Sex Matters

Rating:
Summary: Sex is important for physical and mental well-being.
Review: ON SEXUALITY and RELIGION
At the other end of the spectrum is "Sex Matters"
(St. Martin's Press, July) by Osho.Definitely more of a "spirituality" than a "religion" book, it links sexuality to transcendence, insisting that sex is important for both physical and mental well-being. Not surprisingly, the author is extremely critical of how traditional religion has connected sex and morality.

"This book tries to deconstruct the different layers of
negative repression and condemnation that Western culture has
put on sex for a long time," said publicity manager John
Karle. "He presents sex as a gift from nature and [tells] how
we need to embrace it and use it as a tool for growth."
--Heidi Schlumpf

From: Religion BookLine from Publishers Weekly

Rating:
Summary: Only for conoisseurs!
Review: This is the first book I have read from Osho, and I will say that he did a very good job in explaining important things, using few words and pages. It is a little book that will not take you much time to read. What will take longer is thinking about the important points the book makes.

One thing that is important to understand is that this is not a book about sex, at least not in the usual way. So if you are looking for tricks about how to improve your sex life, you are in the wrong place. Instead, this is a work that will give you a different perspective of what sex should be and mean. Is it only for people who believe in the spirit and spiritual evolution.

It will also tell you that the lessons that religion and church sometimes teach -- that sex is sinful, etc. -- is completely mistaken. The book states that it is this teaching we received while young that made this society depraved.

Osho considers that our contemporary society completely forgot about the sacramental and fundamental role mankind once gave to sex. From his point of view, a sexual experience should be a thoughtful act, an experience of love, a means to reach what is beyond our consciousness.

The journey to from sex to to what Osho calls Samadhi (the divine ecstasy) is long, but this should be our final goal. The kind of love that we all know and desire is only the first step. But people who refuse even this first step will never be able to reach the second and from this point of view they will never evolve spiritually.

The main point is that sex is not a end to itself, it is only the beginning, it is only a means through which people who understand the subject correctly can reach the final goal - the "super consciousness."

If you are not interested in topics like spirituality and spiritual evolution, I think you should not buy this book. But if you are open to this, reading Sex Matters will be an extremely interesting and challenging experience that will give you a different take on life. Enjoy!