Sex Shamans: True Stories of Sacred Sexuality and Awakening

by KamalaDevi McClure (editor)

20 transformative stories and sexual healing practices from international pioneers in the sexual shamanism movement

• Reveals intimate details about how each sex shaman overcame personal struggles with heartache, jealousy, mental illness, or social shame to realize their calling as a sacred sexual healer

• Includes 20 in-depth embodiment exercises such as soul gazing, contacting your spirit guides, sexual divination, energetic sex, self-pleasuring, moon blood rituals, and sacred sexual storytelling

• Includes contributions from 20 diverse voices in the sexual shamanism community, all part of the mystery school International School of Temple Arts

Drawing on traditional and modern practices, a sex shaman uses the power of erotic energy as a healing medicine. They channel divine love and embrace sexuality freely, practicing polyamory, sexual healing, and even sex magic. They teach tantra, trance dance, kundalini yoga, and other techniques for healing shame, guilt, fear, and sexual trauma.

Designed to guide the reader on a journey into their own sacred sexual awakening, this book shares true stories from 20 visionary pioneers in the sexual shamanism movement, all of them associated with the International School of Temple Arts (ISTA), a mystery school that works to illuminate the path of sexual shamanism and heal the split between sex and spirit, release the shame surrounding sexual awakening, and inspire more sexual liberation around the world. The teachers reveal intimate details of their life stories and sexual awakening journeys, showing how, by surrendering to the wisdom of the erotic current of the universe, transformation occurs.

Each story is accompanied by an in-depth embodiment exercise with step-by-step instructions, including soul gazing, contacting your spirit guides, sexual divination, energetic sex, self-pleasuring, moon blood rituals, and sacred sexual storytelling. Underlying these exercises is the belief that the body is a temple that opens with pleasurable worship so spirit may dwell more fully within.

The 20 contributors include Baba Dez Nichols, Bruce Lyon, Crystal Dawn Morris, Dawn Cherie, Deborah Taj Anapol, Ellie Wilde, Janine Ma-Ree, KamalaDevi McClure, Komala Lyra, Laurie Handlers, Lin Holmquist, Matooka Moonbear, Mia Mor, Ohad Pele Ezrahi, Patrik Olterman, Raffaello Manacorda, Ria Bloom, Sean O’Faolain, Stephanie Phillips, and Stephen SouLove.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sexuality

352 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2020

Reviews

[Alyssa Gastelum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab your favorite drink, find a quiet and cozy place to sit and dive into the ecstatic world of the Sex Shaman. I loved everything about this book! It was a compilation of beautiful, insightful, surprising and entertaining stories, all completely unique but all tied to the same core healing messages. It is rare to find a book like this and I am so thankful to have found this vessel of sacred wisdom that teaches sex and love as a medicine.

Baby boomers and Gen X are the ones who mostly contributed to these stories. I feel there is such need for these teachings to reach my own (often disconnected) millennial generation and Gen Z. It is also up to the younger generations to foster such awareness, human connections and keep these teachings alive for the generations to come. We need more love and sexual healing in the world.

A part of me felt reawakened by these fearless storytellers and by their experiences that have shaped them into the healers they are today. It opened a channel and illuminated something inside of me that had been dormant due to my own fear and shame.

What I also loved about the book is that at the end of every story, there are powerful exercises you can perform to help you facilitate your own sexual healing and to help you step into your own divine power. Sexual energy is a powerful force that can’t be ignored! an important integration for our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.

[Bon Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are "true" in a sense the tellers really believe the phenomena they experience are happening in a way they describe and have the meanings they propose, but truth be told, there are countless other possible explanations for what's happening during the sessions and also many other probable lessons that could be drawn from these experiences. I'd say their interpretations of phenomena that happen during prolonged, ritual sex, fascinating as they are, are under significant influence of their particular frames of reference, which are most often some slice of Yoga or Tantra teachings. However, this doesn't make them any less valuable and this is still fascinating read. Just keep an open mind, first, to accept the stories as they're told, and second, to inject them with your own meaningful input if you don't find them completely satisfying.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of ISTA activity in Hawaii where I live, so I checked this book out to learn more about their doings. The book certainly explained that pretty well. Some of the tantric-lite practices they list are interesting, fun, enlightening exercises. The personal stories of how various facilitators in ISTA decided they were sex shamans varied from sexy/fun/inspiring to cringingly clueless about the Western appropriation of indigenous and tantric practices. I know enough after reading this book that ISTA probably isn't for me, but I don't mind that they're out there. Whatever folks decide to do to rid themselves of sexual shame, trauma, and guilt isn't a bad thing, as long as it doesn't hurt others.

