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

by Sue Patton Thoele

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642503005
Publisher:	Mango Media
Publication date:	03/16/2021
Pages:	294
Sales rank:	473,695
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.80(d)

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.

Read an Excerpt

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.

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.”

Table of Contents

Introduction xiv

I A Woman Has the Courage to Acknowledge Her Strength and Set Limits 2

Imagining Ourselves Strong 4

Acting in Spite of Fear 6

Knowing We Are Not the Target 8

Chewing Bite-Size Pieces 10

Putting Our White Horse out to Pasture 12

Crediting Our Life's Account 14

KISSING Our Life 16

Saying "No" without Feeling Guilty 18

Retiring Aunt Jemima 20

Teaching Others How to Treat Us 22

II A Woman Has the Courage to Love and Be Loved 24

Loving Our Inner Child 26

Deserving Love 28

Protecting Our Inner Child 30

Asking to Be Nurtured 32

Creating a Safe Place 34

Filling Ourselves First 36

Loving from Overflow 38

Receiving from Others 40

Forgiving for Our Own Good 42

Forgiving Ourselves 44

Adding a Dash of Kindness 46

Loving Another's Inner Child 48

III A Woman Has the Courage to Create Peace of Mind 50

Pausing in the Oasis of Silence 52

Spending Our Moments Wisely 54

Cleansing Our Emotional Bodies 56

Creating Peace of Mind through Forgiveness 58

Forgiving the Mother We Were 60

Being Ourselves Today 62

Resting in Unseen Arms 64

Eliminating SHOULD, HAVE TO and CANT 66

Imitating the Little Engine That Could 68

Calming the Monkey-Mind 70

Choosing "That's Good!" 72

Reprogramming Our Inner Mind 74

Avoiding the Future Hole 76

Keeping Afloat through Forgiveness 78

Accepting the Unacceptable 80

IV A Woman Has the Courage to Tame and Transform Her Dragons 82

Facing the Dragons of Fear 84

Rejecting the Rejection Dragon 86

Knowing We Can 88

Sacking the Bag Lady 90

Owning Our Own Excellence 92

Refocusing Our Binoculars 94

Healing through Feeling 96

Rechoosing How We Want To Be 98

Uprooting "Rootless" Fears 100

Escaping the Depression Pit 102

Chirping Up by Looking Up 104

Feeling Worthwhile 106

V A Woman Has the Courage to Be Her Own Good Friend 108

Disrobing the Inner Judge 110

Tending Our Inner Garden 112

Empowering Ourselves through Praise 114

Accepting the Beauty of Our Imperfections 116

Waking Up to Self-Love 118

Receiving Validation 120

Replenishing through Rest and 122

Discovering Our Personal Diamond 124

Asking for What We Want and Need 126

VI A Women Has the Courage to Make Her Own Choice 128

Cruising with High-Altitude Attitudes 130

Uncovering What We Want 132

Growing Up Emotionally 134

Inquiring Within 136

Stopping Borrowed Trouble 138

Daring to Risk 140

Sidestepping Other's Negativity 142

Selecting Positive People 144

VII A Women Has the Courage to Care for Her Body 146

Stimulating Our Natural Healing 148

Encouraging Our Body 150

Paying Attention to Our Body Wisdom 152

Balancing and Harmonizing Ourselves 154

Appreciating Our Bodies 156

Being the Right Weight 158

Aging as an Attitude 160

Highlighting the Positives of Aerobically 164

VIII A Women Has the Courage to Communicate Lovingly 166

Pausing to Really Hear 168

Listening Often Equals Loving 170

Answering Silent Pleas 172

Blowing Up, Not At 174

Giving Roses without Thorns 176

Agreeing on the Right Time 178

Speaking Gently and Carrying a Soft Feather 180

Kissing a Frog 182

Honoring Ourselves by Speaking Out 184

IX A Woman Has the Courage to Develop Healthy Relationships 186

Drying out the Responsibility Sponge 188

Allowing Ourselves Limits 190

Jugging the Balls of Motherhood 192

Dragging Someone Else's Leg Irons 194

Mothering, Not Smothering 196

Breaking the Coffee-Fetching Cycle 198

Enjoying Self-Confidence 200

Becoming Friends with Our Lover 202

Defanging Our Expectation Dragon 204

X A Woman Has the Courage to 206

Take Risks and Change

Becoming Response-able 208

Unraveling Old Messages 210

Releasing the Pain, Retaining the Memory 212

Undergoing an Attitude Adjustment 214

Exploring Our Shadows 216

Leaving a Legacy of Authenticity 218

Exposing Secrets to the Light 220

Putting Superwoman out to Pasture 222

XI A Woman Has the Courage to Recognize Rainbows 224

Recognizing Rainbows 226

Opening to Miracles 228

Focusing on Beauty 230

Reaching through the Veil 232

Seeing with the Eyes of Innocence 234

Emulating Butterflies 236

Laughing with Our Klutz 238

Putting a Little Play in Our Day 240

Detaching Compassionately through Play 242

Nestling in the Arms of Nature 244

XII A Woman Has the Courage to 246

Claim the Goddess Within

Training the Priestess in Us 248

Accepting Our Credibility 250

Dethroning the Virgin 252

Tapping Invisible Power 254

Making a Difference 256

Assimilating Both Saber and Scepter 258

Serving as a Vessel 260

Transforming and Transmuting 262

Circumstances

Gleaning Wisdom from Silence 264

Transcending the Trojan Horse 266

Adopting a Mentor-Mom 268

Doing No Harm 270

Personal Note 272

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The Woman's Book of Courage is a book every woman can grow from reading. Sue Patton Thoele's wisdom transcends every page.”
—Becca Anderson, author of The Book of Awesome Women