Sexual Secrets: The Alchemy of Ecstasy [Hardcover]

Nik Douglas (Author), Penny Slinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1979

"Sexual Secrets" is the definitive and all-encompassing guide to sex and mysticism. No book of this magnitude has ever appeared on the subject. The distillation of more than two thousand years of practical techniques for enhancing sexual awareness and achieving the transcendental experience of unity, "Sexual Secrets" explores the path of love and mysticism, making accesible for the first time the sexual mysteries of the East.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A remarkably complete book stocked with the knowledge of esoteric Asian traditions, never before seen by Western eyes. Opulent cocktailable sexbiggies. -- The Village Voice

From the Back Cover

SEXUALITY

“Monumentally researched, comprehensively detailed, and profusely illustrated. . . . Sexual Secrets is a timely, well-rounded masterpiece. This reviewer’s reaction can be summed up in two words: BUY IT!”
--Yoga Journal

“A remarkably complete book stocked with the knowledge of esoteric Asian traditions never before seen by Western eyes.”
--The Village Voice

“For twenty years Sexual Secrets has been the spiritual person’s guide to celestial copulation. Flesh meets faith inside this book and each is the better for it.”
--ForeWord

“A massive compendium, furnishing just about everything you always wanted to know.”
--The Book Reader

“An intriguingly illustrated, thoroughly researched collage designed to enhance sexual consciousness.”
--New Age Magazine

With more than one million copies sold and translations in twenty languages, Sexual Secrets continues to be the definitive, all-encompassing text on sacred sexuality. The distillation of more than two thousand years of practical techniques for enhancing sexual awareness and achieving the transcendental experience of unity, Sexual Secrets explores the path of love and mysticism, making accessible the sexual mysteries of the East.

In India, Nepal, Tibet, China, and Japan, sexuality has long been regarded as both an art and a science worthy of detailed study and practice. Virtually unknown to the Western world, a vast and potent body of ancient sacred writings on sexuality exists. The secrets for consciously inducing and maximizing the experience of ecstasy have remained sealed in the ancient texts and art of the East. Sexual Secrets makes available the essential core of this vast literature on sexual wisdom in a vital and practical form. It is meant to be experienced as well as read, for it is the sharing of ecstatic love that unlocks the sexual secrets.

THE RICHEST COLLECTION OF EROTIC ART EVER ASSEMBLED
More than six hundred color and black-and-white paintings and illustrations have been created and collected to enhance the experience of the text and to unfold these sacred mysteries. The illustrations and paintings in Sexual Secrets are the most comprehensive and diverse collection of images expressing the erotic sentiment ever assembled. Two hundred different sexual postures are depicted, creating a complete illustrated Kama Sutra, Ananga Ranga, and the major Taoist love treatises. These works of art are unique in themselves and represent, as does the text, a gathering together of many streams, leading to the same source--the celebration of sacred sexuality. Sexual Secrets reveals the wisdom of the sages whose teachings on sexuality have stood the test of twenty centuries and, even today, show how physical love can become the pathway to liberation.

NIK DOUGLAS
Nik Douglas studied Oriental art, philosophy, medicine, and related sexual practices while living for eight years in the Himalayas. He studied with Indian physicians, adepts of Tantra, and Tibetan lamas, at the same time mastering Sanskrit and the Tibetan language. He has organized numerous exhibitions of Eastern art and is called upon by leading museums and private collectors to authenticate Oriental art and writings.

PENNY SLINGER
An honors graduate of the Chelsea College of Fine Arts, Penny Slinger is one of Europe’s leading erotic artists. Her work has been exhibited widely and hailed as “dynamic, progressive eroticism, an exploration of female sexuality.” Her illustrations for Sexual Secrets evoke and represent all the major cultures of the East and are inspired by centuries of artistic achievement. Working from life and from ancient images originally commissioned by kings and emperors, Slinger blends the images of the West with the sentiments of the East.

