Woman Awake
Christina Feldman
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Rodmell Press
ISBN: 1930485069

Women Practicing Buddhism.

Traditionally, women are socialized to embrace values based on conformity, passivity, & surrender of self, which can eventually contribute to feelings of low self-worth & powerlessness.

“There are few stories of women's awakening to guide us. Few spiritual traditions are directed by women. Few of the images and models we encounter bear the marks of women. We follow behind the authority figure who defines our spiritual, and we remain a shadow, if not invisible.” (P.46) As if spirit & soul has gender.

Using the central tenets & practices of Buddhism, Woman Awake offers women an opportunity to break out of negative belief systems, & move toward increased self-acceptance, strength, & vitality.

In Woman Awake, we are offered a selection of reflections & meditations to guide us to expand out awareness of life & its connectedness, as well as finding our own dignity & place within the universe.

“We once spoke in a beseeching voice, begging for the recognition of our worth and spirit. But the tone of our voice is changing. As we acknowledge our own spiritual heritage, we refuse to be cowed or subdued by authorities who refuse to celebrate our spiritual heritage with us. The threats and injunctions that have previously served to quiet our voices are no longer effective.” (ibid.)

To that end, Christina Feldman tells some stories on Beginnings, Fairy Tales, The Unnatural Divorce, Untying the Knots, Power, & Spiritual Resources. I enjoyed this author & teacher's voice, her point of view, & her language. She made me think Big Thoughts, & then showed me how to empty my jabbering mind & find... you got it ... serenity, calm, peace, bliss. Along the way, you'll learn something about gender bias, religious institutions, displaced homemakers, divorcees, dreams, struggle, feedback, & so much more!

Woman Awake is to be relished daily, in small doses, like the very best of delicacies - mindfully, thoughtfully, carefully, & yes, joyously -- first class sustenance for the mind & spirit.

Very well done, & satisfying too!

Christina Feldman spent several years in Asia studying & training in the Buddhist meditation tradition. Now, a cofounder of Gaia House (www.gaiahouse.co.uk) in Devon, England, she is a regular teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, & at Spirit Rock, in Woodacre, California.

A word about Rodmell Press: founded in 1988 by Donald Moyer & Linda Cogozzo it publishes books on Yoga, Buddhism & Aikido. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is written, “Yoga is skill in action”. It is their hope that their books will help individuals develop a more skillful practice -- one that brings peace to their daily lives & to the Earth.

More from Christina Feldman:
Soul Food with Jack Kornfield
Quest of the Warrior Woman
Buddhist Path to Simplicity
Silence: How to Find Inner Peace in a Busy World, & many more.
(09/25/05)

Rebecca