Customer Reviews

Secrets and Mysteries: The Glory and Pleasure of Being a Woman

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Every once in awhile I come across a book that fits my current questions and circumstances like a synchronistic glove. Secrets and Mysteries - The Glory and Pleasure of Being a Woman is one such book.

Secrets and Mysteries will give you a profound understanding of what it means to be a woman. Full of passion, mysticism, and practical information, it will tap the source of your power at the depths of your soul. Through her own extraordinary life experience and her knowledge of native cultures around the world, the author reveals how you can activate ancient wisdom to become the magnificent embodiment of strength and grace. In other words, how you can become a Glorious Woman!

In the first chapter, the author shares her personal story, including the realization that she was a people pleaser. This negative pattern hounded her for decades, much like it does for many women. Rather than listening to her own needs, she discovered that the major decisions she made were based on what others wanted from her. She began to ask herself difficult questions such as Am I willing to stop putting other people's needs ahead of mine? Am I ready to let go of the need to please everyone? Can I stop taking care of everyone else, and start caring for myself? These questions came on the heel of being told that she had breast cancer. Because it's a popular belief in the New Age movement that you "create your own reality", Linn longed for compassion, understanding and support but feared accusations such as "You created this. What's eating at you?" or "I knew you had to slow down, you were working too hard." She was so judgmental of herself that she couldn't bear being judged by others. So she didn't reach out for help.

She took a month of for some deep soul searching, and the cancer disappeared.

The stories and struggles that Linn shares in this book parallel those of many women I've talked to, including my own. It's encouraging to read a book from someone who's been there, and how she navigated through self-doubt and trying times. It's also refreshing to read such honesty about her own personal journey, rather than an author pontificating on what others "should" be doing or how we need to buck up and "get over it".

Chapter 2 talks about the historical roots of the Goddess and how to embrace Her. Linn writes: "Goddess worship can be traced from the Paleolithic period, as early as 2,000,000 B.C., until less than 5,000 years ago when God became a man. In other words, God has been a male for one quarter of one percent of human history, and God has been female for 99.75 percent of the rest of the time. A male God is a relative newcomer on the divine scene. Yet, in modern culture, there is an ingrained belief that God is, and always has been, male." She explains that the distortion of female history and the Divine feminine has left many women feeling dispossessed of their spiritual identity as women, and that they have not been taught to explore their strengths. Linn also lists the names and attributes of Goddesses from various traditions and how to integrate their strengths into everyday life.

Chapter 3 talks about the allies of women, including angels, ancestors, animal spirits, plant and mineral allies, as well as herbs, flowers, and tree allies. She also shares how to discover your own allies, and provides several lists for the meanings of personal totems from these realms.

Chapter 4 covers the secrets of the shamaness, which includes honoring divine feminine cycles, discovering your spirit name, shape-shifting, exploring the lower, middle, and upper worlds, and shamanic power objects and symbols. Chapter 5 instructs women on how to access their inner warrior or the "holy bitch". Linn writes: "You can tell when you have truly awakened your inner Warrior Woman, because you will rarely need her."

Chapter 6 gives incredible practical wisdom on the shadow, including where it came from and how to face it. Chapter 7 is about cherishing your body, and explains the function of the 7 chakras, the importance of self-nurturing, movement, and eating healthfully.

Chapter 8 conveys the secrets of feminine radiance, including re-connecting with our senses--which is what promotes sensuality. The author shares an interesting Pleasure Quotient test that you can use any time you want to take a quick assessment of how much pleasure you're really experiencing in a day--and how to increase the pleasure quotient of even the most mundane activities!

Chapter 9 addresses sacred sexuality, the healing of sexual wounds, and how woman can honor their breasts and their womb. Chapter 10 is about the art of adornment, including how putting on a make-up, clothes, and jewelry can become a ritual and a physical symbol of our intentions.

The fascinating qualities of water and its connection to the feminine is explored in Chapter 11. Linn talks about the amazing research of Masaru Emoto and his experiments with water, and how water is a source of purification, rejuvenation, and healing.

