Program Description: How many women are living their Mother's unlived lives? Or, their father's version of life? How do we find the balance of freedom and responsibility in choosing our lives? What is feminine wisdom and what are the most common ways a woman loses her innate female wisdom? Gail Straub has the vision and experience to help us understand what it means to be feminine and empowered in the twenty-first century. In her ongoing quest to mine the greatest truths from every era, she's found answers that let her strike a balance between contemporary roles and the archetypes that call to us from a deeper place. She makes it clear, though, that the journey is not a solitary one. She explains, "Community [as can be created with circles] is one of the most central, critical practices to a healthy lifestyle, to a lifestyle that balances feminine wisdom with masculine wisdom . . . The hard part is carving out the time to meet, because our lives are very, very busy and engaged. But this is our lifeblood. This is what sustains us." Ultimately, Ms. Straub points the way to creating relationships and community that sustain us and enable each of us to express the feminine creativity and wisdom that are uniquely our own. (Hosted by Justine Willis Toms)
A leading authority on empowerment, Gail Straub is co-director of the Empowerment Institute. In 1992 she created Grace: A Spiritual Growth Training Program designed to integrate spiritual development with social and ecological responsibility. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Omega Institute and the Russian American Humanitarian Initiative, and is a faculty member at the Edge International School for Leadership and Spirituality in the Netherlands. Her books include The Rhythm of Compassion: Caring for Self, Connecting with Society (Empowerment Institute 2008) and Returning to My Mother's House: Taking Back the Wisdom of the Feminine (High Point 2008). To learn more about the work of Gail Straub go to www.empowermenttraining.com
Topics explored in this dialogue:
How you can use play as an antidote to conflict
How knowing your roots can feed your spirituality
How you can empower others simply by listening
Why choosing not to have children can be a deeply feminine choice
