The Erotic Mind: Unlocking the Inner Sources of Passion and Fulfillment

by Jack Morin

Paperback, 1996

Status

Available

Call number

155.31

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Harper Perennial (1996), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 400 pages

Description

Challenging accepted theories about what makes for terrific sex, The Erotic Mind is a breakthrough exploration of the least understood dimensions of human sexuality--the psychology of desire, arousal, and fulfillment. Nationally known sex therapist Dr. Jack Morin offers a bold new perspective that celebrates the joys of Eros without denying its risks. Based on an in-depth analysis of over 1,000 provocative stories of peak sexual experiences, The Erotic Mind offers clear, accessible guidance on how anyone can utilize his or her own peak encounters and fantasies as powerful tools of self-discovery. The Erotic Mind explains the many paradoxes of erotic life, such as: why we're most excited when we must overcome obstacles; how anxiety, guilt, and anger--generally thought to have a negative impact on sexual arousal--often turn out to be aphrodisiacs; how we use unresolved issues from our early lives to intensify passion; and why the best sex is dynamic and unpredictable, rather than static and safe. These and other insights, combined with concrete suggestions for increasing our enjoyment, overcoming our problems, and revitalizing our relationships, will change forever the way we think about our eroticism.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Arctic-Stranger

Good overall view of sexual pyschology. Ocassionally he voices something I have always thought, and occasionally he provides mind expanding new insights. I want to see how this stacks up against Amen's Sex on the Brain.

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LibraryThing member robfwalter

I think this might be a life changing book for me. It's too early to tell, since I just finished it, but it offers so much insight into human sexuality that I think it might have really helped me.

The book's great achievement, I think, is that it finds the middle ground between the kind of

archaeological approach of Freudian analysis and the mechanical approach of behaviourism or whatever you call what's in vogue at the moment. Morin calls his approach the paradoxical perspective and looks at the interplay between emotion and sex. He argues that sexuality is greatly influenced by your childhood but not in the complex, almost mystical way that psychoanalysis proposes. This meant I was able to pinpoint aspects of my childhood and family background that had a significant impact on my emotional development and thus on my sexuality, without having to wade through nonsense about the Oedipal complex.

I really like Morin's prose style, too. He writes with the clarity required for technical exposition, but he also has the appropriate amount of lyricism for the subject of eroticism.

If you find yourself lost in the space between love and lust, I'd highly recommend this book.

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