A Woman of Power

Lynn V. Andrews
Writer, Lecturer, Teacher, Shaman

Here is a woman who I consider to be a "Woman of Power." A woman who lives the poem "Imagine a Woman" in my previous post. At a very timely juncture in my life, I was drawn to start reading Lynn's books, which were incredibly healing for me at the time. It was a period of my life where I felt lost and in limbo. It was after my life-partner had passed away. I was browsing through the library one day and I felt strongly compelled toward a certain area of the library, then a certain section, then a very particular shelf. When I looked, I could feel all this energy coming from the books. I picked one out and took it home. I thought, if nothing else, it will be really fun to read a good story and be entertained.

What I began to read was absolutely amazing, and I did not stop reading until I had read every book Lynn had written! They spoke to me at a very deep level. These stories were of women, ancient women, and ancient women's teachings. The stories lead you through Lynn's personal life experiences with two very powerful female native American teachers that Lynn magically meets through these marvelously synchronistic events. Lynn's stories are about the teachings, initiations, and powerful tranformations that she undergoes, and of her experiences with an ancient and mysterious group of women called the "Sisterhood of the Shields."

When I read her books, I could feel the truth of her experiences in my Being. They spoke to that part of my womanhood and femaleness that longed for these teachings. The part of me that has grown up and lived (like most of us) in an extremely patriarchal culture that has denied, repressed, and forcibly silenced that uniquely feminine and womanly part of ourselves (man or woman, we all have a feminine and masculine side via our right and left brains!). That feminine part of us is located within our feelings of receptivity, intuition, nurturing and mothering, and in our soft, tender, gentle, loving and kind ways. It is also that part of us that strongly connects to the earth, to nature, to animals and to all beings.

I felt a rekindling and reconnection within me. I could feel my self-esteem and self-confidence rise, as well as a newfound sense of strength and courage. I could feel Lynn's stories coursing through me, awakening and reconnecting ancient parts of myself and my womanhood.

Several years later, through synchronistic events, I found myself sitting beside Lynn Andrews for lunch one day. It was like a dream. It seemed we had a mutual friend who just happened to mention to me that he knew her, and made arrangements for me to meet her. It was a wonderful experience. She had an amazingly beautiful energetic presence. And I got to express to her how deeply grateful I was for her teachings.

About Lynn Andrews:

Leader in the field of spirituality and personal development, ranked as one of the top self-improvement experts in the world, and considered pre-eminent in the field of global shamanic cosmologies, Lynn is the author of 19 books and workbooks, including Woman at the Edge of Two Worlds, A Spiritual Journey Through Menopause and The Power Deck, Cards of Wisdom.

She is the creator of “Menopause and the Feminine Rites of Passage” - meditations, ceremonies and exercises for transformation and joy for all stages of a woman's life, from puberty through menopause. And architect of the Personal Act of Power - tools for spiritual growth and personal empowerment.

Lynn is also a writing teacher, successful female business owner and founder of the Lynn Andrews Center for Sacred Arts and Training, now in its 14th year, and the Joshua Tree Gathering, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2008.

About Lynn's Work:

Lynn Andrews' writings reflect the juxtaposition of our urban lives with the magical existence expressed by the wisdom of her native American teachers. Following the practice of her teachers, she tells stories and relates experiences - that at first may seem unrelated. But when the fragments and pieces are brought together, they form a coherent whole.

Andrews writes:

"There is magic in this world if you want the world to be magical. If you want life to be special, it will be. No one wants to be bored or consumed by ordinary drudgery. But what happens, all too often, is that when magic is presented to us, we don't believe it, because we don't trust ourselves. We don't realize what can really be accomplished. We don't realize that if we wish to, we can take other forms. We can sit in the presence of the great masters, angels, or ancient seers of wisdom and find peace and wisdom, but it takes many small deaths, the giving away of old limitations, to get there."

Please visit Lynn Andrews website at:
www.lynnandrews.com

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Read a transcript of a lecture given by Lynn Andrews at The Bodhi Tree Bookstore in West Hollywood, California, in November 2001:

http://www.bodhitree.com/lectures/Andrews.html

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Here are a few quotes from Lynn Andrews' book Shakkai, Woman of the Sacred Garden

“When you work in the world of power as a woman of power, you make a few dear friends and you isolate yourself from the world, because very few can understand your commitment, your pain, your desire for compassion and love. Few can relate to your life and what you seek.”

"We make such a drama out of life. For some reason the human being has to develop an extraordinary ego just to exist. Because of that ego, we think we are better than the flowers, better than the animals and the birds, and certainly better than other human beings and races that are not our own, but in fact life is simply life, and life is sacred. Beyond anything, life is sacred.”

“So many of us move outside ourselves to find truth. We go out into the world in search of something larger than ourselves. We do not realize that truth lies within. What we create in the world we must first create within ourselves.”

“The path of illumination is the path of balance, the path of balance with one foot in the material world and one foot securely rooted in the spiritual world. Many people today who are on this path, the path of spirit, are filled with anger from their childhoods. They never deal with that anger, and they throw away the physical life out of a need to reject the pain of their earlier life, and they call themselves spiritual. But they sabotage themselves at every turn. They hold up a spirit shield, but their feet are not planted on bedrock. Their feet are planted in quicksand, and spiritual power will eventually overwhelm them. Then one day they will have to hear the voice of the great teachers, and that voice will tell them that they need to go back and learn to walk in balance. For everything you do spiritually, you need to strengthen your body as well. You must stay centered, always living in your center, looking out from that place of your sacred witness into the world.”