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Books
Books for Awareness
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Gendering the Spirit: Women, Religion and the Post-Colonial Response
by Edited by Durre S. Ahmed
(this review is also posted at amazon.com)
BagongPinay Review:
Finally, formal discourse on asian, post-colonial AND feminine perspectives on spirituality and theology. Don't assume that this book is rebellious and dissenting just for the sake of it. There have been and are women's voices, issues and work in the mainstream of traditional religions but rarely and not enough have they been formally presented, acknowledged and inculcated into the higher echelons, dogma.
Worthy of reading and consideration for what the heirarchies of traditional religions should take into consideration if they are to stay current, evolve, and survive the needs of civilization whose needs are ever-changing and reaching.
Here is more info about the book that may help you:
Book Description
With essays by Ahmed. Madhu Khanna, Hema Goonatilake, and Filipinas Sr. Mary John Mananzan, OSB and Grace Odal.
Sections: Women and Religion: Alternative Perspectives;The Hidden Woman and the Feminine; Perspectives on Violence.
Essay titles:
-The Last Frontier
-The Goddess---Woman Equation in Sakta Tantras
- Women in the Catholic Church
- Women Psychology and Religion
- The Forgotten Women of Anuradhapura: "Her Story"
- Replaced by "History"
- 'Mother' Victoria Vera Piedad as a Mutya Figure: A Study of an Archetypal Image of the Self
- Suprema Isabel Suarez
- Parallel Worlds of Madhbobi Ma, 'Nectar Mother': My Encounter with a Twentieth Century- Tantric Saint
- 'Real Men, Naked Women and teh Politicsof Paradis: The Archetype of Lal Ded
- Righteous Violence and Non-Violence: An Inseparable Dyad of Hindu Tradition
- Theological Reflection on Violence Against Women (A Catholic Perspective)
- Violence and teh Feminine in Islam: A Case Study of the Zikris
from the back cover:
This book is about the devotional subcultures which women have
always created. Its authors draw their evidence and inspiraiton from
the Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian traditions of Asia, in
particular.
Here we find women as healers, goddesses, saints, gurus, nuns and
heretics. One thing these remarkable women all share is their
defiance of orthodoxy and fundamentalist interpretations oppressive
of women. Instead they have created religious alternatives which
appeal profoundly to huge numbers of women. Not that these
altenatives, as the authors who have written this book show, are
accepted by the mainly male religious establishment. Indeed women's
rejection of patriarchal interpretations of religion and their
creative revisioning of religion in their daily spiritual practice
can be very dangerous activity.
In addition to fascinating glimpses of little known aspects of the
feminine within the great religions, this book is also a reflection
of the newly emerging spirituality of women in Asia as they
experience and respond to the political and social injustices they
confront.
"This remarkable collection of essays should disturb the world of frozen knowledge and its ideas of what constitute sane dissent and a proper ideology of resistance... This is unconventional scholarship at its most intriguing."--- Ashis Nandy.
 read more about or order this book from Amazon.com
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Succulent Wild Woman
by Sark
(a slightly different version of this review is found at amazon.com)
BagongPinay Review:
I remember speakiing to women in the Philippines at a workshop on women's wisdom. When I told them that there is room in this world for everyone to shine because inside all women are fabulous--- I got a lot of unbelieving looks. A lot of women around the world, even in the United States, don't believe that they've got it in them. And that is one of the reasons why I highly recommend this book. "Succulent, Wild Women"--- is about learning to be a wonder-full woman who is not afraid of life. Sark defines "succulent" with these words: ripe, juicy, whole, round, exuberant, wild, rich, wide, deep, firm, rare, female.
All women, including Filipinas, have been raised up to be quiet and demure...keep your legs closed and your thoughts to yourself....etc, etc. Little do we realize that some of these tenets of mahinhin-ness have suppressed our full expression of who we are and have prevented us from pursuing our dreams. We need to discover for ourselves how we can live life to the fullest.
