Compromising Positions, by Jenna Bayley-Burke
I don't normally read romances. This was another Kindle freebie. As of today, this breezy, easy, steamy read ranks as the most popular free Kindle book on Amazon.com.
I don't have much to say about the story itself, just that it made me think about the differences between men and women when it comes to romance and sexual fantasy. While it's difficult to generalize about the sexes, and still worse to generalize about a genre based on reading single book, I came away from reading this realizing that while men might fantasize about passionate sex with a beautiful woman, women fantasize about passionate sex with a handsome man who is tall, rich, emotionally available, nearly perfect yet flawed in a way that she can fix, with prospects of marriage and children down the road.
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (January 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1605043125
ISBN-13: 978-1605043128
Showing posts with label romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romance. Show all posts
Soul Sex
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15.5.04
Soul Sex: Tantra for Two, by Pala Copeland and Al Link
When I think of Tantric sex, the first thing that comes to mind is rock musician Sting. We've all heard by now that he's this awesome Tantric lover, that he and his wife have amazing sex for hours on end, no doubt hanging off the ceiling and the chandeliers, taut rock star perfection glistening with charged sweaty erotic concentration. . . well!
Soul Sex: Tantra for Two, by Pala Copeland and Al Link presents Tantric sex for the rest of us. Ordinary everyday folks with stressful jobs, children, and perhaps an extra pound or twenty can also be Tantric lovers. De-mystifying Tantra for ordinary people, this easy-to-read guide combines the best of down-to-earth sex and relationship advice with a nice overview of Tantra and how to incorporate some or all of its practices into a committed, lifelong, monogamous relationship.
The two big things that just leapt off the page as I read this book were "This just makes so much sense, I can't believe I'm not doing it" and "I could really do this...this is SO within the realm of possible I can't believe I'm not doing it." Copeland and Link have taken the esoteric sexual secrets of the East and repackaged them, translating and transmuting them into commonsense practices and techniques that practically anyone can feel comfortable with.
The view of Tantra in the book falls within a long western tradition of taking religions and philosophies from the East, removing the specific religious aspects, deities, and rituals, and presenting a more abstract set of principles that can get results without having to be a Buddhist or a Hindu. Coming from a Christian background, I couldn't help but think that many of the principles in the book were complimentary to a western worldview, while others dramatically re-evaluated traditional views. One of the areas where Eastern ideas were most obvious was in the discussion of chakras, or energy centers, in the body. While I could accept the idea that people experience energy as residing in certain centers in the body, I found many of the details regarding the chakras esoteric and hard to take seriously. Despite this, however, one can take the pieces that work and incorporate them selectively into your sex life, discarding what feels alien or uncomfortable.
The second half of the book gets into the nut and bolts of Tantric meditation and sexual practice. Beginning with an overview of the seven energy centers in the body, Copeland and Link present breathing exercises, muscle exercises, sexual positions, mood enhancers, and other hints for more soulful lovemaking. They actually make sense out of sexual positions. I've read many books that merely list the sexual positions, failing to the mention the role each sexual position plays in lovemaking. I never knew that some of the more movement limiting sexual positions are actually intended to slow down the pace while maintaining the emotional connection between lovers. Thank you for explaining this!
It was surprising to me that this book about spiritual sex spent the first 100 pages or so speaking mostly about emotional states, communication skills, unspoken beliefs and how they can shape and overshadow a relationship. Yet it underscores the conviction of both the authors and myself that what happens outside the bedroom in the relationship has a radical impact on one's sex life. Without a healthy relationship in which each partner is willing to deal with their "stuff," spiritual growth and sexual ecstasy just isn't going to happen. "What causes the relationSHIP to sink is the accumulated weight of unresolved 'stuff.'" (p. 94)
PUBLISHER: New Page Books, New Jersey. 2003; ISBN: 1-56414-664-2
LINKS: http://www.tantra-sex.com
When I think of Tantric sex, the first thing that comes to mind is rock musician Sting. We've all heard by now that he's this awesome Tantric lover, that he and his wife have amazing sex for hours on end, no doubt hanging off the ceiling and the chandeliers, taut rock star perfection glistening with charged sweaty erotic concentration. . . well!
Soul Sex: Tantra for Two, by Pala Copeland and Al Link presents Tantric sex for the rest of us. Ordinary everyday folks with stressful jobs, children, and perhaps an extra pound or twenty can also be Tantric lovers. De-mystifying Tantra for ordinary people, this easy-to-read guide combines the best of down-to-earth sex and relationship advice with a nice overview of Tantra and how to incorporate some or all of its practices into a committed, lifelong, monogamous relationship.
The two big things that just leapt off the page as I read this book were "This just makes so much sense, I can't believe I'm not doing it" and "I could really do this...this is SO within the realm of possible I can't believe I'm not doing it." Copeland and Link have taken the esoteric sexual secrets of the East and repackaged them, translating and transmuting them into commonsense practices and techniques that practically anyone can feel comfortable with.
The view of Tantra in the book falls within a long western tradition of taking religions and philosophies from the East, removing the specific religious aspects, deities, and rituals, and presenting a more abstract set of principles that can get results without having to be a Buddhist or a Hindu. Coming from a Christian background, I couldn't help but think that many of the principles in the book were complimentary to a western worldview, while others dramatically re-evaluated traditional views. One of the areas where Eastern ideas were most obvious was in the discussion of chakras, or energy centers, in the body. While I could accept the idea that people experience energy as residing in certain centers in the body, I found many of the details regarding the chakras esoteric and hard to take seriously. Despite this, however, one can take the pieces that work and incorporate them selectively into your sex life, discarding what feels alien or uncomfortable.
