At prayer, at
work and at play, a woman's experience of the divine is distinctive.
What is changing, according to four new books on women's spirituality,
is that voices silenced for centuries finally are being heard.
Sifting through women's writings over those centuries means
uncovering a wisdom, clarity, beauty and distinctiveness reflecting
their corporate faith and experience, says Lucinda Vardley,
editor of "The
Flowering of the Soul, A Book of Prayers by Women" (Beacon
Press).
Themes and symbols in women's prayers "are different from
prayers by men, and therefore these prayers speak to our experience
of life and the great love of the divine," Vardley said. "Most
traditional prayers don't speak to women's experience, so
I was hoping that this book could fill that gap, introduce
the feminine aspect of devotion in all its elements."
Her book, which features prayers addressed directly to God,
showcases prayers by such women as Sun Bu-er, Sappho, Julian
of Norwich, Christina Rosetti, Emily Dickinson, Annie Dillard
and Marion Woodman. Vardley, a writer and spiritual teacher,
weaves in the teachings on prayer of such spiritual giants
as St. Teresa of Avila and Hildegaard of Bingen. Then she
introduces the ideas of noteworthy writers including Simone
Weil and Evelyn Underhill.
The result is a history of women's teachings on prayers and
a common spiritual reader crossing religious traditions. She
explores the virtues of women who pray, including relatedness
and connectedness. In so doing, she bridges the usual separations
between Buddhists and Christians, Muslims and Hindus.
In a different but related volume, journalist Pythia Peay
uses the stories of women from the past and present to offer
models for how women can cultivate five divine qualities within
themselves. She identifies those qualities as courage, faith,
beauty, love and magic.
A Spiritual Workbook
Peay's book, "Soul
Sisters: The Five Divine Qualities of a Woman's Soul"
(Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam) provides a spiritual workbook for
women seekers. She argues that women act as "faith-holders"
for one another. In other words, to strengthen the quality
of faith in her life, a woman might seek out a close woman
friend to offer inspiration and hope in times of darkness.
She might also practice "giving the gift of faith" to another
woman.
"Perhaps you have a friend who is struggling to hold her marriage
together, get her doctorate, paint or start her own business,"
Peay writes.
"Let her know that you are proud of her efforts--that you
have no doubt she will one day succeed, and that you are there
for her. As I have discovered, to have just one friend who
never doubts the successful outcome of your efforts--whatever
form that might take--is a priceless treasure beyond measure."
Though her life had been dominated by spiritual exploration
since childhood, Peay did not understand how deeply gender
had shaped her journey until she wrote the book. She discovered
how history had shaped her, how patriarchy had influenced
her outlook on the divine.
"Even though I had been aware of the recent archeological
discoveries of goddess statues, I didn't fully understand
the impact these discoveries would have on my unconscious
perceptions," Peay noted.
"The image of God as a man is firmly embedded in our cultural
psyche--so just to image God as a woman, or to pray to 'her'
rather than 'him' had a revolutionary effect on my inner life.
It precipitated a transformation in values toward an ethic
based more in nurturing and tolerance and compassion in the
here and now rather than a transcendent heaven."
She also began to realize that the rediscovery of the Goddess
"doesn't mean that the masculine image of God is wrong, but
that our religious history up until now has been imbalanced,"
Peay said.
"A part of all our history and a part of all our souls--both
men's and women's--has been missing. And the women's spirituality
movement has been about righting that imbalance and restoring
wholeness. As the mother of three sons, I feel that in many
ways women's spirituality is just as important for men as
for women."
Inner Lives Examined
Working on different continents, two other female scholars
have written books providing perspective on how women's inner
lives differ from men's.
"Women
Pray: Voices Through the Ages, From Many Faiths, Cultures
and Traditions" (SkyLight Paths) by Monica Furlong, a
journalist and author in London, celebrates the diverse ways
women worldwide have called out to the divine.
"Sacred
Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages" (HarperSanFrancisco)
by scholar, teacher and writer Mary Ford-Grabowsky explores
selections from 150 female sages.
Furlong's book, a creative collection packaged like a prayer
book with a ribbon to mark one's place, seeks to span continents
and cultures.
In her introduction, Furlong writes that mystics of all cultures
have shared a sense of wonder and vastness as they contemplated
the presence of God. Everyone is somewhat limited by her own
perspective, she writes. Prayer, no matter what the tradition,
may help to broaden one's outlook.
For "prayer is about a new perspective on the world about
us, or perhaps the recovery of an earlier perspective," she
writes. "It is about a rediscovery of awe and wonder, of love
and joy, of a transforming of grief and pain and loss, of
a turning to one another and to the world in which we find
ourselves. All this is its territory."
In "Sacred Voices," Ford-Grabowsky compiles one of the most
far-reaching anthologies of women's voices. Her work presents
the long-suppressed laments, yearnings and praises of women
across the last five millenniums, including prayers from ancient
Mesopotamia to present-day America.
In prose, poetry, chants and other writings, we hear from
women as different as Sufi poet Rabia and author Alice Walker.
The exploration that led to the book began when Ford-Grabowsky
was a 17-year-old college freshman. The house mother in her
dorm, a nun and French literature professor, told her how
she would copy quotes from her favorite books onto small strips
of paper and then tape them inside her closet door.
On waking each morning, she would open the door for inspiration.
Ford-Grabowsky adopted the practice, eventually realizing
most of her quotes came from men. An accomplished theologian,
she is associate professor of spirituality and on the board
of trustees at Matthew Fox's University in Oakland.
The extensive collection of writing and stories she compiled
through the years now fills 37 computer disks, containing
works by women mystics, contemplatives, hermits, healers,
rabbis, homemakers, founders of movements and others.
In an era of economic downturn and escalating violence, these
four authors offer ideas, teachings, meditations and prayers
that they hope will bring change.
Their outlook feeds into the sort of paradigm shift called
for by some feminists: a rebirth of the feminine principle
in faith and life, and a corresponding global increase in
women's influence and leadership.