I choose to recommend this book to you because it is fun, wild, inspirational, definitely different and it can give you ideas on how you, too, can start to find out more about your full-est self.
The concepts that Sark gives in her books, starting with "Succulent Wild Woman" are that women need to live life to the utmost and that they need to love themselves so that they can love others, too.
Here are some more of Sark's ideas that can lead you, too, to be your fabulous self: ...Marry yourself first...promise to never leave you... ...discover your own goodness ...dress to please yourself ...you are enough, you have enough, you do enough ...make more mistakes! And more thoughts on healing, fat, money and power, community, love and romance...
What's more, there's little whining in this book---one of her best ideas is: end blaming... She's got honest, good stuff about facing our insecurities, faults and fears.
This is a fun, colorful, beautiful, inspiring, outrageous, entertaining, succulent web site for women and also for the incredible men who love fabulous, wild, succulent women. I urge all of you Filipinas to find your fabulous, succulent, bodacious selves.... to express yourselves....to find as much support you can get from friends, loved-ones and books like Sark's and all other great books.... and to get out there and live a life full of love---the romantic kind is only part of this... the Universal kind is what you learn to be embraced by when you are your full-est most succulent self!
Remember---you are fabulous. So go out there and find and celebrate yourself!
The link below has sample pages from the book and you can see for yourself what I am talking about. You can also visit Sark's works and ideas at: http://campsark.com/
read more about or order this book from Amazon.com
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A Woman's Worth
by Marianne Williamson
Book Description/Reviews:
With A WOMAN'S WORTH, Marianne Williamson turns her charismatic voice--and the same empowering, spiritually enlightening wisdom that energized her landmark work, A RETURN TO LOVE-- to exploring the crucial role of women in the world today. Drawing deeply and candidly on her own experiences, the author illuminates her thought-provoking positions on such issues as beauty and age, relationships and sex, children and careers, and the reassurance and reassertion of the feminine in a male-dominated systems and societies.
Although some readers may have to adjust to MW's personal and esoteric viewpoints in the book with her references to daddy-pleasing-angst or to witches, priestesses and goddesses, she does propose for us strong sensibilities on how modern females today can think and act from the heart of a woman in order to rise to the task of being women today who create better relationships, families, communities, businesses and a better world.
read more about or order this book from Amazon.com
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From Science to God
by Peter Russell
Book Description/Reviews:
The Mystery of Consciousness and the Meaning of Light is the story of Peter Russells lifelong exploration into the nature of consciousness. Blending physics, psychology, and philosophy, he leads us to a new worldview in which consciousness is as fundamental to the cosmos as space, time, and matter. He shows how all the ingredients for this worldview are in place; nothing new needs to be discovered. We have only to put the pieces together and explore the new picture of reality that emerges.
Integrating a deep knowledge of science with his own experiences of meditation, Russell arrives at a universe similar to that described by many mysticsone in which science and spirit no longer conflict. The bridge between them, he shows, is light. From Science to God invites us to cross that bridge to a radically different, and ultimately healing, view of ourselves and the universeone in which God takes on new meaning, and spiritual practice a deeper significance.
read more about or order this book from Amazon.com
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Letters of Intent : Women Cross the Generations to Talk About Family, Work, Sex, Love and the Future of Feminism
by editors: Amy Bondoc and Meg Daly
Book Description/Reviews:
Amazon.com synopsis: Letters of Intent pairs young feminists with their more seasoned counterparts in a series of epistolary Q&As designed to remind readers that despite the occasional internal struggles within the women's movement, there is a continuity between old and new. The older women include Gloria Steinem on abortion rights, Susan Faludi on the tradition of feminist writing, Angela Davis on the African American struggle, Dr. Phyllis Chesler on workplace relations, and Judy Blume on being a mother. But the basic misjudgment of the book is captured early on by Katha Pollitt: "This whole notion that writing is all about mentoring and networking and each generation smoothing the way for the next like party hacks down at the clubhouse is the wrong idea. Writing is about writing."
