The New Return to the Great Mother

The New Return to the Great Mother
Author: Isa Gucciardi
Publisher: Sacred Stream
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2021-04
Genre:
ISBN: 9780989855426

Since publishing Return to the Great Mother in 2013, numerous mothers, partners, and birthing attendants have come forward to share with me their stories and to express gratitude for helping them connect with the power of the Great Mother. Some are continuing to strengthen their relationship with this ancient and ongoing source of power, calling upon her whenever they are faced with situations that require them to step outside of their comfort zone and into a new way of knowing themselves or life. Within this book, you will read about these and other stories and how the Great Mother was there, always supporting-sometimes sustaining-the women and children as they moved through the sacred initiation of childbirth.In this updated edition, I have included information about the importance and power of initiations. While the focus of the book is on childbirth (the one initiation we can choose whether to participate in), it is just one of seven key steps we take on the path toward personal growth. Men have their own essential initiation processes, of course, but because this book highlights the uniquely female endeavor of giving birth, I have spoken only to the initiations of girls and women.It is through the discussion of the seven initiations of birth, puberty, menses, first sexual encounter, childbirth, menopause, and death that I hope to shed light on the life-altering effects that initiatory experiences can have on us. Like rungs on a ladder, each initiation can serve as a sturdy step upon which we feel supported as we climb upward toward greater awareness and understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.

The Return of the Mother

The Return of the Mother
Author: Andrew Harvey
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 454
Release: 2013-08-20
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1583948201

Adapted from a series of lectures on the historical basis and current resurgence of the sacred feminine, given by Andrew Harvey at the California Institute of Integral Studies in Spring 1994, The Return of the Mother is a profound journey into the heart of the Divine Mother. In this comprehensive and groundbreaking work, mystical scholar Andrew Harvey unearths traces of the sacred feminine in major world religions—Hinduism, Islam (Sufism), Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity—and in aboriginal and indigenous wisdom traditions. Harvey presents a scathing critique of the patriarchal distortions in religious history and doctrine that have obscured full knowledge of the Divine Mother, and shows how to reintegrate this vital aspect into the spiritual consciousness of humankind. The Return of the Mother offers a radical new perspective, balancing the historical overemphasis on transcendence by honoring the immanence of the divine in passionate engagement in the world. Only by cultivating a direct, respectful relationship with the transformative power of the sacred feminine can we alter our disastrous attitude of dissociation from nature, the body, sexuality, and the details of human life, and generate the energy and compassion needed to reverse the course of destruction we have set the planet—and all of life—hurtling toward. In lively question-and-answer sections, Harvey further illuminates these vital issues and takes a strong stand against our dependence on “gurus” and “masters,” proposing instead an egalitarian model of spiritual community based on intimate groups of mutually supportive guides and friends. The Return of the Mother is an eloquent and passionate call for all of us to rediscover and reclaim an authentic and empowering relationship to the divine, and recreate a sacred life-in-the-world.

Return to the Great Mother

Return to the Great Mother
Author: Isa Gucciardi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 92
Release: 2013-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9780989855402

Return to the Great Mother will help mothers-to-be, their partners, and birth professionals rediscover the Great Mother: the transformative feminine energy at the heart of the birthing process. The book touches on some of the factors that have led people to become disconnected from this power. It also offers the perspective of birth as an initiation and the heal ing implications of this view. Dozens of women's stories are presented here. These accounts describe how women reconnected with the Great Mother, and how this has affected their experience of giving birth and changed them as women, mothers, and healers.

The Goddess

The Goddess
Author: David Leeming
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2016-03-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1780235380

For as long as we have sought god, we have found the goddess. Ruling over the imaginations of humankind’s earliest agricultural civilizations, she played a critical spiritual role as a keeper of nature’s fertile powers and an assurance of the next sustaining harvest. In The Goddess, David Leeming and Christopher Fee take us all the way back into prehistory, tracing the goddess across vast spans of time to tell the epic story of the transformation of belief and what it says about who we are. Leeming and Fee use the goddess to gaze into the lives and souls of the people who worshipped her. They chart the development of traditional Western gender roles through an understanding of the transformation of concepts of the Goddess from her earliest roots in India and Iran to her more familiar faces in Ireland and Iceland. They examine the subordination of the goddess to the god as human civilizations became mobile and began to look upon masculine deities for assurances of survival in movement and battle. And they show how, despite this history, the goddess has remained alive in our spiritual imaginations, in figures such as the Christian Virgin Mother and, in contemporary times, the new-age resurrection of figures such as Gaia. The Goddess explores this central aspect of ancient spiritual thought as a window into human history and the deepest roots of our beliefs.

Coming to Peace

Coming to Peace
Author: Isa Gucciardi
Publisher: Sacred Stream
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2017
Genre: Conflict (Psychology)
ISBN: 9780692705490

The essence of resolution lies in the recognition of the deep and unbroken connectedness that we share as human beings. This groundbreaking book shows how the processes of Coming to Peace meet those in conflict and provides them a pathway to reconciliation and wholeness.

