According to various traditional and New Age esoteric teachings, the self is comprised of several psycho-spiritual "subtle bodies." In this inter-disciplinary exploration drawing on Eastern philosophies, Western mysticism, theories of aesthetics, ethics, Gilles Deleuze's cinematic "time-image," and French feminist Luce Irigaray's writings, Johnston (studies in religion, U. of Sydney) re-conceptualizes the dualisms of Western discourse in terms of an inter-subjective matter-consciousness that can be cultivated. The volume includes images by performance artist Marina Abramovic. Distributed in North America by the David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The idea that the human body consists of 'subtle bodies' - psycho-spiritual essences - can be found in a variety of esoteric traditions. This radical form of selfhood challenges the dualisms at the heart of Western discourse : mind/body, divine/human, matter/spirit, reason/emotion, I/other. 'Angels of Desire' explores the aesthetics and ethics of subtle bodies. What emerges is an understanding of embodiment not exclusively tied to materiality. The book examines the use of subtle bodies across a range of traditions, yogic, tantric, theosophical, hermetic and sufi. 'Angels of Desire' shows the relevance of the subtle body for religion, philosophy, art history and contemporary feminist religious studies and theories of desire.
