I’ve been involved in a “book purge” — clearing book shelves in every room in my house, with clear intentions to give lots and lots away. I’ve actually been doing a genuinely good job….feeling truly cleansed and self-satisfied! Really! Purging is good for all of us…but I digress because that’s a different topic.
This is about “found books” — those books you read, that have a profound impact, that you stick on a shelf, vowing to return to and reflect on even more. My book purge has produced quite a few in that category…and I’m definitely holding onto them…. and I’ll probably reflect on a few of them in blogs. For now, I want to share the following book: I SIT LISTENING TO THE WIND: WOMAN’S ENCOUNTER WITHIN HERSELF by Judith Durek. And there’s another one I can’t locate….CIRCLE OF STONES: WOMAN’S JOURNEY TO HERSELF. It was published in 1993, and I imagine that if you’re interested, you can google it and find it…
I’m especially interested in this because of a particular passage I’ve re-read….and I’m wondering if this passage was one of “several seeds” that long ago stimulated my interest in using a journal for dialogues with the self. Recently I wrote a blog suggesting you use a journal to construct a conversation with your sub-personalities — different aspects of your self — to dig more deeply into a decision you’re trying to make, a conflict you’re trying to resolve….then just a few days later I opened this “found book.”
The book is about the importance of women’s connections with one another. And at the same time, it reflects on how much we want and need from one another that we do NOT get….here’s a long quote:
“How might it have been different for you, when you were at odds with your closest friends…confused and in conflict within, if there had been a place for you, where you could be received by a woman you respected? And she listened as you told her how cut off you felt from yourself?….. If the woman had quietly laid a fire and slowly begun to teach you a strange, new kind of dialogue…writing your thoughts and feelings to the cut off part of yourself that did not seem to understand…then to sit in silence, listening for a response. And you had been surprised at how that mysterious other part of you listened…and amazed to hear its answer! …. And as the fire burned low, you sat hugging your journal….knowing you had just begun an encounter that would continue all your life…… how might your life have been different?
” The meaning? You have a wise woman inside you. Access her. AND you have a need to connect with the wisdom of other women. A need for safe places for self exploration. A need for reflection, for quiet, for focus on your direction in life. A circle of women can sometimes provide that. It’s worth consideration. And If I still haven’t convinced you of how much journal writing can help you center and connect with yourself, and feel more confident about your direction, this particular book might do it. If you look for it and have trouble finding it, let me know. And if you have questions about journaling, I’m always happy to answer them.
AND if you are a man reading this, the same applies to you… thoughtful reflection, writing in a journal, finding a