Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Finding Your Inner Wolf
(Barbara Wood)
I recently re-read a book that I enjoyed as much the second time around as I did the first. And so I would like to share it with you. "Women Who Run With the Wolves," is written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, a Jungian analyst who urges modern women to get in touch with their inner, intuitive selves. There is, Estes tells us, in our contemporary culture, the injunction for women to be perfect - that is, to behave, be nice, be modest, be polite. This injunction is not only nonsense, it is impossible, because to be perfect means you have to sit perfectly still and that nothing about you can ever change. To live such a life would be boring to say the least, and not at all productive.


And I agree! Women today are indeed cut off from their inner selves, their desires and urges, because they feel pressured to conform to societal norms. Through examples of folklore, fairy tales and dream symbols, Estes helps women to restore neglected intuitive and instinctive abilities. And do not let the title mislead you. Although the author claims that wolves and women share a psychic bond in their fierceness, grace and devotion to mate and community, the tales in this book are not about wolves. Drawn from many cultures and eras, exotic, intriguing, even a bit racy, these stories illustrate the ways of the "wild woman," and convince us of the necessity, in order to lead rich, successful and satisfying lives, to reclaim our innate wildness.

In addition, "Women Who Run With the Wolves" has helped me to shape strong independent heroines in my own novels, such as Samantha Hargrave in "Domina" and Grace Treverton in "Green City In the Sun."

This is not a how-to book, by the way, nor does the author dare to tell us "what's wrong with us." The purpose of the book is to illuminate, to open our eyes to the reality of our inner, primal selves, to help us find our wolf pack as it were, to sense our inner cycles, to claim our femininity without giving up what is our basic nature, to live a life with strength and dignity, and, like the wolf, to be instinctive, loyal, life-giving, aware. Ultimately, what this book teaches us is that we must never let anyone tell us how to live otherwise.

So find your inner wolves, sisters, and run with them!




Assista o vídeo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCkuS9fLpXg