Select Foundational Sources

Select Foundational Sources on the Science of Sex: That is, the physiology and psychology outside of reproduction. In a Feb, 2026 interview, Nicole Prause shared with me early results from her landmark study on male orgasm (still underway as of this book’s publication). This was key to the science in this chapter. She’s shared many of these results publicly on the social media platform X.com: https://x.com/NicoleRPrause/

Key papers documenting brain activation during orgasm (with some very surprising results) include Komisaruk BR, Whipple B, et al (2004); Komisaruk BR, Whipple B. (2005); Georgiadis JR et al (2006); Georgiadis JR, et al (2009); Holstege G et al (2003); Georgiadis JR et al (2007)   Also, a key paper documenting increased pain tolerance at orgasm: Lakhsassi L et al (2024). And this intriguing paper: “What is orgasm? A model of sexual trance and climax via rhythmic entrainment” (Safron, 2016). Also Helen Fisher’s Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love (2004) and her 2006 TED Talk (“Why We Love and Why We Cheat”); Mary Roach’s Bonk, the curious coupling of science and sex; and Natalie Angier’s brilliant Woman: An Intimate Geography.

Select Foundational Sources on the Wisdom Systems of Tantra and Taoist Practices. For Taoist practices, Douglas Wile’s Art of the Bedchamber: The Chinese Sexual Yoga Classics—Including Women’s Solo Meditation Texts (1992) contains translations for many (if not all) of the remaining ancient Taoist texts. R. H. Van Gulik’s Sexual Life in Ancient China (1961) was the first academic text and source for many translations. Daniel Reid’s The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity. By (1990) is a classic compendium. The most accessible—and popular—versions are Mantak Chia and Douglas Abrams’s The Multi-Orgasmic Man and The Multi-Orgasmic Couple.This book also draws on Mantak Chia’s earlier work, with Michael Winn, Taoist Secrets of Love.

For a broader look at Taoism, in a related academic context: Livia Kohn’s Daoist Body Cultivation (2006), which covers not just the bedchamber but acupuncture, Qigong, and yoga. Livia Kohn and Catherine Despeux’s Women In Daoism; and The Taoist Experience: An Anthology, edited by Livia Kohn.

For the scholarly foundation on Tantric practices: Christopher D. Wallis’s Tantra Illuminated; David Gordon White’s The Alchemical Body; Miranda Shaw’s Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism. Also Tantra in Practice, edited by David Gordon White. And the British Museum exhibit, “Tantra: Enlightenment to Revolution.” For modern interpretations: Henika Patel’s Sensual: Connect Deeply, Express Freely, Love Intimately (2025) is foundational, and the podcast This Tantric Life with Layla Martin offers inspiration. 

Select Foundational Sources on the Cultural History of the Bedchamber. For the endlessly magnetic Moche Sex Pots: Mary Wiesmantel’s 2004 paper in American Anthropologist, “Moche Sex Pots: Reproduction and Temporality in Ancient South America.” And the pop culture version: “The Moche Uncensored! 15 Surprising Erotic Ceramics of Peru” on Ancient-Origins.net. For the equally magnetic Sheela Na-Gigs of the British Isles: Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts’s The Sheela Na-Gigs of Ireland and Britain and Barbara Freitag’s Sheela-Na-Gigs: Unraveling an enigma. For the temples of Khajuraho, in India: Devangana Desai’s The Religious Imagery of Khajuraho. For a broad look at the field: Rosemary Joyce’s Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives: Sex, Gender and Archaeology (2008); for Meso-America (not directly covered here, but fascinating all the same: Pete Sigil’s The Flower and the Scorpion: Sexuality and Ritual in early Nahua Culture.) 

Select Foundational Sources on the Science of Acupuncture. To demonstrate how Western medicine has validated the ancient practice of acupuncture—for pain management in particular— a few key studies: “The state of evidence in acupuncture: A review of metaanalyses and systematic reviews of acupuncture evidence” (Hempen M, Hummelsberger J., 2025); “Acupuncture: an integrative therapy for pain management and opioid reduction in the United States” (Fan, A., Alemi, S, 2019);  ”Acupuncture for chronic pain: individual patient data meta-analysis (Vickers et al, 2012). 

A few of the underlying studies that demonstrated the mechanism of action: “Relationship of acupuncture points and meridians to connective tissue planes” (Langevin HM, Yandow JA, 2002); “Acupuncture mobilizes the brain's default mode and its anti-correlated network in healthy subjects” (Hui KK et al, 2010); “Adenosine A1 receptors mediate local anti-nociceptive effects of acupuncture” (Goldman et al, 2010).

Also of interest, this conceptual paper: “Fascial neuromodulation: an emerging concept linking acupuncture, fasciology, osteopathy and neuroscience” (Bianco G., 2019)