Women's Perspective on Money and Spirituality April 05 from Website: www.womensperspective.org

Falling into the Arms of God: Meditations with Teresa of Avila, by Megan Don
New World Library, Novato, CA

Book Review

Those of us on a spiritual journey soon find we have many spiritual guides and companions. One of the first things we learn is how many people, over the centuries, have walked the path before us, and how much we have to learn from them. Megan Don provides a wonderful reintroduction to Teresa of Avila, a powerful spiritual presence of 16th century Spain. The book is far more than a biography, however, it is an active guide designed with meditations you can use in your own practice and suggestions for working with a group to explore spiritual issues at a deeper level.

Teresa was a Carmelite nun at a time when monasteries were open to the outside world. As a result, she worked her entire life on ways of integrating a powerful internal spiritual life with the demands and frustrations of everyday living, just as most of us do. She attracted students and wrote books to share what she was learning. Her best known book is The Interior Castle, in which she compared the human soul to a crystal castle in which there are seven dwelling places, each representing aspects of the spiritual journey.

Megan Don adopts this framework for her book, which is divided into seven "dwellings," including The Awakening, The Return, Self-Knowledge and Surrender. Each section includes several mini-chapters explaining Teresa's insights, relating teachings from many other teachers, and valuable personal meditations and group exercises.

Megan Don is particularly effective when discussing the problems of fear and distrust (of the inherent generosity of life). These sections will be particularly useful for women struggling with financial issues and integrating their economic and spiritual selves.