Arousing the Goddess: Sex and Love in the Buddhist Ruins of India

by Tim Ward

Book Overview

" T]he only subjective account of a mystical experience induced during ritual tantric sex ever written. That Ward experienced it, and that this experience was profound, there seems little reason to doubt. . . . Diabolically funny at times, this is also a brave, wise, and brilliant book."--Toronto Star

"This book is . . . about learning. Its great strength, aside from its finely crafted prose, is Ward's honesty about what he learned...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972635734
• ISBN13: 9780972635738
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Personal memoir of one man's sexual and spiritual awakening

Arousing the Goddess: Sex and Love in the Buddhist Ruins of India is the personal memoir of one man's sexual and spiritual awakening in India. Author Tim Ward traveled throughout India and the far east for two years, and fell in love with a beautiful Austrian Indologist on her own search for knowledge. The energy harnessed the power of tantric sex to achieve a sublime plateau of bliss, color, sensation, and awakened truths amid their passion. Their journey is one that pursues enlightenment as well as spiritual wisdom, and the heat of their unions recalls echoes of the ancient sex practices of the mysterious Tantrics. An enthralling true story of physical, carnal, and spiritual exploration as witnessed, lived, and recorded by Tim Ward.

a must read

Wow, what a great novel! It is insightful and skillfully weaves together a spiritual journey through India with an unplanned, but welcomed love story. Arousing the Goddess is an easy-to-read novel which holds the reader's attention from the first to the last page. Tim is very open about his experiences, but he is also able to interject the right amount of humor and wit into the storyline. As Tim and Sabina's relationship evolves, the reader is constantly left wondering what will happen next as they journey together. What makes this a great novel is that as the story unfolds, the reader can't help but get caught up in the different emotions (passion, frustration, disappointment, heartbreak) that Tim and Sabina experience both individually and as a couple. Additionally, the reader can relate to the different levels of their relationship and can share in their pain and joy. Tim is able to engage the reader throughout his story even to the end where he leaves the reader with a thought provoking question.

A lovely, lusty tale of sex and redemption

I loved this book from the moment I heard about it. Tim Ward's wonderfully lyrical narrative seduces you from the start and draws you into a world of mystical spirituality infused with some really hot sex scenes. In the vein of truly great raconteurs, he takes us to places we've never been and describes them with such artistry that all of our senses are engaged, as if we are there, walking the dusty roads with him. This is a sensuous and poetic work of art, one that I wanted to begin reading again the moment the last page was finished.

Beautifully written!

This is a lovely book that I was really sorry to put down. The author reveals a frank, and often humble voice that obviously really comes from the heart. While learning something new about India and its spiritual traditions, we also get a very real look at the mix of tension and magic that's a part of falling in love in an exotic world. The sex scenes are vivid and sensual: A spiritual book with naughty bits -- what's not to like? My favorite character, and the most powerful in the book, is that of India, personified by the goddess Kali. This is a moving book that you keep thinking about long after you've finished it.

An engrossing read that reveals deeper truths

If you've read "What the Buddha Never Taught" or "The Great Dragon's Fleas," you know Tim Ward's writing style. He traveled through Asia and writes about Buddhism with insight and humor. The third book in his non-fiction "nirvana trilogy," "Arousing the Goddess" takes the reader along with Tim and Sabina as they search India for statues depicting Buddha in the Earth-touching gesture. Along the way, Tim and Sabina fall in love and experience a sexual style that is at once physically uncomfortable and spiritually exciting. Ward adds a ferocious candor to his book, giving you an uncommonly vivid and intimate account of Tantric sex and the history behind it.This is a thoroughly engrossing tale that is among the best travel narratives in recent years, right up there with William Dalrymple and Bill Bryson. He manages to cover familiar ground with a fresh voice, and uncommon ground with a style that never leaves the reader behind. Ward's at his best describing the everyday aspects of the subcontinent: ablutions in the Ganges, ordinary people forging an existence, and negotiating the seething cacophony of what is at once one of the world's most dazzling and unsavory lands. "Arousing the Goddess" is full of surprises, and in the end we are encouraged on our own path to truth. Buy this book if you ever plan to visit India, if you've been and want to relive the wonders, or if you're simply looking for an engaging read.