Table of Contents
Introduction ix
The Pleasure Crisis and the Path to Healthy Hedonism
1 The Theft of Pleasure 3
2 The Sexual Route to Understanding Pleasure 25
3 The Core Emotions in the Brain's Basement 39
Restoring The Emotional Brain
4 Rebalancing Your SEEKING System: Liking What You Need 71
5 Hot-Tempered and Afraid: Taming Our Defenses 89
6 CARE, GRIEF, and PLAY: Using Our Affiliative Emotions to Enhance Pleasure 111
Pursuing-And Obtaining-Healthy Pleasures
7 Operational Intelligence and Creating a New Way to Be 137
8 Sex as a Tool for Transformation 161
9 Good Sex Versus Great Sex: Embracing Your Sexual Potential 187
A Final Note 211
Acknowledgments 215
Notes 217
Index 243