Joan Borysenkso has been leading women's spiritual retreats since 1988. She is the author of eleven books including A Woman's Book of Life, A Woman's Journey to God and The Ways of the Mystic. On this seven and one-half hour audio retreat, she presents prayers, meditations, stories, and sacred rituals designed to open listeners up to their essential selves.

"Spirituality is a return to essence, to our true nature," says Borysenko. "What makes women's spirituality different from men's are the portals through which we return to that state." Using her training and skills as a medical science researcher, clinical psychologist, and former teacher at Harvard Medical School, she taps into the insights and illustrative material from these diverse fields.

Borysenko begins with a discussion of the three essentials of spiritual retreat: return, rest, and remember. Also helpful at the start is her assessment of the six parts of a spiritual practice: location, invocation, light, listening, prayer, and dedication. Borysenko then examines the four cycles in women's lives as maiden, mother, guardian, and crone. The challenge is to gain a deeper appreciation for who you really are. Sessions on self-knowledge, mindfulness awareness, and intuition are sure to spur many changes in day to day life. Explorations of ways to create your own rituals and reclaim women's stories lead naturally into the last session on integrating the path of spirituality into our busy lives. Along the way are fascinating sidebars on journaling, waking dreams, spinning straw into gold, Walking Sarah's Circle, and using poetry as a meaning maker.