The Fire and the Rose: The Wedding of Spirituality and Sexuality [Paperback]

Bud Harris (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1888602422 | ISBN-13: 978-1888602425 | Publication Date: July 2007

"Bud Harris addresses the neurotic split between divinity and the body, between spirit and matter, and proffers a path of reconciliation and reclamation of sexuality as a vital link to a fuller expression of spirit. Full of personal confession, case examples and exercises, this work offers both theoretical and practical tips to personal and cultural healings." --James Hollis, Ph.D., Jungian analyst, author, Finding Meaning In The Second Half of Life

"I have read The Fire and the Rose three times now and find something fresh and necessary to my life in each reading. Dr. Harris is generous with his personal history, widely read, and deeply involved in the human journey. He is a healer in words and stories." --Gail Godwin, Ph.D., novelist, author of Father Melancholy's Daughter and Glass People

"When life becomes stagnant and congealed, most often sexuality brings a new crisis fraught with the high cost and great promise of the fire of the numinous. The desire that seems to be wrecking our lives may well be the Self-awakening us to Soul and the Divine.... The choice, Harris proposes, is dead soul, addiction, or discovering those questions that keep us alive and thirsty." --Rev. Dr. Bill Dols, creator and editor of The Bible Workbench and coauthor, Finding Jesus, Discovering Self: Passages to Healing and Wholeness

"A deeply soulful book written from the heart, filled with wisdom, intimate personal sharing, challenging questions, and insights into the wonders and mysteries of sexuality and spirituality. This book is significant for all of us, and a timely resource for psychotherapists and spiritual directors....I can't wait to share this book with others, especially my clients." --Gail Vaughn Rogers, M.A., psychotherapist

"[Bud Harris] invites the reader to meander in the labyrinth of the Self and there to engage with one's particular monster. His wise counsel, to live the paradox of freedom through honest engagement with the shadow, is the Ariadne thread of a mature anima...." --John Beebe, MD, Jungian analyst, author, Integrity in Depth

"Bud Harris sees spirituality as the driving force that moves us into a life connected to something greater than ourselves, and desire as awakening of the soul, ridding us of fear, and nourishing us during our lifelong journey of `becoming.' ... He suggests solutions: to journal, to record dreams, and to understand metaphor in religion, literature, and myth as a source of wisdom. He challenges us to create joyful, passionate, and meaningful lives." --Charlotte Mathes, PhD, Jungian analyst, author, And a Sword Shall Pierce Your Heart

"Dr. Bud Harris explores with humility and wisdom the tension spirituality and sexuality brings to individuals, couples and societies.... He has added points of discussion at the end of several chapters as well as helpful guidelines in dealing with dreams.... I highly recommend this book." --Tess Castleman, MA, LPC, Jungian analyst, author, Threads, Knots, Tapestries

Our encounters with love, spirituality, and sexuality play a major role in shaping who we are. These powerful aspects of our lives are woven into the pattern that forms our potential for wholeness. Through growing consciousness, sexuality and spirituality can support our efforts to live more passionately and to understand love in all of its forms. In this stimulating and inspiring book, Jungian analyst Bud Harris, Ph.D., challenges us to reconsider our views of spirituality and sexuality as opposites and bring them into harmony and creativity. Together, we can heal one of our culture's great wounds of the soul.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bud Harris began learning about Jungian psychology when he joined a Centerpoint group during the early 1970s. In the pursuit of his path, he and a number of others founded the C.G. Jung Society of Atlanta. Later, he went to Zurich, where he trained as a Jungian analyst. Since 1989, he has been in private practice in Asheville, North Carolina. He is the author of Sacred Selfishness: A Guide to Living a Life of Substance and The Father Quest: Rediscovering an Elemental Psychic Force, as well as the coauthor of Like Gold Through Fire: Understanding the Transforming Power of Suffering.

Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Chiron Publications (July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888602422
• ISBN-13: 978-1888602425
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,718,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bud Harris defines himself as a husband, a father, grandfather, psychologist and Jungian analyst. Early in his life he earned a bachelor's degree in management from Georgia Tech in Atlanta Georgia. After Tech, Bud became a businessman and then owned his own business which he operated successfully. However, in spite of his achievements, he found his life in the cul-de-sac that he explains in his book Sacred Selfishness.

Following a period of dissatisfaction and searching, he returned to school to change careers and eventually earned his Ph.D. in psychology.

After becoming a psychotherapist and psychologist, he experienced the call to further his growth by becoming a Jungian analyst. Bud moved to Zürich, Switzerland where he trained for over five years until he became a diplomate Jungian analyst. Bud explains that "In many ways my educational odyssey has been a reflection of the transformational pattern of my life." Bud notes that writing Sacred Selfishness (his fourth book) was a labor of love. He says, "Jungian work becomes the path of a authentic life, a life that is fulfilling, passionate and full of love. And this journey is fueled by self-knowledge and awareness. This is the path that healed and
transformed my life."

"I also wanted to write the book I wish someone had written when I was struggling in my early thirties or at midlife. By this I mean a book for everyone that isn't loaded with professional jargon. While I love the books by Jung and other depth psychologists, I found them difficult until I became schooled in the field."

Bud and his wife met while they were both training to be analysts in Zürich and they have co-authored two books. Massimilla was born and grew up in Verona Italy. Originally, she went to business school herself. In her late twenties she returned to the University of Padova where she earned her Ph.D. in psychology and became a practicing psychologist. Like Bud, she reports that the call of her destiny took her to Zürich to pursue her growth.

The book that Massimilla and Bud co-authored, Like Gold Through Fire, originated as her thesis at the Jung Institute in Switzerland. Massimilla reports that the theme of this book, the transforming power of suffering, was revealed to her in a series of dreams that were so powerful that she initially wondered if she was going to die. But after carefully working with the dreams she realized that they were leading her into a course of study and a deeper understanding of the nature of suffering and its place in human life and growth.

Bud and Massimilla both live and practice in Asheville, North Carolina. They have lectured widely and continue to write.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A journey to discovery and spiritual transformation, January 20, 2008

By 

Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fire and the Rose: The Wedding of Spirituality and Sexuality (Paperback)

Jungian analyst Bud Harris's fifth book focus on the intersection of spirituality and sexuality -- two forces which are often viewed as opposites. Harris encourages a harmonious marriage of the two, leading to consciousness expansion, the discovery of the true self, and spiritual transformation.

The Fire and the Rose is a four-part work reminiscent of a journey. In I. "The Power of Desire," Harris describes our thirst for spirituality, which is often not met by rigid, mainstream religion. The author teaches the reader to know thyself in Part II. "The Depth of the Soul," and then expounds upon the societal benefits of self-knowledge in Part III, "Transforming Lead into Gold." The conclusion of the journey, "The Wedding of Spirituality and Sexuality," demonstrates how all of life's energies can become grounded and magnified.

The text draws on mythologuy, history, psychological research, and anecdotal experience to describe the union of spirituality and sexuality. The appendix includes practical advice for journaling, listening to others, reflecting, and questioning. Includes an index and bibliography.