"Placing the words ‘sacred’ and ‘sexuality’ together creates an uncomfortable paradox for many people. How can sexuality, with its hosts of negative connotations, be part of the spiritual realms? This reaction serves as a reflection of our present-day confusion. In our modern world sexuality is largely condemned by major religions. We are taught that it is dark, degenerate, a primary sin of humanity, to be countered only by suppression and redeemed by celibacy."

"The use of ritual, rites of passage, initiatory practices- the ordeals of shamanistic training and those of S/M are similar…Through the meditation of a long, slow whipping, for instance, a profound experience is achieved…Only in some Eastern traditions, such as Tantra, has the concept of sex as a way of knowledge- as a tool on the spiritual path-be recognized…Bondage in particular has much in common with Eastern meditative religious practices such as yoga, bondage often keeps a person immobile for extended periods of time; like yoga, bondage often distorts the body is confines; and, like yoga, the result of this extended immobility and physical distortion on the mind is a sense of well being…[and a] mental euphoria at the edge of physical limits."