Conor Ronayne, an open minded young Irish man, reviews Cupid’s Poisoned Arrow – From Habit to Harmony in Sexual Relationships. The review is part of a series on semen retention available on his website, The Way Within.
His reaction
“It blew my mind,” he says. “The potential of this practice if it were implemented societally and worldwide would be immense. That’s why I find it so exciting. We have these preconceived ideas about relationships that are handed down to us. You know it’s normal, you fall in love with someone; it’s a roller coaster for a few months or a year or two if you’re lucky, then it’s all downhill from there. You start to hate each other… If you’re a good person, you’ll stick around for the kids. It just always seemed wrong to me somehow. There had to be more than this, some other way.
When I found this book, Cupid’s Poisoned Arrow, I was so happy. It was like a piece of the puzzle that had been missing, something I’d been searching for all the time. I think it will help bridge the gap between men and women… cause a reunion of the sexes, reduce the friction and animosity.…”
Love and lust
He explains that there are two main brain pathways around sex. The first centres on mating and driven by lust. It gets us to spread our genes as far and wide as possible and be promiscuous.The second pathway is more activated by love than lust, and by bonding behaviours. It arose from mother-baby bonding cues: eye contact, hugging, breast feeding, kissing. When we exchange these signals with a partner, we strengthen the pathway that leads to heightened attraction.
Finally, Ronayne recommends “How do I explain this book to my friends? A synopsis of key ideas” (p291) as “an awesome summary of the book.”