Chapter 12 is about manifestation and gratitude, and Chapter 13 extols the virtues and importance of creativity in a woman's life. She shares several methods of creativity, as well as wisdom on releasing the inner critic, finding your creative voice, and tapping into muses. Dance, writing, painting, and music are among the ways women can cultivate and express their creativity. The last chapters speak of how to reinvent, rejuvenate, and rebirth ourselves as women.

The author's encouragement, enthusiasm and personal stories are infectious, and left me wondering how I ended up "forgetting" the feminine parts of my psyche! I found this book incredibly nurturing, insightful, and practical. Linn's words sparked a deep longing in my being that I'm sure many women also share.

So why bother re-discovering the Divine feminine and embracing the pleasures of being a woman? I believe Linn says it best:

"Like a great tide rising, this ancestral cellular memory is beginning to resound in our soul. Many women desire to return to the spirit of the divine feminine. In the deepest place within the female soul, we yearn to reclaim not only the part of our history that has been vanquished and the womanly traditions that have been expunged, but also the corresponding missing parts of our psyches...and until this reclamation is complete, we are not whole. Thus, it is immensely valuable that we begin to awaken the mysteries of the Great Goddess that dwells within us."

I found this book so relaxing and easy to read, whilst also taking a journey through my femaleness. Covers the Goddess within each of us, all feminine aspects, our warrior women, how to take care of ourselves, what we have come here to do, our inner magic and secrets to share. A wonderful mix of spiritual truths and practical exercises to bring out the women in you. A must for the bedside table.

I have read other books by Denise Linn and enjoyed them all BUT this one really release a part of me that has been wanting to come out. It tells of many things that we as women have brought into that are not trues but ways to hold us back. I love the rituals and the easy ways to work empowerment back into our lives.

Denise Linn is a fascinating and genuine soul and her new book is powerfully uplifting for women. As women, we usually take so very little precious time for ourselves. We bottle so much of our true essence inside. This book is very insightful and helps us to see and experience that wonderful, mystical side of ourselves!

Denise has the most beautiful soul and inner beauty of any woman I have read about. She is a genuine GEM. This book is so enlightening, encouraging, it builds you up, makes you appreciate yourself and the beautiful world around you, if you just open yourself up to let the miraculous healing effect, soul-lifting, and pure joy of being a woman and being alive. Denise is a fantastic teacher. She explains it all in this fantastic book I highly recommend to every woman out there, who is searching for some truths, some magic, and the goddess in you. She guides you along the way to discover your true self. Denise really put her heart and soul in this one! This is one of the best, EVER, books I have read regarding Spirituality, soul-lifting, rejoicing, the sacredness of nature and Mother Earth. You will feel closer to the Nature of all this Earth has to offer. She shows you how to tap into all the resources and energy out there waiting for you to absorb and draw into the very center of your well-being. If you have never felt Spiritual before, this book will surely open that door for you. I believe if every woman on Earth could read this book, the World would be so full of love, and understanding and so much joy and pleasure, more than you ever dreamed of would absolutely transform Humanity. This is the first book of Denise's I have read, I wish I had discovered it sooner. I plan to buy several more of her books. Join me in this great discovery, and take the Journey.

I really enjoyed this book! The author is clearly writing from the heart of her own experiences. It feels as if you know her personally when reading it!! The content of the book is both inspiring and enlightening and will certainly help any woman to appreciate, enjoy and make the most of being herself completely!!

Denise Linn is my favorite teacher and guide. She is so incredibly beautiful and loving and all her books touch and transform.

I'm really enjoying reading this book and have been digesting it chapter at a time. I love the way the author starts each chapter with a little story about herself and then dives into the topic she is discussing. This is a book that any woman can use to help define themseves. I have two of Denis Linn books and I would definitely buy more. She has a lot to offer other woman. I highly recommend this book.

Yes, I admit, I absolutely adore Denise Linn's common sense, her writing style and her down-to-earth sensibility...all rolled up in a fabulous spiritual package.


This book answers a lot of questions and opens a lot of doors for today's woman. I cannot really add much to such complete reviews as Janet Boyer's (smiling here). I just wanted to give a resounding THUMBS UP to this beautiful book. I wish I had this book when I was in my late teens to help through all that heinous angst...