Author Description

Collages by Rashani V. Réa, interwoven with words by 77 women poets!<br/><br/>As I read through the selections Rashani has chosen for this “Journal for the Ordinary Mystic” I was struck by the many ways she has successfully brought together the words of “Medieval and Contemporary Women Mystics”. While reading the poems, I found myself drawn over and over into the Present Moment. What Rashani has done, so very sensitively, is bring together a constellation of poetic offerings that pierce the reader’s heart. At the same time, the journal itself cradles the reader’s Spirit. The invitation to interact on the pages is omnipresent. While the poetic words of the women writers do stand fully on their own, each offering is surrounded by Rashani’s breath-taking imagery. The shapes, the juxtapositions, and the invitation for the reader to interact by writing her or his own words work together exquisitely. How would I describe the range of what these poets/mystics offer? Open-ended Questions • Simmering Possibilities • Defiant Challenges • Heart-rending Confessions • Empty-handed Surrenders • Passionate Prayers • Piercing Insights • Tender Forgivenesses • Keen Observations • Objective Assessments • Fervent Calls for Clarity • Tender Allowings • Seductive Beckonings • Keenly Unapologetic Observations • Deep Calls to be Present • Empty-handed Acts of Letting Go • The Constellation of Offerings come together as Heartful Invitations to Awaken to Oneself. This Journal is itself a blessing in the ways it brings together so much Wisdom in the form of an invitation to participate by using it to share your own thoughts and feelings.<br/>–Dorothy Fadiman, american documentary filmmaker, director and producer