Intimacy: Trusting Oneself and the Other (Osho Insights for a New Way of Living) Kindle Edition

This book clearly exposes how intimacy is only possible when we surrender our mind, past, and future. We need to drop our ego-conditioning and trust existence in silence. Love and intimacy always is, we just need to remember how to see.It was a grounding reading that I fully recommend. Life changing.

As with anything in life, we get to take in what we like and leave what we don't prefer.There are sections that are a bit off to me (making large generalizations about people etc) that simply don't work for me.That said, a lot of this book speaks so directly to what I think many people lack and fear, which is deep intimacy. I have been on a journey of expanding my ability to love people and accept them fully, their shadows and all.'Intimacy' has so much gold, so many words of wisdom, to encourage us to be more present and show ourselves to partners and the rest of the world.To me, it is one of those books that I have that is almost a mediation on intimacy and loving people, and I pick it up and read and re-read sections of it. Its not one of those books that I read once and have "read it". As with many books in the personal growth realm, we can always find new things and push ourselves in new/different ways.I love this book!

This book has changed my world view in the 1 day it took me to read it. It has completely changed the way I view myself and the world. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an open mind, ready to look within themselves!

Osho's teachings and philosophy, evident in Intimacy, are full of irreverence, sensitiveness, craziness, paradoxes, common sense and profound wisdom.Intimacy is not a book about physical intimacy, but a book about emotional intimacy. The book is structured, basically, in chapters that discuss those elements that prevent you from becoming truly intimate with somebody else (the habit of reaction, being stuck on security, shadow-boxing, and being attached to false values), and those that will help you to become intimate (learn to relate without having a relationship, be true to yourself, listen to and accept yourself, trust yourself, learn to be vulnerable, be "selfish", learn the language of silence, and meditate), plus an introduction on what Intimacy is and is not, and a final section devoted to Q&A.The language of the book is very simple and easy to understand, with a constant use of parables and metaphors. Osho was a lecturer and teacher after all, and his writing is a direct reflection of that, as this book, as others are a transcription of public speeches given by him. On the other hand, he is not a native English, so his English is straight forward and simple, and not the usual cryptic philosophical dry jargon that can drive you nuts.Intimacy is full of wisdom, good advice and food for thought, which will resonate with you whether you are in a relationship or not, looking for one or not, you are a very social person or a reserved one. Intimacy will especially speak to you if you aren't a traditional person in the way you approach society, family, religion, gender roles and the world in general, but you need of help to clear your mind in periods of emotional distress or confusion, and when you need a wise adviser who is not at hand, or the advice you get doesn't provide you with any answers.A few things I would like to criticise about Intimacy:> Osho seems to be carried out by his own discourse, and he becomes repetitive and loopy in many occasions.> Osho equals self-love with selfishness. Although some of his arguments are terrific and this equation is not straightforward, it is a dangerous association. I wonder whether the use of the word selfish/ness is the result of a linguistic calque from an Hindu word with a different meaning. Still, the identification doesn't work for me. I agree that self-love is a catalyst of change, that you cannot give that you don't have, and that you have to give voluntarily without restrictions. Put your mask first and then help others then (as they say on the safety instructions on a plane) is one thing. And put your mask and help others if you want or feel like it, is a very different one. Being selfish and self-centred, even if it is not in a narcissist way, is a bit unnatural, to me. Sharing is impossible if one is self-centred and selfish.> Osho's criticism of self-improvement and goal setting. Be content with the present, simple be, do not think about the future and how to change it, do not waste your time on anything that is not this very moment, you are perfect and do not need of any improvement. Be happy being. I believe that living the present and being present are wonderful things, and also that setting goals to be socially praised or get fame is a senseless thing to do. I also believe that setting goals and self-improvement are necessary, and a way of getting rid of the limitations and conditioning that our time, society, family, gender or past negative experiences put on our shoulders. I also believe that self-improvement is done for our own sake, not for the public. My own life experience contradicts Osho's teachings in this regard.I would not recommend this book, or any of Osho's, to anybody who is very traditional in values and way of living, or anybody who is a very religious person (meaning, very attached to a certain Church or religion with fixed views on God and the spirit). You've been warned. If you do, and become offended, you are the only one to blame.

