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RELATIONSHIPS / SEXUALITY "Beautifully written and poignantly honest, Sex and the Intelligence of the Heart explores Julie McIntyre's quest to recover her own healthy sexuality. On that journey she makes a surprising discovery: her own healthy sexuality is inextricably interwoven with the health of the Earth itself. I cannot recommend it highly enough." --Stephen Harrrrod Buhner, author of The Secret Teachings of Plants and Ensouling Language Nature is having sex all the time--that's one of the reasons we feel so alive when we are immersed in the natural world. Sexuality is essential to the sensation of Nature in your own body, of connecting to the piece of Earth closest to you--your own flesh and bones. Many a couple has been overcome by passion while walking in the woods or on the beach; many a soul has found solace or epiphany in Nature. Living in accordance with Nature depends on you being your true, whole self--a sexual, sensual, erotic, fully alive human being. Exploring the territory of intimacy, sacred sex, and emotional healing as a journey to wholeness, Julie McIntyre examines the sacred relationship between sexuality and the Earth and reveals how to create deep, lasting intimacy with your lover by recapturing the wild, spontaneous, natural sexuality that is your birthright. Detailing the process of moving from your head to the secret garden of your heart, she provides exercises to heal your psyche of old emotional trauma, reconnect with the intuitive intelligence of the heart, and cultivate a deeper relationship with the Earth in order to trust yourself and become vulnerable and open with your lover--and thus truly intimate. She shows how there is a direct relationship between our beliefs and values about sex and intimacy and our beliefs and values about the environment and the Earth. She reveals how, by healing our separation from Nature and our sexuality, we can bring the sacred back into our lives, shape our own ecstatic sexual experiences, and move toward healing the whole planet. JULIE McINTYRE is an Earth Ceremonialist and spiritual teacher who leads Earth Medicine apprenticeships, wilderness retreats, and Deep Ecology intensives throughout the United States, Canada, and Ireland. She lives in Silver City, New Mexico.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: It Stops with Me
Part One
The Fall from Earth 1 Intimacy: Food That Feeds the Soul of Love
2 Autonomous Personhood
3 Getting to Know You
4 The Numinous
Part Two
Earthly Sexual Body 5 Human Beings: The Ground Where the Gods Reside
6 Finding the Wild
7 Choosing Another Way
8 The Language of Love
9 Sacred Sex
Part Three
Challenges You May Meet on the Road 10 The Dance of Trust
11 Healing Shame
12 Freeing Ourselves from Sexual Tyranny
13 Healing the Human Soul
Final Words
Appendix Talking to Children and Teens about Sex
Notes
Bibliography and Recommended Reading
Index
About the author
Julie McIntyre is an Earth Ceremonialist and spiritual teacher who leads Earth Medicine apprenticeships, wilderness retreats, and Deep Ecology intensives throughout the United States, Canada, and Ireland. She lives in Silver City, New Mexico.
Additional text
“If you’re brave enough to open it up and read through it, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that it’s a great way to re-assess your sexual self.”
