paperback | ISBN: 9780738711973 | Publication Date: March 2008

Reviews:
"Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson offer a Tantric practice that can transform all aspects of your life -- beginning with sex and love. A profound and delightful book!"
--Barbara Carrellas, author of Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century

"This book speaks of sexuality with ease, delight, and appreciation. This is sexuality as a way of being in the world -- open, present, and knowledgeable of our bodies. Michaels and Johnson bring us a step closer, and make us a bit wiser in expanding our erotic pursuits."
--Esther Perel, author of Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence

"If you are seeking a more meditative or esoteric approach to sexual awareness, this is the best resource I know of."
--Paul Joannides, author of The Guide to Getting It On

"Profound, practical, and precisely what the Western psyche is ready for!"
--Lon Milo DuQuette, co-author of Sex Magic, Tantra, and Tarot

"Tantra for Erotic Empowerment offers a refreshing perspective on the connection between Tantric teachings and sexual power . . . Although it's a serious work based on a great deal of study and rooted in ancient traditions, Mark and Patricia have made it accessible to the everyday person. In fact, it's simultaneously traditional and completely new and radical."
--From the foreword by Tristan Taormino, Village Voice and nationally syndicated columnist

"Tantra for Erotic Empowerment combines traditional wisdom and insight with true sensitivity and compassion, to become a valuable guide for the modern Tantric seeker. Mark and Patricia weave classic teachings with the reality of living in the modern Western world in a thorough and grounded way, accessible to students of all orientations."
--Christopher Penczak, author of The Mystic Foundation and Gay Witchcraft

"Mark and Patricia have written a book on Tantra that deals with my favorite kind of sex -- with oneself. Without having to wade through Eastern traditions, even a professional masturbator like me learned a few new tricks that furthered my own Erotic Empowerment."
--Betty Dodson, Ph.D., author of Sex for One

"Informative, challenging, inspiring and readily accessible to the serious student of tantric practice, Tantra for Erotic Empowerment is unquestionably one of the best books on tantric sexuality to be recently published in English. The exercises and specific instructions it offers are powerful, enjoyable and enlightening. Although it is provocative and even controversial in certain respects, this is an outstanding source of teaching and required reading for anyone open to tantric ways of growing and becoming more empowered in our lived bodily experiences."
--Barnaby B. Barratt, Ph.D., DHS, Director of the Center for Tantric Spirituality and author of What Is Tantric Practice?

"Tantra for Erotic Empowerment is a very authentic Tantra book, but perhaps more importantly, it's commonsensical and easy to understand. Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson present Tantric principles and philosophy in clear, accessible ways. So even those with no background or interest in Eastern traditions can benefit from the great treasures Michaels and Johnson have to offer. Read it and be erotically empowered, because you're worth it."
--Annie Sprinkle, Ph.D., author of Dr. Sprinkle's Spectacular Sex: Make Over Your Love Life

"If you are embodied enough to seek authentic teaching about your erotic potential, try out the wisdom, exercises, reflections, and meditations that make up this book. Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson are teachers whose intention is to guide and inspire you on your own exuberant journey. Their approach is astonishingly creative."
--Joseph Kramer, Ph.D., The New School of Erotic Touch

"With Tantra for Erotic Empowerment, Mark Michaels (Swami Umeshanand) and Patricia Johnson (Devi Veenanand) have risen to the challenge of writing a practical guide to Tantra. They have taken a tricky subject that could easily have been mishandled, and created a useful tool that could easily become a classic preparatory text in this genre."
--Raven Kaldera, author of Pagan Polyamory and Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook

"This is a fearless and brilliant work, at once scholarly, technically accurate, challenging, and immensely readable. The writing is economical and lucid. The exercises are absorbing and profoundly therapeutic in the 'human' sense. It is a genuine original, and I enjoyed it immensely."
--Paul Skye (Swami Ajnananda Saraswati), author of The Mastery of Stress, award-winning poet and short story writer

"Written with clarity and a passion for mystical experience and rigorous logic, Tantra for Erotic Empowerment is grounded in ancient spiritual truth, practice, wisdom, and personal experience. Radical, practical, and openhearted, this book is a straightforward transformative guide to self-knowledge. Michaels and Johnson's vision of divine pleasure as a spiritual and sensual path of liberation is a gift to all seekers -- for the curious, the novice and initiate alike."
--Donna Gaines, Ph.D., author of Teenage Wasteland and Misfit's Manifesto and Usui Reiki Master/Teacher

"Tantra for Erotic Empowerment is packed full of useful exercises that can help individuals and couples discover their best erotic selves and find a holistic way of making sexuality a positive force in their lives and in their relationships."
--Helen Boyd, author of She's Not the Man I Married and My Husband Betty

"This book delivers the possibility of profound pleasure. Most books on Tantra are either impenetrably obtuse or annoyingly simplistic. Mark and Patricia, with honesty and integrity, present a clear map that is accessible for the beginner, and has enough depth for years of fruitful ecstatic exploration. Bravo!"
--Tyr Throne, founder of Tantric Fire Yoga

"In a culture where sex and sexuality are so often shunned and scandalized, it's refreshing to see a book focused on this sacred aspect of our human nature. The authors present a concise guide to the magickal, powerful force that dwells within us -- one that we often fear or take for granted. Gorgeously written and practical, this book is a must for anyone seeking to strengthen their connection with the Divine and incorporate expanded bliss into their spiritual path."
--Raven Digitalis, author of Goth Craft: The Magickal Side of Dark Culture