Alchemy of Love: Sexuality & the Spiritual Life (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781597311830)

The spiritual natures of man and woman come to expression in thought, art, craft, and many other domains: from the depths of their soul-spirit constitutions even to the clothes they wear. These natures manifest also in the fullness of love, even unto sexuality, which constitutes an essential and urgent topic of our times, and which harbors also a transcendent dimension, as this book shows. "Extremes meet," says the old adage: in this spirit, the heart of this book consists in showing how the "extremes" of flesh and spirit may join together in the sacralization of love. Providing clear points of reference for safe navigation of the moral wasteland of the modern world, the contributors to this book confront with discernment and courage contemporary views that can undermine the very foundations of civilization.

"There is perhaps no field more desacralized today than that of human love. The contemporary reader will discover in this volume of essays by Traditionalist authors a richness and a depth of view that counteracts the various forms of sexual reductionism of modernity."--Patrick Laude, author of the forthcoming Keys to the Beyond: Frithjof Schuon's Cross-Traditional Language of Transcendence

"In this unique, fascinating work masters of the Perennial Philosophy such as Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, and William Stoddart, together with a new generation of writers, present their insights and conclusions regarding the place of love and sexuality in our spiritual life."--Nuno Almeida, professor at the University of Lisbon

"If, as has been said, virtue is the natural state of the soul as God intended it to be, the Fall is the accidental remoteness from such a state. Now, sapiential esoterism has always been there to restore this natural state, and the essays in this collection are aimed at just such a restoration."--Mehrdad M. Zarandi, editor of Science and the Myth of Progress

"No topic could be more timely than that of sexuality, and none more misunderstood--for those who celebrate sexual aberrations in our time seem unaware that they are toying with the twin pillars upholding civilization. The contributors to this volume offer us an impressive array of the missing reference points that are almost unfindable elsewhere."--Mark Perry, author of The Mystery of Individuality: Grandeur and Delusion of the Human Condition