The Woman's Book of Courage: Meditations for Empowerment & Peace of Mind (Empowering Affirmations, Daily Meditations, Encouraging Gift for Women) - Softcover

Thoele, Sue Patton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1642503002 ISBN 13: 9781642503005

Publisher: Books That Save Lives, 2021

Synopsis

Affirmations and Meditations for Courage

Women Empowerment. The Woman's Book of Courage is a little book with a big message. We can take charge of our lives, stop trying to please other people all the time, and live happily with ourselves and others—right now. In more than a hundred short entries, author and psychotherapist Sue Patton Thoele offers meditations, affirmations, and true stories, including deeply personal, often humorous, revelatory stories of her own sometimes rocky path of personal growth.

Powerful Affirmations and Meditations. Since it was first published, The Woman's Book of Courage has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of women. In this revised collection, loving reflections provide wisdom and encouragement to help overcome anxiety, gain self-esteem, acknowledge your own excellence, and improve relationships. Women dealing with transition or recovery or those wishing to enhance personal power will find themselves turning to these meditations over and over again.

A Self-Help Book for All Women. Thoele is on a mission to help each and every woman uncover her authentic self and tap into her unique wellspring of wisdom and inner-strength. Thoele offers practical tools and gentle guidance to aid in many areas of life, such as:

• Setting boundaries
• Changing self-defeating behaviors
• Increasing compassion for yourself and others

Readers of motivational books and inspirational books for women like I've Been Thinking..., Journey to the Heart, or Each Day a New Beginningwill love The Woman's Book of Courage.

About this title

About the Author

As a psychotherapist for over twenty years, Sue Patton Thoele never envisioned actually writing a book. But at forty-five, a writing muse grabbed her by the scuff of the neck and would not let her go. By the time her first book was published, a passion for writing had taken root in her heart. Now, she is a successful mentor, speaker, and author of over a dozen encouraging and empowering books that deal with issues similar to those both she and her psychotherapy clients deal with every day. Sue is a mother, stepmother, grandmother, wife, and emeritus hospice chaplain. She is a lover of dogs who finds great joy in swimming with dolphins in the wild. Sue’s titles include Strength, The Courage to Be Yourself, The Woman's Book of Courage, and The Woman's Book of Confidence.

Learn more about Sue and her work at www.suepattonthoele.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Inquiring Within

SO MANY OF US ARE IN THE HABIT OF looking “out there” for our answers, invalidating our own inner wisdom by assuming that, in some magical way, others must be wiser than we are―even about what is good for us. We become other-directed rather than selfdirected. One of the biggest reasons for this behavior is that we are terrified of making mistakes. If we follow someone else's counsel, then it's his or her fault if things go wrong. But if we are to take charge of our own lives, we must have the courage to inquire within, find our own answers, and make our own mistakes.

So often my clients say, “I don't know” when I ask what they want or need in order to be able to make changes in their lives. To free them from their own inner pressure to give the perfect answer I ask, “Well, if you were to take a guess, what would it be?” Almost always they have an immediate and right-on “guess.” We are our own best experts. We know what we should do. We are only afraid we don't know or afraid that our knowing will be wrong. It takes courage to listen to ourselves and act on what we hear.

We can learn to trust ourselves by inquiring within. To practice doing this, sit quietly, close your eyes, and for a minute focus your attention on your breathing. Gently visualize your inner wisdom as a graceful butterfly. Admire her beauty, and encourage your butterfly to sit on your shoulder and whisper her wisdom in your ear. Be still and listen. We do know what we want and need, and we can have the courage to accept the results and the rewards of inquiring within.

I am wise and capable.
I am my own best expert, my own authority
about what is right for me.
I have the courage to listen to my inner wisdom.

Stopping Borrowed Trouble

BEING ABLE TO HANDLE ALMOST ANY thing as long as we take it one moment at a time is an idea we can accept intellectually. Yet how many of us gallop into tomorrow to see what trouble we can imagine there, or slip and slide back into yesterday to chew on its trouble? We need to make the choice to concentrate on what is on our plate today. Living in the now, borrowing trouble neither from the past nor the future, is one of healthiest choices we can make for assuring peace of mind.

I have a friend whose husband is critically ill and will, if he survives, have a long and tedious recovery. Whenever she slips into the past with regrets about what she might have done to help him avoid this illness, she quickly pulls herself into the now by saying, “I did the best I could. I will be even more careful in the future. I will just handle today.“

When she begins to panic about the future, she allows herself to “wail like an Arab woman” and get it all out, then she says to herself, “I am thankful he is alive today. I will take care of myself today by going to aerobics, calling my kids, or going to a Japanese restaurant for sushi―whatever feels good. Right now, this minute, I'm okay.” She is making the courageous and healthy choice to live in the present.

We all have the ability to choose to live in the moment, as my friend is doing. Broken down into minute-size or day-size pieces, even the most painful experiences can be handled with courage and grace.

I live in the present.
I can courageously handle anything
as long as I take it one moment at a time.
“This, too, shall pass.”

Edition details

• Publisher: Books That Save Lives
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1642503002
• ISBN 13: 9781642503005
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 294