A Woman's Journey to God

My relationship with God has been one of contempt. Presumably on both sides. The God we're told we must love, and whom we're told loves us unconditionally, is the same one whom we're told hates women and encourages abuse of them. I'd prefer eternal hell to kowtowing. In any case it's impossible not to tick Him off. Go about with your hair uncovered, take joy in anything, duck out of polishing the floors, lip off to a man, and the `unconditional love' turns to wrath and hellfire. Not to be out-done, I had not merely smoke, but, I swear, flames coming out of my ears when religion was mentioned. I did realize I was confusing God with His messengers, but I thought He could have chosen less disgusting messengers. I did try to fix the relationship, and have run across lots of ideas. Some of them had merit but left me expecting more of a God I'd want to know. The idea that women, being the sweet helpful little things they are, of course God loves them, made Him sound like a good ole boy who expects the nearest one to bring Him a beer. The idea of replacing God with a Goddess had appeal, but some ancient goddess I'd never heard of before reading a book didn't have any power in my mind. The idea that God was an abstract law of physics made sense to my logical mind, but left me lonely. The idea that He was my personal buddy didn't mesh with His bad treatment of women historically. All right, so I'm irrational and cantankerous, but a lot of women have similar feelings. Being angry at God is like having a splinter in your mind. That Ms. Borysenko was able to over-ride the negative (and crazy) impressions I've had, without pretending they don't exist, is no small achievement. She's taken the various paths and searches and fragments and arranged them into something more panoramic than we've been able to see on our own, and made sense from all the nonsense. I did feel that she over-looked an aspect of women, the aspect where we're not always so feminine. Gathering in prayer and meditation groups, helping the community, and hanging out together, is all well and good. But sometimes we want to kick butts and slay monsters all by ourselves, and behave in down-right unfeminine ways, and I was disappointed that she confined the definition of `woman' to `feminine' in the traditional sense, and made the path a little narrow. Nonetheless, the book is healing and refreshing, and she did banish all those nasty patriarchs with stones in their hands from my head

I totally identify with Borysenko and with her personal journey of establishing a relationship with God. Having also explored many religions, growing tired and weary of the fact that most or so patriarchal in nature that they exclude and limit woman's participation and exploration of spirituality. Borysenko has tied it all together for all of us seekers, confirming our hunger for the truth, acknowledging what we have learned through the many stops on our journey to a mature relationship with God. She shows us the commonality,the beauty of integrating what we have learned and shows us the necessity of healing the wounds we may have sustained in our journey. She offers us a book that acknowledges our spiritual differences from men and balances it with a true acceptance of all faiths, so that whether we are Jewish, Catholic, New Age or other, we all are equal in the eyes of God, and as women we can stand side by side and celebrate being the spiritual women that we are. Borysenko ties it all together and confirms what I knew all along, Woman's spirituality is truly her own. I found it impossible to put this book down, for each page offered a resolution of the multi-plicity of religious ideas and put it back into a woman's concept of having a personal relationship with God. I am going to buy a copy for all of my sisters.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. Joan brings in interesting examples from various world religions as well as relating personal anecdotes. She offers the hopeful message that women do not have to give up their religious or cultural heritage in order to embrace a beneficial and life-affirming spirituality, at the same time acknowledging the negative messages involved in many of the Judeo-Christian trappings. I didn't want to stop reading it -- it's truly a 'pearl'.

In A WOMAN'S JOURNEY TO GOD: FINDING THE FEMININE PATH, Joan Borysenko has once again gone steps beyond her solidly scientific background to a place completely her own...one of spirituality, community, ritual, faith, intuition, prayer, identity, and healing. This well-written book is full of inspirational stories, poems, and rituals that can be used to mark special times in a woman's life while on her way to God. Joan's compassion and understanding shine from the pages, and her humor urges us all to keep things in perspective while on this journey of life. She is a spiritual leader in a chaotic world, and her book reads like a beacon of truth. Come, take this pilgrimage with Joan. You deserve to partake of her wisdom. Learn from it. And when she finally publishes a book of her poetry, I'll be the first one in line to purchase it...

I am a woman in my twenties and I was surprised and delighted while reading this book. I especially loved the opening poem asking, "What is holy?" along with chapters 1, 4 and 8. (In fact, I am hoping for a collection of published poetry by the author!) The reason I was surprised --I related to many of the feelings Ms. Borysenko describes regarding women and religion/spirituality. I once led a small, informal group in the Lord's Prayer and I tried to playfully start it with "Our Mother" but people (women too) playfully scorned me back like what an outlandish idea. So, I was and am very interested in the ideas expressed by the author. I also appreciated the inclusion and respect of several cultures and their contributions to spirituality. I really want to re-read this book and pass it on. Thank you for sharing your beautiful insights, and please keep writing.