The Heart of the Great Mother

The Heart of the Great Mother
Author: Christine R. Page
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2020-02-11
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 159143355X

Reveals sacred spiritual tools to connect with the love, passion, and creative powers of the Great Mother for spiritual transformation • Explores the three faces of the Great Mother’s love and wisdom in our lives and how to build our magician’s wand, which enables us to be masters of our creativity • Details the journey of the soul through the twelve signs of the zodiac to integrate the shadow self and embody the soul’s true light • Explains how we are being called to birth a new world, one that embraces the divine feminine qualities of intuition, emotional creative power, and rhythmic renewal The year 2012 marked the birth of a new cycle of time that will last for the next 26,000 years. In charge of such birth is the Great Mother, the eternal source of all creation. She is calling on the feminine within us all to create a world worthy of the next seven generations and begin an era of peace, abundance, and spiritual evolution. To birth this new world, we must release our hold on old destructive patterns and instead embrace the divine feminine qualities of intuition, powerful creativity, and rhythmic renewal. As Christine Page reveals, the Great Mother hears our heart’s yearning to escape our old ways of suffering and struggle to find peace, fulfillment, and joy. She is reaching out to us across the dimensions, offering spiritual initiation and the chance to know ourselves fully right now. Dr. Page explains how important it is to acknowledge and integrate our shadow selves--the unloved parts of us--so we can radiate our light from the fullness of who we are without shame or judgment. Drawing on alchemy and mythology, the author details the journey of the soul through the twelve signs of the zodiac until our inner light shines. She also explores how to connect with and use sacred spiritual tools to open our hearts and merge with the Great Mother’s love and creative powers. Exploring the mythology of the Triple Goddess, the author explains how the three faces of the Great Mother help us on our spiritual journey of transformation: As virgin she inspires us to manifest our dreams. As mother, she teaches us to celebrate and nurture all living things, especially ourselves. As crone, she shows us that creativity changes like the seasons, encouraging us not to be possessed by our creations but to embrace mystery and impermanence. Finally, the Great Mother emboldens us to build our magician’s wand, the rod of light along the spine which enables us to be masters of our creativity, bringing forth transformation for ourselves and generations of children still to come as we embark into a new era of expanded consciousness and love.

The Great Cosmic Mother

The Great Cosmic Mother
Author: Monica Sjoo
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 531
Release: 2013-12-10
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0062336967

This classic exploration of the Goddess through time and throughout the world draws on religious, cultural, and archaeological sources to recreate the Goddess religion that is humanity’s heritage. Now, with a new introduction and full-color artwork, this passionate and important text shows even more clearly that the religion of the Goddess--which is tied to the cycles of women’s bodies, the seasons, the phases of the moon, and the fertility of the earth--was the original religion of all humanity.

A Mother's Book of Blessings

A Mother's Book of Blessings
Author: Natasha Fried
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2018
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1426218966

"With ageless wisdom for every occasion, this elegant little book is the perfect gift for moms to share with their children -- and for themselves. Time-honored proverbs, enlightening parables, and inspiring poetry, illustrated with exquisite vintage art, encourage readers to contemplate and celebrate life's milestones. These uplifting words and their invaluable lessons, drawn from cultures around the world, will resonate with families of all walks. Whether commemorating a birthday, or celebrating a housewarming or a special holiday, this timeless treasure of 100-plus blessings provides guidance and encouragement for everyone: an enduring keepsake readers will turn to again and again."--Provided by publisher.

25 Things Every New Mom Should Know

25 Things Every New Mom Should Know
Author: Martha Sears
Publisher:
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2017-09-12
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1558328920

25 Things Every New Mom Should Know presents the most-trusted baby-care in 25 succinct points which give new moms information, confidence, wisdom, and the ability to trust themselves.

The First Forty Days

The First Forty Days
Author: Heng Ou
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2016-04-26
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1613129416

After labor, it’s time for rest: A gentle guide to zuo yuezi, the ancient Chinese practice of postpartum self-care, including sixty simple recipes. The first forty days after the birth of a child offer an essential and fleeting period of rest and recovery for the new mother. Based on Heng Ou’s own postpartum experience with zuo yuezi, a set period of “confinement” in which a woman remains at home focusing on healing and bonding with her baby, The First Forty Days revives the lost art of caring for the mother after birth. As modern mothers are pushed to prematurely “bounce back” after delivering their babies, and are often left alone to face the physical and emotional challenges of this new stage of their lives, the first forty days provide a lifeline—a source of connection, nourishment, and guidance. This book includes sixty simple recipes for healing soups, replenishing meals and snacks, and calming and lactation-boosting teas, all formulated to support the unique needs of the new mother. In addition to recipes, this warm and encouraging guide offers advice on arranging a system of help during the postpartum period, navigating relationship challenges, and honoring the significance of pregnancy and birth. Fully illustrated, it is a practical guide and inspirational read for all new mothers and mothers-to-be—the perfect ally during the first weeks with a new baby. “Bringing our attention back to the importance of the postpartum period for new mothers helps to create space for this essential period of integration and recovery . . . an invaluable companion during the first 40 days and beyond.” —Ricki Lake & Abby Epstein, filmmakers, The Business of Being Born