It's about transformation ...

Years ago (many years), I was making the crucial transition from martial arts to Oriental (Mid-Eastern, or belly) dance. I knew that I had "come home." But after several moves, town to town, and several teachers, I found myself in a city with no Oriental dance teachers.

There really wasn't much choice. I "hung out my shingle," and started to teach.

You know the old saying, of course: "We teach that which we need to learn."

The process of teaching accelerated my own learning.

Beyond this, though, I found myself having a desire, an actual longing, to find a pathway for personal growth. I knew that the dance art could be - and would be - an essential component. Beyond that, I didn't have a clue.

With all my heart, I wished that there was a book to read that would explain all of this. How we - as women - could reconnect with what was our original sacred path; how we could find honest-to-God(dess) body/mind/psyche/spirit integration and healing.

What I was looking for was a path of personal transformation.

I looked high and low. I looked for teachers and books. (Remember, this was pre-internet days - no on-line search to pull up the world's resources!)

Finally, I found my first "clue" -- a book, Being a Woman, by Dr. Toni Grant. She wrote it back in 1988, in response to her own search, her own longing - which was much like mine.

And guess what? Even though she proposed four core feminine archetypes, she didn't invent them - for that, she gave credit to Toni Wolfe, who was both the mistress and protege of Carl Jung. However, she built on and elucidated the set of four "archetypes" that Toni Wolfe had intuited. She made that work not only available to women today, but relevant as well - a great starting point!

This was like finding the first "stepping stone" in a hidden path; it truly was like finding a guidepost hidden in the deep forest. From here, I began my journey - a journey that evolved into the book that I had wanted to read, and which I've now written: Unveiling: An Inner Journey.

And now, dear ones, back to the "detail work" of preparing this book for publication - so I can get it to you!

yours in dance - A.