56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mind Expanding and Boundless!, May 22, 2003
This review is from: The Path of the Priestess: A Guidebook for Awakening the Divine Feminine (Paperback)
What a beautiful and eye opening homage to womankind from a spiritual seeker who has traveled such a great distance from her beginnings as an American feminist of the sixties. In the first chapter she describes her powerful initiation by a woman teacher ( Sitara Devi) into the ancient art of Indian temple dance, Hindu Tantra and women's mysteries. . ( I was pleased to see the photographs of Sharron with her teachers. I have read too many books about
spiritual seekers or anthropologists and the revelations they have received from their teachers without ever seeing an image of these teachers. Even though I have enjoyed these books I have often wondered whether the teachers were fictional
characters.)
From that point on, in the first section of the book she journeys into the deep realms of meditation, healing and visionary experience as she seeks out the ancient woman's mysteries in the traditions of Tibetan Tantra, Dzogchen,
Egyptian mysticism, Gnosticism and Kabbalah. As a woman seeking my own path to inner knowing, I found these chapters to be extremely beneficial and enlightening. Her experiences and insights into working with one's emotions, the way in
which she describes how painful experiences in childhood can impact both the physical body and its energy field and her search to find and relate paths to healing were particularly inspiring to me. I was also touched by the respect she
shows for her teachers and the humility she demonstrates as a seeker on the path.
As I continued to read, I was impressed with the courage she has in speaking out about the social, cultural and political issues that plague so many of us these days. Taking an ancient approach that values women in all their fullness as spiritual teachers, healers, mediators (today known as political activists
and politicians) and caretakers of our planet, she gave me a new and empowered view of my potential as a woman. Her vivid exercises designed to nspire ferocity in the face of danger, self-confidence and determination, joy, passion,
and mystery, love, humility and rapture have helped me to feel free to express the full range of my emotions. In addition, they have given me new strength to deal with the issues that plague me in my relationships with both men and
women. Her call for women to come together as they did in the days of old to shed the imprints of the patriarchy and create a more balanced, harmonious world is so exciting. I, like Sharron, feel the sadness and horror of the current
socio-political atmosphere. I too care about issues such as the negative and disturbing media induced visions of women, the destruction of our environment and the manner in which we and our children, have become experimental subjects
for the mind and body altering drugs of the pharmaceutical industry.
As an alternative to the limited visions of women offered to us by the media, in the last three chapters she offers myths, stories and meditations on the many manifestations of the Great Goddess who she describes as the most profound female role model to shape society. Stories such as the way the Hindu Goddess
Durga is created to fearlessly battle with and become victorious over our inner and outer demons gives us courage. Innana, who "revels in the fullness of her sensuous expression" presents a new view of sexual freedom. . Isis the
Egyptian goddess who is the great mother of Alchemy and the Western spiritual tradition shows us the great healing power that we all contain. These and her stories of female spiritual seekers such as Mirabai of India, Machig Lapdron of
Tibet, Mary Magdalene and Sharron's own powerful teacher Sitara Devi who fought throughout her life to transcend the limitations imposed upon her as a woman by modern Indian society have shown me that even though to some the world may
appear limited the only true limitations placed upon me are those created within the dark recesses of my own mind.
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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A profound and joyous path for every woman, March 1, 2003
This review is from: The Path of the Priestess: A Guidebook for Awakening the Divine Feminine (Paperback)
The Path of the Priestess is a profound and potent guidebook for women of the twenty first century. After reading it I realized that it is actually three books in one. Part one, which documents Ms. Rose's personal quest for the teachings and practices of woman's mysteries among the sacred societies of India, Tibet, Egypt and Alchemical Europe was reminiscent for me of writers such as Lynn Andrews and Carlos Casteneda. However, in this book, Ms. Rose not only sweeps you along with her on a magical journey into the trials and tribulations of an American seeker but also shows you the deep respect and reverence for woman and the Goddess as transmitted to her by the teachers and teachings she encounters. I also enjoyed the photographs of her together with these teachers.
From this impressive journey, in chapters five and six, she offers a fascinating commentary on the history of humanity and particularly the conditioning of women. In these two chapters she opens our eyes to the underlying motivation behind the repressive and controlling nature of the patriarchal forces that have increasingly dominated our lives. In addition she offers us a clear and vital alternative in which we as women can gain the strength and self-esteem to face up to these forces. At the same time she shows us how to work towards a more loving, peaceful and harmonious way of living. Chapter Six, Lifting the Veil from the Face of Modernity in which she contrasts the imprinting of women in contemporary society with that of these sacred societies is especially moving, perceptive and provocative. Her analysis of the goals, successes and failures of the feminist movement, gave me new insight into the ways in which we have been manipulated by the media. These two well-documented chapters recalled for me the nature of the work of scholars and writers such as Riane Eisler, Naomi Wolf and Marija Gimbutas. But in this book, Ms. Rose as an initiate into and practitioner of the ancient teachings offers us even greater insight into the essential roles of women.
As a woman who has always been sensitive to energy and emotion, I was particularly affected by her description of woman's role as the keepers of the psychic-energetic-emotional landscape of society. Honestly, after reading these chapters I began to see myself, and the ways in which I have been taught to interact with the world in a new way.
I found the last three chapters to be extremely beneficial. Reading the myths and stories of the Goddesses gave me a deeper understanding of the many facets of woman. The exercises that follow are written in a lush, poetic language that deeply touched me. After reading the book I purchased the Awakening the Feminine video series tapes in which Ms. Rose transmits the teachings and exercises found in these three chapters. I found these tapes to be extremely enriching and beneficial as well. I thank Sharron Rose for opening the door for me to a unique and extraordinary vision of the power, grace and majesty of womankind.
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