Osho never fails! Never! This book is another gem and will definitely open you up to the path of intimacy

Beyond him possibly being a cult leader, you cannot deny the greatness that was Osho's mind. His stories, transcribed from his speeches and Q&A with the people who visited him, are like poetry. So what that he might have been a little off his rocker, a lot of the smartest people were :-) And there's a lot of positive things that you can extract from his books if you can look past the controversy that surrounded him. I usually highlight whatever I like from a book, after awhile I had to be really picky about what I liked the most because Osho shared so much wisdom, I didn't realize how much I was highlighting. Keep in mind that Osho was a Buddhist, so there is a lot of concepts that come from Buddhism in this book, but I feel that it really is appealing for anyone of any religious background to read. I loved this book.

In this book Osho shares some enlightening perspectives about what we believe to be true and his views. Sometimes a little drawn out to get to the point or something is repeated more times then I'd like but this is just the author or Osho showing that this point is important. Quick read and tons of value in self-love and understanding yourself on a deeper level.

Loved this book. Truly great perspectives on relationship with self and others, especially helpful in understanding your relationship to yourself and your beloved.It is bound to be one to read again and again getting more out of it each time.

Amazing! True depth of relationships

Intimacy is about surrendering yourself when you are ready to trust the unknown. In a relationship, it is the act of exploring. You don't know the other person; you simply engage with them without knowing what will happen next. You live in the moment and don't expect anything for the future; intimacy is for the present.Suppose you are at a railway station, and there is one person who does not know how to book a ticket. She is wondering how to book a ticket, and then she finds you, the unknown, and asks you for help. What will you do? Of course, you could choose to deny her, or would you help her? She is giving cash to you. That means she is placing her trust in you. She is submitting her trust to you. Would you help? Yes. I am taking you as a free individual who is knowledgeable in booking a ticket from IRCTC (It's an app in India for booking railway tickets). So, this is submission - the trust in the unknown, giving money to the unknown. What will you do now? Either you can run away and take that money she has given, or would you ask for something in return? I am assuming you are a moral person in the 21st century. So, you would help her and book a ticket for her.After booking the ticket and giving her the ticket details, she will be gone forever, and you will get nothing. You just had a moment of intimacy - the moment when you met a stranger or the moment you encountered the unknown. This is intimacy. But most of the people I know associate intimacy only with sex. Intimacy is there in sex because you don't know what will happen next. You might have read about what happens after sex, and you might have experienced what happened the last time you engaged in it, but this is the present, and the present is always new. During sex, you are entering unknown territory, trusting the unknown. I am not only considering the person you are engaging in sex with, but I am also referring to the entire experience you are undergoing. So, intimacy is about living every moment in the present as if the moment is new.It is someone whom you are ready to trust. It is the playing of a game. It is like a fight in a ring. It is the moment where you don't care what will happen. You trust someone when you are authentic, when you know who you are, when you trust yourself, when you listen to yourself, when you are not selfish, and you are ready to help and ready to dance with the present moment. You are ready for the present. When you are true in whole, true to the integrity, true to the time, true to the person in front of you, you are not deceiving her but ready to be with her. When you are not cheating her, you are not scamming her with the railway ticket.These are some attributes of intimacy

One of the best books I've ever read! Simple, but deep. Easy to unterstand for german people, too.Needed to get used to the kind of writing and his intentions first.

This book is osho at his best. It’s helped me incredibly to navigate my being in relationships. Pure wisdom on every page.

I've never really read a book where I agreed with almost everything that was said. Or at least understood what was being said. It was an incredibly easy read, one which I found hard to put down. I feel that it will help me in all aspects of life, it is not just about intimacy... it is so much more. He does not sound preachy, although he is obviously trying to get a message across, he is calm and to the point and inspirational.I've just bought a few of his other books to read now too - this one moved me so much. I can recommend this to those who are ready to really look at themselves.