Breaking gender gaps and pushing girl power

By Guest Blogger, Robbi Hess

When it comes to strides that women have made in business -- and most recently -- on the political front from Nancy Pelosi being the first female Speaker of the House to Hillary Clinton's bid for the presidency to Sarah Palin's vice presidential nomination, the phrase "we've come a long way, baby" certainly rushes to the forefront.

In her book, The Luminous Heartbeat, historian/author Wendy Victor explores feminine evolution from a historical perspective. She traces the roots from the times when women were once "divine figures of power" (as far back as ancient Egypt) and explains that the idea of a male-dominated society has been a development only 5,000 years in the making.

The hardbound book with its gold-edged pages and lush illustrations takes readers on a journey from the Book of Genesis to modern times. It traces the author's spiritual journey as she unlocks the mysteries of why "ancient, positive feminine influences" collided and eroded. She revisits The Garden of Eden, retelling the story in the way she says it was meant to be told. Throughout the pages of the book the author encourages the reader to regain their "stature and authentic voices" for the well-being of the future.

At times, the intensely personal manner in which Victor writes alternately drew me in but made me a bit uncomfortable to be sharing in the experiences of a woman I'd never met. 

As I thumbed through the pages I found myself pausing to consider the concepts she raised, especially with her examples of Emily Dickinson's writing style. While I am not sure I walked away from having turned the last page with any sense of what I should be doing right now I did flip the cover closed with an idea of a new way to imagine situations and if nothing else I had spent a pleasurable few hours nestled into a world of thought-provoking ideas between the covers of a beautifully bound book.