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A Call for Connection : Solutions for Creating a Whole New Culture
by Gail Bernice Holland
BagongPinay says:
Despite the discouraging pessimism we feel at viewing the news, despite the dark picture that mass media paints of the state of humanity, it turns out that the world as a whole just might be heading in the right direction! Read this book and find out for yourself.
Synopsis
Discussing a wide range of projects intended to improve society's ills, this optimistic book identifies a shift in values that could lead to practical, cooperative solutions.
The publisher, new world library , August 12, 1998
Review from Midwest Book Review
" In an age of pessimism, apathy, and ethnic violence at home and abroad, A Call For Connection deserves as wide a readership as possible, and toward that goal, placement into every community, school, social organization, and corporate library collection in the country." — James A. Cox, Editor-in-chief The Midwest Book Review
The publisher, New World Library , August 5, 1998
Review by Fred.Brussat,Values & Visions Review Service
"Gail Bernice Holland, the editor of "Connections," a magazine of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, has written a helpful and hopeful overview of the vision and work of various individuals and organizations in America dedicated to creating a more unified, compassionate society. This "whole new culture" emphasizes heart, conscience, spirit, and imagination. It serves as an antidote to the reductionism, compartmentalization, and bureaucratic stodginess that are the marks of institutional entrenchment......... Holland's book is a clarion call for nothing less than the transformation of society. Her listing of individuals and organizations involved in this Herculean task is a real public service."
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Future Talk
by Larry King, Pat Piper (Contributor)
Amazon.com
When Larry King calls to ask what the world will be like in the next century, you don't tell him you're too busy to talk. Even Bill Gates finds the time to discuss the impact of e-mail on business ("The post office and delivery companies are going to see the quantity of correspondence they deliver fall, but at the same time they'll see the amount of merchandise they deliver rise").
With more than 40 original interviews with people ranging from artist Peter Max to Vibe's national affairs editor Farai Chideya, King covers all the major topics, including politics, science, media, education, business, the arts, and spirituality; he even gets input on the future of baseball from sportscaster Bob Costas and acting commissioner Bud Selig. In addition to knowing whom to talk to, King also knows to let them do most of the talking. His unintrusive questions allow his guests to flesh out their ideas in significant detail.
Book Description
As a talk-show host for more than four decades, Larry King has encountered the most powerful and influential people in the world. Now, in Future Talk, he converses with some of today's most provocative thinkers to get their perspectives on what's in store for us in days tocome.
In this book, composed of original interviews never broadcast or published before, LarryKing takes us on a tour of the future of politics, religion, the media, war and peace, money,work, travel, sports and the arts all from the point of view of highly regarded individuals atthe top of their fields.
King has conversations with: Stephen Jay Gould on the unprecedentedchallenges mankind faces; Marian Wright Edelman on the risks confronting families; TimRussert on the media and political coverage; Doris Kearns Goodwin on the talents a futurepresident will need to succeed; Gen. John Shalikashvili on military developments; Bill Gateson how computers and the Internet will continue to permeate our lives; Richard C. Holbrookeon the challenges of world diplomacy; C. Everett Koop on the increasingly volatile relationshipbetween government and health care; Lester Thurow on world economics and how the United States needs to position itself; Albert Berkeley on how Wall Street will play less of a central role in investors' lives; Bob Costas on how sports will grow and change, as well as how they will be covered; Maya Angelou and Peter Max on the meanings and relevance of art; Isaac Mizrahi on what we'll be wearing; Stephen Cannell on what we'll be watching; and Robert Thurman and Elaine Pagels on spirituality and what we'll be doing to nourish our souls.
These and many other interviews offer comments that are candid and opinionated, optimistic and pessimistic. They will engender reflection and surprise and ultimately provide insight into what tomorrow will bring.
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