The Mystery of Love(爱的秘密——灵与性/爱之灵)

With his first groundbreaki'ng book, Soul Prints, Marc Gafni taught readers how to tread a lifelong path of meaning by realizing their true, unique selves. Now, in The Mystery of Love, the profound philosopher and beloved spiritual teacher invites readers to the next step on the journey, addressing with passion, wisdom, and genuine humility the all-important issues of love, creativity, and our erotic connection to the universe.
In the tradition of M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled and Gary Zukov's The Seat of the Soul, The Mystery of Love speaks pene-tratingly to the age-old desire to move beyond emptiness and alienation and touch the full eros of living. Gafni, with clarity, bril- liance, and great compassion, re-frames our understandings of the erotic and the sensual in a way that invites us to live with passion and love in all facets of our lives. While drawn from the ancient wisdom texts of the Kabbalist tradi-tion, The Mystery of Love speaks to all readers who seek a passionate, joyful, yet deeply grounded exploration of the ancient mysteries as their guide to enlightenment.
"The ancient wisdom of the great Hebrew mystics makes one essential promise: There is a better way to live," says Gafni. Widely revered for his profound insight, genuine love, and life-enriching advice and guidance, Gafni delivers here his most nourishing message yet, empowering countless millions of con-temporary souls to finally bridge the crucial chasm that separates alienation and boredom from love and passion.

Book Description
Beginning with a radical new understanding of loving, drawn from the ancient wisdom texts of the Kabbalist tradition, the author of "Soul Prints" then explores ten qualities of love and sexuality.

Amazon.com
Intuitively, The Mystery of Love author Marc Gafni always felt that the erotic must have a powerful link to the sacred. But it was not until he committed himself to the study of Hebrew mysticism that he was he able to articulate this link. According to Ganfni, most people assume that eros is just another word for sex. "The fact that we so often confuse eros with sex merely reminds of us of how distant we are from true erotic engagement," he writes. And herein lays Gafni's mission for this book.

"Eros is to be fully present to what is," he declares. "It is to open your eyes and see for the first time the full beauty and gorgeousness of a friend, to smell the richness of an aroma, to feel the fullness of throbbing desire, and to taste the erotic experience that connects you with every being. It is to feel the palpable love that dissolves the walls of ego, anger, and anxiety."

Drawing from the ancient texts of the Kabbalist tradition, Gafni unravels the wondrous relationships among sex, eros, love and the sacred. He calls this discussion "Hebrew tantra", yet readers of all denominations will find this an inspiring book on sacred sexuality. As he did in his previous book Soul Prints, Gafni remains eloquent and intelligent, while also offering accessible insights. Don't expect advice on sexual positions or eye-gazing foreplay. Rather, he uses brief essays, ancient teachings and heartfelt wisdom to help us nurture our erotic potential even as we face our aging bodies and shadow desires. At its core, this is a worthwhile book about living with great love and great spirit--written by an author who obviously does both.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　--Gail Hudson, Amazon.com

From Publishers Weekly
From the author of Soul Prints comes this book about the profound link between sex and spirituality. Gafni, a Kabbalah scholar, television host and rabbi, argues thoughtfully and thoroughly that the erotic and the holy are one and the same. If readers can get past the initial shock of Gafni's claim that the cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies were in fact locked in sexual embrace (a provocative suggestion supported by some Kabbalistic texts), then the book is sure to be a mind opener. Gafni writes: the secret of the cherubs is that sex is our spiritual guide. He carefully reclaims the word eros, broadening it from the narrow sexual meaning it has today to encompass a larger life force: eros is the source of all creativity and pleasure. In this context, eros is synonymous with the divine and the sacred. Sexuality (e.g., as portrayed in the Old Testament's Song of Solomon) is a model for the larger concept of eros and holiness. Gafni meticulously builds on this central argument with generous helpings of parables and stories from mystical texts, observing that we often lead nonerotic (although not necessarily nonsexual) lives. He invites readers to learn to fill their emptiness with eros rather than its pale imitations. Those frustrated with the spare documentation of his argument can look forward to his upcoming two-volume scholarly work expanding on the material in this fascinating book.

From Booklist
Gafni, the rabbi and kabbalist who wrote the popular Soul Prints (2001), now delves more deeply into the nature of love, a topic only touched in that book. Expanding the concept of love, Gafni encourages readers to live erotically--not sexually as the word is often defined--but rather with a passion that encompasses all areas of one's life. The book entwines this notion with the teachings of the temple in biblical Jerusalem and with kabbalistic ideals. Kabbalah has become a hot topic, and Gafni plays right into the new interest in this formerly secret knowledge. After getting past the irony of ancient lore suddenly being trendy, readers will find a book that, at its worst, is engaging and, at its best, inspiring. Gafni knows how to mix Talmudic teachings, folklore, meditations, and plain common sense to encourage and exhort people to love themselves and others with an intensity that changes worlds. An ad for a certain rye bread used to say you didn't have to be Jewish to love it. Nor to be enlightened by this book.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Ilene Cooper

Book Dimension
length: (cm)23.9 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 width:(cm)15.7