[Anthony Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full acknowledgment of the fact that I only made it through half of the book before realizing it's not for me. Not for many probably. I can't recommend it, unless you're looking for sympathy with your runaway libido. It's a series of short vignette memoirs from various contributing authors, so stopping halfway through doesn't preclude an understanding of what the book ultimately is.

I learned a valuable lesson though. Words mean nothing. People can claim Spirituality and Shamanism while still maintaining vast personal flaws and egos. It's an argument for open sexuality and poly-amory. I'm not opposed to these ideas wholesale, but they're brought to us via a series of increasingly neurotic people whose own accounts should discourage people from listening to them.

There's pettiness, jealousy, and somehow it seems to always be resolved by seeking orgasm.

The techniques covered herein are available elsewhere without the snakes and blood and immaturity.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly outstanding collection of diverse stories dealing with sexual enlightenment and healing. Please don't be reluctant to read this quite fascinating book that will widen your horizons and help you to achieve an open approach to erotic interpersonal relationships of all kinds. I was so totally amazed by the insights it offered to the reader. XOXOXOs to the author, KamalaDevi McClure, for creating this pathway to sexual rapture through pleasurable worship:)

[Jim Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving and well- written exploration of spiritual paths that include sexual freedom. The glossary at the end is well worth the price of admission, and is, in itself, better than about half the books on spiritual paths. This is a remarkably well-researched, compassionate, and loving piece of work. cannot think of anyone who would not profit from reading it.

[Josh Zuchowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that deserves to be recognized. Very Highly Recommended esp if this book isn't "for you".

[Ouri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m as open minded as it get, and have naturally been drawn to tantra and yoga, despite my catholic upbringing. However, this book just feels like one gratuitous advertisement to get you to join the ISTA cult. I didn’t find it gave a truly diverse perspective on “sex shamanism”, it only seems to seek in essentially gate-keeping sex shamanism, as if it were invented by the ISTA clan. It’s strange to me how most people in this book seemed to be broken individuals up until they magically come across ISTA or one of their beloved teachers and then magically they find themselves saved in some way.. getting major holy guru cult leader vibes in here. I found it more moving than the celibacy book I read before, but some of these people do come across as predators, and admit so.. Take from it what you will, as we are all different. I think the exercises included in the book are useful and worth noting, that’s about it. I found it extremely difficult to finish about halfway

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was curious about this book since learning about ISTA. Ultimately the stories these contributors tell are pretty out there. I can believe in their earnest honesty in trying to tell their interpret their experiences but it’s hard not to try to jump in with my own explanations of their experiences. Anyways it’s eye opening to lead about these people and what they believe in. Unfortunately it’s not great to see how incestuous these teachers are with each other’s teachings (and often times sexually). If the teachings they teach are universal, then I would have expected a much larger cross pollination of spiritual practices.

I still find the exercises listed in each chapter worthy of exploration and may yield insightful experiences. I have yet to try.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

How does one become a sex shaman? This question is answered in this book through 20 very different stories, some of which are more relatable and better than others. Overall it was a very interesting read.

The book includes a great introduction about the International School of Temple Arts (where these sex shamans teach), 20 practises to further your own sexual/spiritual awakening, a glossary of temple arts terms (great for further research into spiritual concepts) and a list for further reading.

[Camilla Leurs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Varied and beautiful stories. With an embodiment exercise relating to the story that has just been shared.
I cried and laughed and learned.

[Alicia Rae of Sunshine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shares about sexual shamanic and tantric practices. It includes stories of personal experiences by several people/practictioners.