Sexual Secrets is the unique product of a journey of discovery. Its pages document how the sexual teachings of the East have remained, to this day, a key to understanding the alchemy of ecstasy. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions (June 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892810106
• ISBN-13: 978-0892810109
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,045,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poor Title, Awesome Book, March 27, 2006

By 

John W. Petersen "seventhson1" (Ft Collins, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sexual Secrets: Twentieth Anniversary Edition: The Alchemy of Ecstasy (Paperback)

I often laugh at all those articles in men's and women's fad magazines that promise to reveal new "sexual secrets". You know which ones I mean . . . "Become an Animal in Bed"; "9 Ways to Turn Him On"; "Keep Her Motor Humming"; "Sex Secrets Your Neighbors Won't Tell You"; "11 Erotic Uses for a Chicken Baster" . . . stuff like that. The list goes on and on, ad nauseum. Geared towards couples who have their obligatory sex two times a week for 30 minutes and need new, neat little sound-bite ideas to keep things from getting boring. All heavy on fancy shtick and paint-by-number techniques, light on any real depth or substance.

And so . . . I write this review to promise readers that, despite the poor choice of main title, this exceptional tome is not like that at all. "Secrets" here refers to holistic, ancient wisdom that celebrates the beauty and power of the sexual energy within all of us; sexual energy that permeates all of life. Thus the subtitle, "The Alchemy of Ecstacy", more accurately hits upon the truth. The word 'tantra' means 'interwoven'. The two authors have compiled a veritable bible of ancient tantric wisdom illuminating the interconnectedness of all things - an interconnectedness that has its most wonderful, powerful, and delicious expression in the sexual union between two people.

Think of this book as an encyclopedia of sacred sexuality, albeit one not in alphabetical order . . . and not sold by traveling, door-to-door salesmen, thank goodness. It is a guide to everyday living, but not from a dogmatic perspective. It is a grand expose of everything sexual. The authors provide explanations of yoga poses, stretching techniques, and breathing exercises (for instance, to summon that kundalini energy up the spine). They even have small sections devoted to food, water, clothing, massage, worship, and service to others. But it also probes (pardon the pun) the depths of the stories of Brahma the Creative, Shiva and Shakti, and Vishnu the Preserver. And of course, there are plenty of sexual positions and sensual poetry. With pictures! We like pictures!

The whole point is that, despite what organized religion would like us to think, we are sexual creatures and we should be celebrating that fact every day through our everyday activities. All of these things (eating, yoga, service, etc) ARE manifestations of our sexual energy - giving to and connecting with Life and with others. Cultivating that sexual energy (indeed, our very life-force energy and the energy that creates Universes . . . if you will allow my melodramatic flourish) is a constant, all-day thing. But not with the sole purpose of "getting some" or even "being a better lover". Instead, to connect with Source through sexual union and remember our Oneness. As the authors say in the Introduction, "It is for those who wish to use the sexual bond as a means to liberation and who desire to transcend the limits of the individual self."

This book helped start me down the path of tantra and sacred sexuality a few years ago. May I humbly recommend it to others who seek the same.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the heavily annotated Kama Sutra, October 9, 2001

By 

cmk (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sexual Secrets: Twentieth Anniversary Edition: The Alchemy of Ecstasy (Paperback)

This book came very highly recommended to me by a couple whose sexual bravado I respect. They went through all the positions, raving over each new plateau. So I got the book, of course. It was a good recommendation, but it requires patience to plow through some things that simply won't apply to you. If you have an erotic library or a lonely coffeetable, this book will not fail to do justice to either, but if you're looking for one definitive manual to begin with, look somewhere else. If you're looking for erotic art of eastern and Indian origin this is a good book to have, there's a voluminous sampling of it. The book is definitely better explored between lovers; it was written by lovers for that explicit purpose.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly engaging book, October 25, 2002

By 

"nicktuba" (East Haven, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sexual Secrets: Twentieth Anniversary Edition: The Alchemy of Ecstasy (Paperback)

I bought this book for a class I was taking in college on human sexuality. It definitely presents a different take on normal sexual practices. I hadn't heard of the kundalini, or even the chakras, and other sacred sexual beliefs until I read this book. The author is long-winded and detailed, but that's to the benefit of people like me who are novices to Eastern philosophy. I read this book at length, and after my class, I gave it to my girlfriend, and we've enjoyed reading about some of the more uncommon sexual techniques described in detail (here's one: for deeper penetration, place a pillow underneath your or your partner's body during intercourse). The author also talks about the sacred aspect of sex, and how it can enhance your connection with your partner. Although this book isn't for everybody, if you have an open mind and are willing to try new ideas, you might enjoy this book.