Customer Reviews

Taoist Secrets of Love: Cultivating Male Sexual Energy

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When I was fourteen, my father sent me Taoist Secrets of Love. I started to use some techniques, including the microcosmic orbit. At the age of nineteen, I had to start using anti-psychotic medicine. When I was twenty-six I discovered that the microcosmic orbit necessifies precautions and can otherwise lead to dangerous side-effects such as hallucinations. I stopped using the techniques. In the following year I was able to function better socially and could use half the usual dose of the anti-psychotic medicine. However, I had been achieving well intellectually for all those years, and in the year without the techniques those abilities became weaker. Now I am starting over by following every precaution mentioned in Awaken Healing Energy of the Tao when using the microcosmic orbit. I expect the prospect of sanity in addition to the usual good intellectual functioning. Mantak Chias summary of the microcosmic orbit in Taoist Secrets of Love is careless, because it implies that there are no side-effects and no precautions to be taken. Be aware that you must read Awaken Healing Energy of the Tao if you want to use the microcosmic orbit safely.

He's done it again. In Taoist Ways to Transform Stress into Vitality as well as in this book, Mantak forgets the extremely important collection of energy at the navel after doing the microcosmic orbit. In both books, he summarizes the orbit sloppily, as if all that is needed is to let the energy flow from the eyes, down the body and up to the head. If the energy is not collected at the navel, it can damage your mind or your organs. If anyone wants to do the microcosmic orbit, read the book devoted to it: Awaken Healing Energy Through Tao, which describes the dangers and the precautions and lots more. It's a minor investment that can save you lots of trouble.

Mantak Chia is a master who gives detailed descriptions of the how-to of moving sexual energy. The methods he proposes are very disciplined and therefore work best for people who like structure and have lots of patience and self-motivation. This book is also good for individuals not in relationship, because so much of the work is done on one's own. Because Chia's work derives from the Taoist tradition (as opposed to Tantric), there is more emphasis on the physical and practical than the mystical and emotional aspects of the work.

In some ways Chia's earlier work (including this book) is purer than his more recent volumes. This book's extensive background about sacred sexuality makes it especially worthwhile for interested readers.

Although I think Chia's emphasis on forcing the chi with performance-oriented techniques, such as teeth and buttock clenching, counting and so on, is not as effective as a less-driven, approach based on more mutual affection, I still heartily recommend this book. It can genuinely helps readers accept the potential hidden in their sexual unions.

Before sexual tantra became popular, Mantak Chia was teaching people how to spiritualize their sexual relationships with this book. It it an excellent resource for anyone wanting to transform sexual activity into spritual practice as well as to overcome archaic, negative views about sexualilty.

The main problem with this book is that the idea of chi is presented in such a low-brow Western terminology that the concept nearly lost. References to "Tongue Kung Fu". "Air" and the Cranial "Pump" tend to deflate and demystify the spiritual ideology. Literal english translations or even the retention of his own native language would have showed more respect for the subject.

Chia's teachings of meditation seem accurate enough but make one fatal flaw. The whole book - all of the various levels of the energy transference exercises - lead to or stem from the Microcosmic Orbit. Through out the book, Chia states that energy moves from the sexual region, up through the body and is stored in the head.

Why would he say that and then state in one of his other books, Awaken Healing Energy of the Tao, that proper storage of this energy, after moving through the head, should be in the navel. Anyone familiar with t'ai chi knows that the navel is the center point to all of your body's energy. To store such energies in the head can lead to insanity. Very irresponsible on his part.

At the end of the book, I suppose in an effort to cover all bases, everything from the pubococcygeal muscle to refexology gets a paragraph or two. Needless to say that several Chia's notions on tangible sexual issues could use a bit more research. For example, Chia makes reference to how ingesting semen "is at least as rational as buying vitamins" as it is a "treasure house" of vitamins and minerals. Anyone worth his salt knows that it only contains trace elements.

That statement alone makes me question just how accurate the rest of the book is. (Chia, of course, doesn't condone this sort of behavior, for you see, according to him, loss of this fluid can lead to baldness and premature death - hence the books whole stand point of retention and recirculating the energy contained within to other vital areas of the body.)

Where Chia really lost me, however, is when he suggested that women practicing exercises in this book "should keep [their] panties on to prevent any chi from draining out."

The techniques described in this book are not something to play around with. If someone seriously attempts to follow these practices, there is the real possibility of becoming severely, phsycologically unbalanced. These practices are meant to serve a purpose, but the author of this book NEVER mentions that purpose. Without a use for the 'cultivated energy', energy levels WILL build up to dangerously high levels. Be warned.

Mantak Chia is always comprehensive and detail in his approach, and has the good intention to keep (his version of) Taoist yoga practice alive and, hopefully, prosper. His sex-related books actually are selling better than his other chi-kung (and internal martial arts) or meditation books, probably there are more people in the west looking for multiple-orgasm than good health (both mental and physical) and high-level Taoist enlightenment towards psyche immortality. Or is it the case that his more sex-related books actually have been driving away people seeking advice on the other subjects? If the latter is more true, then that would be a pity, because his chi-kung (and internal martial arts) knowledge is excellent (probably one of the very best), his meditative approach is very good too, though sometimes, for Mantak's want of completeness, the presentation itself will likely to unduly complicate the practice.

My advice: folks, don't be scared away by Matak's (over) insistence on practicing sex-alchemy as an essential part for his other practices. If you have no intention to complicate your sexual bahavior, go directly to Matak's other practices (and enjoy sex as usual).

Back to main topic, concerning Matak's Taoist approach to sex. Suffice to say, it is NOT the mainstream sex approach in Taoist Yoga. Dual-practice is a side (esoteric even by mainstream Taoism, with or without using sexual energy/libido as stimulus) practice. And there are indeed two streams of Dual-practice, the more common dual-practice is a practice of meditation using a younger partner (applicable to middle-age and up male and female, for the purpose of a psyche stimulation of the libido), and practice with intercourse is the most esoteric version. So folks, I believe Mantak must have some good stuffs, but practice and know where you stand in Taoist tradition.

There is in fact an important book available in the west that use sexual energy (or to use a more appropriate term, libido) as stimulus to promote ching Chi that is to be practiced in solo, using deep and pure meditation as an inducement. I was told that is a very time consuming way of practice, and probably that's way few people nowadays use this more mainstream approach, except some who have devoted their lives to practice and preach the stuff as a religion. By the way, the book I mentioned is Taoist Yoga: Alchemy & Immortality translated by Charles Luk (principally a leading Buddhist practitioner by profession).

Sex has unlimited potential. Chia's sensible exercises point the direction toward sexual enjoyment, health and general well being. He does it in an easy to read way. At 51 years I've become multiorgasm. Have fun.

This book explains how we as humans nave not been using our full potential when making love. This is not a sex manual by any means, although we will have a better understanding of what love is. Your partner will thank you only after you thank yourself. A must read for every man and woman.