Transcendent
I loved this book because of the way it validates my own personal experience in this area.It goes to prove that having sex is not just a physical thing but that there is something more, something sacred about it. Excellent reading.

A Profound Study Of The Mystical Aspects of Sex
I purchased this book based on recommendations by both Ken Wilber and David Deida. I felt that if they suggested it, there would probably be significant benefits to be had. This assumption has proved correct.

First off, I like this book because it isn't a strict "How to" guide. Yes there is a section that presents those considerations, but primarily it is a book that presents the experiences (good and bad) of a number of different couples. In reading these stories one comes to the conclusion that there really is no concrete pattern that occurs...each couple's experience is unique. This, in my opinion, mirrors the spiritual realities that I have witnessed (modest as they are).

I also like that the downsides are not ignored. One chapter in particular (chapter 10, Why Didn't Anyone Tell Us This Before?) specifically address some of the painful side effects that can occur, and offers some important precautions that should be observed. I personally appreciate this responsibility on behalf of the author.

If you are interested in the spiritual aspects of sex, I heartily recommend this book.

A groundbreaking book
Jenny Wade interviewed 91 people (identified through personal acquaintance networks) who spontaneously experienced transcendent awarenesses during sexual encounters. They report these experiences were so profoundly moving that their sexual encounters paled by comparison. In fact, the sexual climax was often experienced as a distraction or even as an annoyance.

A variety of transcendent experiences were identified by her subjects, including transfiguration of the sexual partner, shape shifting, channeling of spirit awarenesses, totally being in the present moment, cosmic awareness, out of body experiences, and past life recall.

Wade writes clearly, providing the background for understanding these transcendent sexual experiences in the context of more commonly reported transcendent experiences. She illustrates each of these types of experience with fascinating quotes from her subjects.

"I was taken up beyond my body and the warmth of the sun on my skin and the clear blue sky until I went in that golden sunlight and cerulean blue. Then I shot out beyond it into the vastness of space where all was silence and the blackness lit by stars. Everything there looked clear and beautiful and cold, yet I could feel the life pulsating through it, the fierce fires of the distant suns and burning stars. It was beauty and it was love and there I was in the middle of this universe stretching forever. I wanted to stay there always. --Rachel" (p.111)

The only criticism I can muster about this book is a minor unclarity about whether these transcendent experiences as sexual encounters are ever shared by both partners. On page 141 Wade clarifies that past life awarenesses are the only transcendent experiences that couples regularly share.

While transcendent sex as a Tantric meditative practice has been well known and extensively described, Wade clearly expands the boundaries of these experiences in this groundbreaking book.

Very Informative Reading

Caught this book out of the corner of my eye in the store, read the back and took it home... Had never seen or heard anything like it, and I'd love to find more info in this area.

If you've never had an "Experience", you may not get the message, but for those that have, it'll change your understanding of it. I wish I could sit down with the author.

Ordinary people with extraordinary experiences!
She's done it again! In Transcendent Sex, Dr. Jenny Wade relates the experiences of people just like you and me who have touched the divine, not by meditation or yoga or drugs, but simply by making love. Often these folks didn't even plan on having a transcendent experience, it just happened!

In her first book, Changes of Mind, Dr. Wade showed how consciousness develops over our lifetime and more importantly, how these discrete stages of development, she calls them MindSets, persist and shape our interactions at work and in other relationships. In effect we don't just have one `mind' inside our head, but several--each with it's own values, strengths and weaknesses--some more `evolved' than others. Gaining access to the higher states was thought to be a path reserved for the devoted practitioners of the mystic arts, but now she presents the stories of ordinary people having truly extraordinary experiences which transcend their day-to-day conscious minds. For some it reflects attainment of a higher state of awareness.

Why is this book important? I don't want to spoil the pleasure of your experience of sex, but if one of these invitations to glimpse a world beyond the limits of your bedroom comes unbidden, it will be comforting to know that you are not losing your mind, but in a way finding it. If these transcendent insights occur to one partner and not the other, you now have a basis for a deeper understanding of each other and the wonder of the universe by reflecting on the perhaps similar experiences of others.

As with Changes of Mind, Dr. Wade shows her uncanny ability to tease a taxonomy out of what some might leave as a collection of interesting but disparate tales. Using her familiar metrics of sense of self, sense of place and sense of time, she sifts the ninety or so interviews into groupings that not only enhance the reading, but also facilitate a quick reference should something troubling occur.

On that note, I should paraphrase Dr. Wade's admonition: not all transcendent experiences are welcome and some may be downright unsettling. While this is not a `How To' book, she does give some pointers on being open to the experience and also some advice on dealing with the darker aspects. Above all this is not a book about Sex or a guide to better orgasms: if pressed, I would say it's about the boundless spiritual energy that we all possess. It is a phenomenal book!