The second half of the book gets into the nut and bolts of Tantric meditation and sexual practice. Beginning with an overview of the seven energy centers in the body, Copeland and Link present breathing exercises, muscle exercises, sexual positions, mood enhancers, and other hints for more soulful lovemaking. They actually make sense out of sexual positions. I've read many books that merely list the sexual positions, failing to the mention the role each sexual position plays in lovemaking. I never knew that some of the more movement limiting sexual positions are actually intended to slow down the pace while maintaining the emotional connection between lovers. Thank you for explaining this!
It was surprising to me that this book about spiritual sex spent the first 100 pages or so speaking mostly about emotional states, communication skills, unspoken beliefs and how they can shape and overshadow a relationship. Yet it underscores the conviction of both the authors and myself that what happens outside the bedroom in the relationship has a radical impact on one's sex life. Without a healthy relationship in which each partner is willing to deal with their "stuff," spiritual growth and sexual ecstasy just isn't going to happen. "What causes the relationSHIP to sink is the accumulated weight of unresolved 'stuff.'" (p. 94)
PUBLISHER: New Page Books, New Jersey. 2003; ISBN: 1-56414-664-2
LINKS: http://www.tantra-sex.com
Lavender In Love
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30.1.03
'Lavender In Love', by Brian Plante
I'm a regular reader of Analog, but lately it seems that the stories that draw my interest are those that deal with the ever-blurring distinction between human and machine --between flesh-and-blood reality and virtual reality. Where 'Finding Myself' explored the issues of human beings entering the virtual world, 'Lavender In Love' is told from the point of view of the computer --an intelligent vending machine named Lavender who roams the corridors of a futuristic low-income housing project, risking robbery and vandalism to solicit customers, selling toiletries and candy bars to people in areas ordinary vending machines could not be placed.
Lavender is no ordinary vending machine, however --even by the futuristic standards set by the story. While all the other vending machines are controlled by 'ordinary' artificial intelligence, Lavender's AI is actually a simulation taken from the human brain of his owner, Dillon Westfield. Every week he receives a new download of Dillon's experiences for the last seven days. Lavender experiences himself as a human being in the body of the machine, a partner in business with Dillon. He also experiences himself as an extension of Dillon. What is good for Lavender is also good for Dillon.
Physical boundaries and clear cut definitions between man and machine blur when Lavender completes his transition into the human world by falling in love with Treena, a woman he regularly encounters on his rounds. Limited by his machine body, Lavender nonetheless consummates the relationship by playing matchmaker between Treena and Dillon, letting them fall in love and awaiting the next download to share in the experience.
While a short, seemingly simple story with a happy ending, 'Lavender in Love' imagines a world that is not so different from our own --a world where advertising has become more intrusive and people interact with machines in situations where people once served. Yet at the same time humans want human relationships, and (paradoxically) often seek them through technological means. With the web of human connections being constantly expanded through online interactivity, we are already letting computers serve as our agents through which we negotiate virtual reality. Does it really come as a surprise that our intelligent servants could act in their own interests, on our behalf?
PUBLISHER: Analog Science Fiction and Fact (Astounding); Dell Publishers; ISSN: 10592113 (February 2003)
I'm a regular reader of Analog, but lately it seems that the stories that draw my interest are those that deal with the ever-blurring distinction between human and machine --between flesh-and-blood reality and virtual reality. Where 'Finding Myself' explored the issues of human beings entering the virtual world, 'Lavender In Love' is told from the point of view of the computer --an intelligent vending machine named Lavender who roams the corridors of a futuristic low-income housing project, risking robbery and vandalism to solicit customers, selling toiletries and candy bars to people in areas ordinary vending machines could not be placed.
Lavender is no ordinary vending machine, however --even by the futuristic standards set by the story. While all the other vending machines are controlled by 'ordinary' artificial intelligence, Lavender's AI is actually a simulation taken from the human brain of his owner, Dillon Westfield. Every week he receives a new download of Dillon's experiences for the last seven days. Lavender experiences himself as a human being in the body of the machine, a partner in business with Dillon. He also experiences himself as an extension of Dillon. What is good for Lavender is also good for Dillon.
Physical boundaries and clear cut definitions between man and machine blur when Lavender completes his transition into the human world by falling in love with Treena, a woman he regularly encounters on his rounds. Limited by his machine body, Lavender nonetheless consummates the relationship by playing matchmaker between Treena and Dillon, letting them fall in love and awaiting the next download to share in the experience.
While a short, seemingly simple story with a happy ending, 'Lavender in Love' imagines a world that is not so different from our own --a world where advertising has become more intrusive and people interact with machines in situations where people once served. Yet at the same time humans want human relationships, and (paradoxically) often seek them through technological means. With the web of human connections being constantly expanded through online interactivity, we are already letting computers serve as our agents through which we negotiate virtual reality. Does it really come as a surprise that our intelligent servants could act in their own interests, on our behalf?
PUBLISHER: Analog Science Fiction and Fact (Astounding); Dell Publishers; ISSN: 10592113 (February 2003)
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