Thinking Allowed

A Personal Journey (Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen)

Illuminating the wellspring of women's spirituality, Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, Jungian analyst, shares what esoteric culture and authentic mysticism have in common: the interior experience, rather than the object or word which point to it.

In a patriarchal culture, the church or other structure can usurp the words associated with spiritual experience. This unconsciously prevents self-recognition and integration of direct, authentic mystical experience outside of the currently accepted ideology.