Original and insightful, a fascinating read

This is simply a wonderful book that explores the parodoxes of human mating. It is well organized, easy to follow and contains a wealth of fascinating information.

Jack Morin centers his discussion around what he calls the "erotic equation." This is that attraction plus obstacles equals excitement. He then goes on to explain how lust and romantic love operate as well the dynamics of what he calls emotional aphrodisiacs. These are emotional states that could lead to the transformation of an emotion into sexual feelings. Some of these are obvious, but others such as anxiety or guilt are less obvious until you read Morin's detailed explantions.

I also think this book is useful for those who are trying to understand some the dynamics underlying infidelity. If you have interests along those lines, I also recommend "The Evolution of Desire" by David Buss and "Private Lies" by Frank Pittman.

Unfortunately, many of the other books I've found that deal with the erotic imagination or motivation for sexual behavior are sorely lacking in depth or treat the topic in an overly academic, clinical or arm's length manner. This book has a lot of meat and is written in a style that makes the concepts accessible to everyone, not just professionals working in this field.

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Everyone needs a copy

I loved this book. I thought some of my turn-ons and bedroom behaviors were strange....maybe even abnormal, but Dr. Morin opens new ways of approaching your own thoughts.

I found that the answers, for what I thought were strange behaviors, were inside of me the whole time, they just needed to be explored. Now I love myself even more for understanding myself in a much deeeper level.

If you have had even one sexual thought (that's everybody who is reading this)...you need a copy of this book. All sexual orientations, male and female alike, can find something in this book that will make you think that Dr. Morin is speaking directly to you.

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The Awakening of Desire and Secrets of Limerence

People whose sexuality has become a source of distress usually want to change. Yet the same conflicts the person hopes to resolve may also produce extraordinarily high levels of intensity. Consequently, those who suffer the most from their erotic patterns often feel the most compelled to repeat them. ~Jack Morin

Science meets sensuality in a revealing look at the way we actually respond versus how culture dictates sexual response. Jack Morin has devised a formula for excitement based on his surveys and professional studies. He takes on a wide range of topics, from the high points of sexual fulfillment to the challenges of overcoming addictions. Not only does he give you an excellent vocabulary so you can increase the value of self-talk, you acquire positive results through decreasing destructive repetitions.

Through Motivational Maps, he guides you from a place of unhealthy responses to a place where you can truly find the love you deserve and maintain a deepening closeness with your partner. Through each chapter you are introduced to the undercurrents that cause the surges in desire.

"Passionate couples are swept up in the intensity created by the dance of opposites." ~Jack Morin

The Erotic Mind is presented in three main sections:

Realms of Passion - A study of peak experiences, love depressions, keeping journals, idyllic fantasies, emotional connection, competing forces, mysteries of attraction, primitive energies, the ways of limerence, the balance of separation and closeness, longing, the naughtiness factor, shocking ourselves, emotional aphrodisiacs and core erotic themes.

Troublesome Turn-Ons - Self-esteem problems, antiaphrodisiacs, lust-love conflicts, compulsive behaviors, dissociation, motivational maps, self-affirmations, radical shifts in thinking, erotic scripts that wreak havoc, obsessive love and seven steps to sexual healing and personal growth.

Positively Erotic - How to keep passion alive, sexual cooling, how to deepen intimacy so you have higher comfort levels and minimal insecurity, practical ideas for long-term couples, cultivating a safe intimate bond to survive periods of conflict, privacy vs. secrecy, clarifying personal values, differentiating fantasy from action, adventures and signposts to erotic health.

"Erotically healthy people establish safe parameters within which to let themselves go." ~Jack Morin

What is normally hidden is revealed in a psychologist's world where honesty burst from the pen in page after page of client surveys. Behind closed doors, clients step into new territory as they awaken to their own healing through an understanding of how to renew passion

Through a "new consciousness of Eros," Jack Morin delves into the true reasons some couples are able to keep passion alive in long-term relationships, why longing for a unavailable lover can spark intense desire and why the most erotic moments in our lives are born of conflict. This book could encourage:

Being able to enjoy sex with the person you love
The solving of problems that have plagued you for years without resolution
A new understanding of the conflicting aspects of human sexuality
An understanding of the connection between erotic feelings and creativity
Why you might feel your desires changing over time
Balance and a healthy relationship where self-esteem can thrive
An understanding of why some relationships survive the tests of time
The facing of the shadow self
The taking of lots of cold showers or the finding of the person
you love to test out the theories
The desire to eat chocolate or cinnamon sugar doughnuts

I initially sat down to read this book not realizing that by the time I had arrived at page 78, I would then start to read this again with a pen in hand. I then read from page one, underlining about two or three sentences on each page. The information on "peak experiences" not only shows you how to infuse your life with more romance, it also explains the reasons for the very basis of sexual yearning.

If you can even see straight after reading this book, or you haven't overheated, there is a great chance you will learn valuable secrets you can put to use in practical ways on a daily basis. It is rare for me to find a book to inspire a spontaneous explosion of thoughts and ideas. Jack Morin's writing style is intoxicating and intellectually exciting in places.

He draws on years of research, his own reading (Maslow, Simone de Beauvour, Nancy Friday and Robert Stoller) and information from clients who he says: "courageously examined their eroticism with me in psychotherapy." The stories the clients tell are also included and analysis follows, often pages later as Jack Morin weaves this story together with precision.

Since this book is far reaching in content, he presents his work as a study of all sexual orientations. I tried to view each story as a representation of masculine and feminine polarity. The stories go beyond romantic detail and may surprise with their potent honesty. The stories do seem to serve the purpose of setting up a situation for analysis.

If you are a very private person who would rather not talk to a psychologist about these issues, then this book can give you the keys for your own healing. Reading this book was like having a comforting conversation with a friend who understands the depths of the human condition and really listens.

~TheRebeccaReview.com
Author of Moonbeam Moths


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