Of all the Symbolist painters of his time, Gustav Klimt's style was the most avant-garde. At the turn of the century, Klimt's native Vienna was a fertile place for new forms of art and science — a place where innovative theories like Freud's psychoanalysis could develop. Klimt's unique talent gave him instant success, a success which endures to the present. His artwork is appreciated by the contemporary public at large, and even popularized as a design element in familiar objects such as umbrellas, bags and greeting cards. Among Klimt's intense works of human desire, The Kiss has become his most famous.

In the painting, amidst large field of gold, after a first impression of warm feeling inherent to the large golden pattern shapes, a man passionately kisses a woman. The expression of their hands, her closed eyes, their heads' positions, the flowers in their hair, and the fusion of their bodies reveal the intense and tender closeness of their souls. In a kneel position, facing each other, the couple symbolizes humility and equality in their union.

Surrounding patterned shapes whose colors and designs are highly symbolic enhances the couple's union. A closer look at these shapes reveals them to be the man's and woman's clothing, the couple's aura, and a carpet of wild flowers.

The background is flecked with tinted gold droplets on a sierra brown base, symbolizing the sun and the night, or yang and yin, the two primordial elements associated with masculine and the feminine principles. The merging of the two colors into a third symbolizes the union of the dualities. The couple's clothing reinforces this male-female duality, with black and white geometric shapes for the man and colorful floral motifs for the woman. As there is always some yin present in yang and vice versa, some flowers appear in the man's tunic and some geometric shapes infiltrate in the woman's gown. This intertwining of yin and yang parallels Jung's "anima" (the man's feminine part) and “animus” (the woman's masculine part.)

With a pattern of colored centers surrounded by concentric geometric ellipses, the golden couple's aura symbolizes the merging of both the yin and yang symbols. On their knees, the man and woman are grounded in a garden of colorful flowers, symbols of romance and love. The couple's aura extends golden roots into the garden's ground, symbolizing that the couple is connected by their unconscious rootedness to the depths of the earth (collective unconscious.) The three differently patterned shapes for the woman, the man and the couple indicate that a sense of individuality is maintained in the context of the tender and intense union.

An embracing couple was also the theme of August Rodin's famous sculpture The Kiss (c. 1880). Rodin's work directly inspired my contemporary version, titled Yin and Yang Kissing (p. 30). Based upon Klimt's yin-yang symbology, this work portrays a couple melding with a passion inspired by Rodin's sculpture.

In formulating my own outlook on the nature of dualities, I often take creation myths from various cultures as source for inspiration. In doing so, I have discovered a universal belief in the concept of complementary opposites arising from the infinite and unlimited primordial energy (known as "infinite nothingness" in mystical Jewish wisdom). Borne of the cosmic Big Bang, these opposites are best described through the concept of “yin” and “yang” as found in the Chinese spiritual tradition — terms that I use frequently in this book. Yang designates the dynamic energy of light, and yin the receptive energy of darkness. Yang can be thought of as the bright sky at noon and yin as the obscure earth at midnight.

In Yin and Yang Kissing (p. 30), the man's body, psyche and soul are shown intertwining with the woman's through the symbolic use of intermingling strands of DNA. The common DNA lines outlining their bodies evoke a sensual fusion. Their hearts merge as their psyches connect with a kiss of love. The choice of pastel colors lends a harmonious feeling: pink and blue are reminiscent of a baby girl and boy, a newborn yin and yang. While in very intimate contact, the man remains yang and the woman remains yin. The coupling results from the alchemy between their polarities. Being the head and tail of the same coin, each could not exist without the other. Any person is incomplete without his or her opposite; the longing for primal unity explains the vital desire to become part of a couple.