Customer Reviews

Conscious Love: Insights from Mystical Christianity

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I nearly used up a full highlighter reading Conscious Love. It's a really fine discussion of love in its various aspects and guises from infancy to maturity, from sexuality to sagehood, from self-love to Self-love, from egoic desire to self-transcendent or conscious love. For me, just about every page has an important insight or a thoughtful connection between topics which I'd not considered before as being connected. Sentence after sentence grabbed me as insightful, even stunning. It is also very well written. Smoley's narrative style is just plain engaging, with phrasing and constructions which gratify the literary sensibilities and the poet's inner eye. When I finished reading the book, I found myself thinking, "Damn, I wish I'd written that!"

Richard Smoley is an expert on the esoteric traditions of mystical Christianity. In this book he examines our traditional view of love and delves into the wisdom of noted thinkers in literature, art, philosophy, sociology, cultural criticism and even neurology.

Amongst the world's religious traditions, Christianity has a distinctive focus on love. Even non-Christians will remember the famous words written in the New Testament quoting Jesus enjoining us all to "love one another." It is the very heart of Christian teachings to love God and our neighbour. Whilst it is clear that love has existed for as long as the human race itself, it was Christ who posited this mysterious force as the centre of fully conscious human experience. Yet exactly what conscious love means and what it requires of us, is not altogether clear, even to Christians, and some might say, especially to Christians.

In Conscious Love, a full understandingrequires exploration of the deepest teachings of Christian mystery which points to an endless source of unconditional love at the heart of the universe. Of course, one of the greatest misunderstandings of love comes via sexual interaction. We often refer to the sex act as "making love" when in fact the experience does not necessarily enhance or engender love. Richard Smoley explores the sexual evidence from early Christian practice and from tantra exercises which are based on raising sexual energy from the genitals to the heart.

Any person seriously pursuing the goal of spiritual enlightenment must surely realise that all experiences of fear, restriction, and negativity must be replaced with love. Yet, perhaps paradoxically, if we continue to view love as a mechanical, or sexual, or obligatory, we become blind to conscious love.

In his well written book, Richard Smoley deftly takes the reader along the many pathways to love, examines the tempting detours and finally outlines the only true path. In so doing, he deepens our own capacity to love and be loved. Conscious Love is wise, provocative and deeply informing on humanity's stickiest and yet overwhelming emotion, but the reader must be warned --- it will make your examine all your relationships! Perhaps you will discover that you have never truly loved or been loved, and that can be pretty confrontational. Be prepared to be shocked but also be prepared to see the real pathway revealed at last

Received this book ahead of schedule, in great condition. I would but from this vendor again.