Opening message for book 1 of our club

Well, here we go. I just created the blog for our book club. I am excited that we are getting started. Here is a summary and some comments made by readers of our book that were available at the book finder site.
This is a book about getting real. It tells the truth about busyness and peace in a way that can help us women change our lives. Until quite recently, it was politically incorrect to mention that balancing work and family, while having any time left to nurture our spirit, was a tall order. Only now, when a second generation of women is entering the ranks of the family-work-spirituality jugglers, do we feel secure enough to stop for a minute and say, "Wow, this is a hard act to pull off. Sometimes we're tired, stressed out, and in danger of shutting down and losing our hearts. But if we share the truth of our lives, we can find a better way. Here's what we learned that can make it easier for you."
This book gets to the heart of how we busy women can find a center of inner peace even when life is swirling around us like a cyclone. The actual problem isn't that we women are overwhelmingly busy, or that working women with children are the busiest people on the face of the earth—the problem is that we've been taught to think that our external lives should be balanced in a prescribed way. Since they generally aren't, and the likelihood is that they never will be since life is always changing, we create suffering by resisting what is.

Inner Peace for Busy Women will show you how to stop resisting your life and start living in the center of the cyclone, where it's always peaceful. Among other things, in this book you'll learn how to say no without feeling guilty; make peace with the past; be peaceful even in circumstances where happiness is not an option; follow your inner guidance; and be a beautiful mother, sister, aunt, daughter, lover, spouse, and friend—all by being your best, authentic self.

Women are systems of energy. Understanding what feeds us and what feeds off of us is integral to establishing balance and inner peace. Busyness is not the major issue for most of us—it's our thoughts about our lives that can create symptoms of disharmony, including money and health problems, loss of empowerment, relationship and parenting difficulties, meltdowns at work, and depression. And although a long bath or a spa getaway can help, finding authentic balance means learning to take back the power we've given away and becoming wise—one satisfying step at a time.

Chat with a Friend
This book is just like sitting down with a close and trusted friend to have one of those woman-to-woman, soul searching chats. In fact, at the end of her book Joan writes that she hopes that this is what reading it will be like. Well, Joan, it is! Thanks for the "chat."
In the course of writing this book Joan looks closely at some of the problems that are very particular to women: combining work with child care; working in a man's world; and the problems inherent in the majority of marriages as experienced by women. Once again, when tackling all these issues Joan has her own particular slant. I love the vision of life in the future that she weaves through her analysis of contemporary women's problems, a vision of a public sphere that will include the feminine dimension with its qualities of "intuition, partnership, team-building, compassion, and the dream of a future when all people will have dignity, respect, and the means to live in peace." But in the end, what makes this book stand out like all of Joan's books are all those sparkling little gems sprinkled liberally throughout the pages of her book, the heartfelt stories of real people that always bring either a smile to your face or a tear to your eye.



Joan keeps getting better . . .
"Inner Peace for Busy Women" is a delicious read - nectar for the soul. It's touching, funny, practical and comforting. Full of passages to recall and apply as needed.
I've attended many of Joan's seminars and read many of her books. I also wondered what could she could offer that I had not heard or read before. What I found was new insights and knowledge which is lovingly shared. It's a book I will re-read, highlight, recommend, gift and re-read again. It's a treasure.



What We're Searching For
"Inner Peace for Busy Women"...Just reading the title of this book makes a person want to read it! Isn't this what we are all searching for in our busy lives?
As the Program Coordinator for a large retreat house, I meet many, many women who are looking for exactly that: inner peace. The number of private retreats and women's retreats that we offer here has dramatically increased over the past few years. Everyone is searching for balance, light, a sense of equilibrium -- and most are frustrated in that quest. Joan expresses, through this book, a deep understanding of the "busy-ness" of women's lives in the second millenium. There is a whole new set of challenges associated with being a woman in these times, and it is obvious that Joan has a great respect for, and desire to help, those who are living those challenges.

As a single woman, I read the beautiful poem at the beginning of the book and wondered if the rest of the book would have anything to say to me. This book brought home to me that all women -- no matter their place in this world, their social standing, their marital status -- have to deal with finding balance in their lives. Taking care of ourselves has to be a top priority if we want to be able to "nuture and bond with" others in a meaningful way.

As one who tends to ignore the "little things," the chapters in "Part IV -- Getting Real: Necessary Practicalities" were a true gift. Something as simple as "how much sleep do I need" often escapes my attention. Joan brings these things into focus gently, yet asks us to take a good look at our lives and what our priorities are. Again, taking care of ourselves is a prerequisite for achieving that dream of inner peace within our outer reality. Joan's practical suggestions -- from meditation to financial planning -- are valuable ideas that all women would benefit from attennding to.



Getting Real
Joan Borysenko is a legend in the field of mind-body medicine. In 1987, her first book, the classic: "Minding the Body, Mending the Mind," became a NY Times bestseller. In 2001, book number ten was released: "Inner Peace for Busy People." And now we are blessed with another Borysenko offering.
I wondered what she could say that was new. I didn't wonder long. Borysenko had me captivated right from the start, with her discourse on "Champagne Suffering" (Chapter 1), something you don't hear a lot about. But here she was weighing in on both sides: how good women have it these days, AND how tough are their challenges.

Chapter after chapter, Borysenko's writing is a treasure trove of insight, wisdom, and humor blessed by plenty of new twists on traditional ways of thinking. With refreshing candor, Borysenko writes with a realistic knowing of what life is like for today's woman, sharing plenty of personal stories from the trenches. Further, she provides innovative and practical strategies for handling whatever lands in your path.

Borysenko analyzes issues from all sides, in simple, straightforward fashion. Translating scientific principles of mind-body medicine into heartfelt, commonsense directives for women, she always cuts through the complexities to deliver simple, thoughtful solutions. Her words penetrate to your heart, resonate with inner truth, and move you with their sheer poetry.

One by one, Borysenko tackles each of life's challenges for busy women, laying the groundwork for peace no matter the circumstance and offering hope. Her words are passionate and energized. She imparts an excitement about the possibilities available for each woman in their most authentic self.

This is Borysenko at her best, brightest and most witty. Truth is, her work just keeps getting better and better. Thankfully, she is at peace with it all.



Essential Reading
Joan Borysenko's new book is essential reading for all women; it is definately an Inner Guide's guide. It is a vast offering of intuitive guidance for the busy woman to create a balance between "no longer and not yet." Joan provides a path for keeping our connection to Spirit, following our intuitive inner guidance and being gentle with ourselves even when we are not gentile. This directive keeps bringing us back to our Center/our Now, throughout our busy lives, while facing the demands of work, care-giving, family, relationships and the downsides of divorce, burnout and overload. Busyness, sometimes a form of self-denial, keeps unpleasant emotions at bay, but when we take steps, as offered, toward the stillness of Being, this emotional energy works as an emissary of inner wisdom. Through all these aspects of our very busy lives, Joan brings us to the truism "The present Center is where the Self best shines."
Joan provides us with the Key Element for Center/Now, "When we have sovereignty over ourselves, we are free to follow the guidance from within and create a life that breaks the mold."
Please contact me if you need any help getting started. You can reach me in my office most mornings at 402-595-1102. No question is too small. Getting started is what is important! Feel free to email questions to kgatewood@oakmail.peru.edu.