In our rush to categorize and assign meaning to our experiences, we often elevate the spiritual above the events of our normal lives. Yet what we find most moving is spiritual. When we are deeply affected,able to let go and banish our always-assessing egos, we are having a spiritual experience.

Many people able to reach deep ecstatic sexual states liken these to transcendental spiritual experiences. They discover that the distinction between the physical and the spiritual is not as clear as they were taught. They may even feel that they have come to know God, or ultimate reality, through sex. Tantra Yoga and the Kama Sutra both view sexuality as vital aspects of the path to enlightenment...