. It is not a book mainly for Christians or Jews, but a book for everyone. It is about the generic human spirituality in each one of us, true believer and atheist alike. It is about being human more fully and with greater satisfaction."
    —SirReadaLot.org     8/1/2009
  • "Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers."
    —CHOICE     9/1/2009
Description: This book describes the psychospiritual facts of life about the pervasiveness of sexuality in all aspects of human life. The energy developed by our libido is the dynamic source of all the forces that shape our experience, life, motives, thought, feelings, desires, and spiritual longings. No facet of life is untouched or unshaped by this dynamo. Whether we are sitting in church at worship, in a meeting for business, in a party for pleasure, we are always aware of the gender of those who are around us and of their level of sensuality, as it impacts us. If we are not aware of that, some wounding has produced an impairment in us that has forced us to repress the awareness inappropriately. This work is not a how to manual so much as a description of the deep meaningfulness that can be found in the spirituality of sex. It is designed to enlighten us about ourselves, to give names to what we all feel all the time and do not know quite how to describe. It is about savoring the spiritual flavor of sexual play and sexual union. This is a book for everyone, from the inquiring adolescent to the mature adult looking for what is missing in sex and relationships. This is not a book mainly for Christians or Jews. It is about the generic human spirituality in every one of us, true believer and atheist alike. It is about being human more fully and with greater satisfaction.

Human spirituality is best defined as our irrepressible hunger and quest for meaning in all aspects of life. Human sexuality is best defined as our irrepressible hunger and quest for union with other persons and the meaning of life found in the wholeness that such union brings. Sexuality and spirituality are not two different things. They are two names for the same thing: the irrepressible human quest for meaning, fulfillment, union, and wholeness. They are not two different forces, nor are they in any way at odds with one another, as they have been made to seem in the polarizing attitudes about sexuality and spirituality popular in human society, thanks to the excessive and negative moralization of sex. Here, Ellens sheds new light on the interplay of sexuality and spirituality through the use of anecdotes, observation, and thoughtful analysis.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
    Foreword
    Chapter One: Spirituality as Quest for Meaningful Fulfillment.
    Chapter Two: Daily Life as Sexual Spirituality.
    Chapter Three: The Spirituality of Wooing and Courting.
    Chapter Four: The Reach for Meaningful Connection, Human Lover and Loving God.
    Chapter Five: The Psychospirituality of Communion, Union, Ecstasy, and Eternity.
    Chapter Six: Spirituality as Being Really Intimately Present to Another Person.
    Chapter Seven: Orgasm as Spiritual Experience.
    Chapter Eight: Tenderness: The Continued Cherishing.
    Chapter Nine: The Healing Power of Sensuality and Sexual Play.
    Chapter Ten: Summing Up: Sexuality as a Spiritual Way of Life.
    Notes
    Bibliography
    Series Editor's Afterword
About the Author: J. Harold Ellens is a Pastoral Theologian Emeritus, Professor of Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins Emeritus, a Psychotherapist in Private Practice, and a Chaplain (Colonel) US Army, Retired. He is the author, co-author, or editor of 175 books and 167 professional journal articles on the interace of psychology and spirituality.
PDF Catalogs:
Praeger Public Library Spring 2009.pdf
Academic Library Spring 2009.pdf
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