The Read Thread

I recently finished a book that likely counts as an introduction to the topic, more than a deep resource on any specific aspect of Sacred Sexuality:

The Red Thread of Passion: "Spirituality and the Paradox of Sex", by David Guy; a survey of individuals who have developed their own philosophy regarding sex and spirituality. As someone beginning my formal study of these issues, I found his broad tastes, unfettered curiousity and tales of personal search valuable. He shares of himself, and he's found individuals who have shared of themselves as well. This is often personal work (how could sexuality and spirituality not be?) and he has found engaging people and portrayed them in a balanced fashion.

The people include Carol Queen (of the Center for Sex and Culture), Walt Whitman, DH Lawrence, Alan Watts, Marco Vassi, Juliet Carr, Joseph Kramer, Collin Brown and Selah Martha. Buddhists, Tantrists, San Franciscans, Jesuits, the reckless and the chaste. It's a good range of people who have lived their words and their beliefs.

Someone who has spent more time studying these issues might find Guy's approach simplistic, his profiles reductive. But I believe that is his task: to approach Sacred Sexuality with wide eyes. I think he does that in an honorable and appreciable fashion. I especially enjoy his using Ikkyu poems - I've often felt that zen poet is one of my best guides through much of this.

Here's an Amazon.com link to The Red Thread, by David Guy, and a somewhat lengthy review from John R. Ballew.