The Unknown She
Eight Faces of an Emerging Consciousness

by Hilary Hart

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
1. Entering the Secret, Angela Fischer
2. In Relation, Pansy Hawk Wing
3. Blaze of Light, Blood of Creation, Andrew Harvey
4. The Storming of Love, Jackie Crovetto
5. The Twenty-Two Taras, Ani Tenzin Palmo and the Nuns of Dongyu Gatsal Ling
6. Women's Ways of Living, Sobonfu Somé
7. The Unknown She, Lynn Barron
8. Everything Holy, Myosho Virginia Matthews
Contributor Information
Notes

EXCERPTS

We're not going to solve our own problems or the problems of the world the old way. The masculine ways, the ways of the warrior, of violence, don't work. This is a historic time for women, and for the feminine. Women who welcome and live their own power can help shift the consciousness of the world, to bring out a more positive side of the feminine, to bring a new way of being into the world. Feminine spirit more than ever wants us to acknowledge its presence, wants us to be truthful and honest about where its energy is, and to use it to heal.

-- Sobonfu Somé, West African Shaman, from the chapter Women's Ways of Living

There is a science of feminine transformation. It exists. It is an ancient science as old as human consciousness itself. It is a science grounded in the knowledge that real transformation for women can happen in accordance with our nature as women.

-- Angela Fischer, Sufi, from the chapter Entering the Secret

The way of the Sacred Pipe is the way of instinctual truth, the way of honesty, the way that allows the natural flow of things.... It's bringing people back to our basic doctrine that says, 'All of my relatives, I am in relation to all things around me.' Not only with people, but with nature, and with the elements, and with our ancestors, and with the stars.

-- Pansy Hawk Wing, Lakota Sioux, from the chapter In Relation

In the vastness of love we can really meet each other.

-- Myosho Virginia Matthews, Rinzai Zen, from the chapter Everything Holy

We can't possibly have a sane world until we realize that the function of the masculine is to allow itself to be irradiated by the feminine, so that it can truly be a protector, and guardian and warrior for those forces that actually ensure the continuance of life. If the masculine doesn't allow this deep and intense permeation by the feminine, it very easily becomes psychotic, addicted to transcendence, power, and control, and while pretending to be the guardian of life, actually becomes its secret destroyer.

-- Andrew Harvey, Scholar, teacher, from the chapter Blaze of Light, Blood of Creation

Love lies at the core of my being, and enters all my days. And to be in love is to live in love, is to be vitally alive! Every moment is born anew; everything has significance and meaning. But to live out of this passion, a passion that is usually associated solely with sexual expression, makes the more restrained individuals amongst us shrink away in fear, stand back from life. For what they sense is a real power, what they sense is our true nature! But this is love, love that knows no bounds, that flows through the created and uncreated world, that brings emptiness into form, and brings the freedom of death into each moment!

-- Jackie Crovetto, Naqshbandi Sufi, from the chapter The Storming of Love

The spiritual ascent is work, effort. You take one step at a time, pass through one stage after another, move closer and closer to the light. But suddenly the light becomes so bright it is black. And the descent begins. The descent is a pull. You have surrendered and it's not up to you. You are taken by love. You are gone. You are lost in the luminous black, the sweet silence, the dynamic, living emptiness of the Unknown She.

-- Lynn Barron, Sufi, from the chapter The Unknown She

About the Contributors

	Angela Fischer integrates the wisdom of ancient feminine mysticism with Sufi teachings. She lives in northern Germany with her husband and four children, and is the author of Frauen Meditieren Anders (Women Meditate Differently). website: www.einheit-des-lebens.net
	Pansy Hawk Wing is a Lakota Sioux elder. She leads ceremonies in the United States and internationally, and is a counselor and educator at the Si Tanka Huron University in South Dakota.
	Andrew Harvey is a scholar, translator, and mystic. He lectures around the country extensively on many topics including the individual's potential for a direct relationship with God. website: www.andrewharvey.net
	Jackie Crovetto is a Naqshbandi Sufi living in England with her husband and the youngest of three children. She lectures on spirituality and hosts meditation meetings in her home.
	Ani Tenzin Palmo is a British-born nun within the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. She teaches internationally and currently lives in northern India where she is establishing a nunnery. website: www.tenzinpalmo.com
	Sobonfu Somé is a spiritual elder from the Dagara tribe in West Africa. Sobonfu has written three books, The Spirit of Intimacy, Welcoming Spirit Home, and Falling out of Grace and teaches throughout the U.S. and Europe. website: www.sobonfu.com
	Lynn Barron is a mystic living in southern California. She receives formal training in the Naqshbandi Sufi order, and lectures on mysticism throughout the country.
	Myosho Virginia Matthews is a lay ordained Rinzai Zen Buddhist nun living in northern California with her husband and three sons. She is a professional dancer, and is helping establish a women's retreat center within her lineage.

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