The Way of the Mysterial Woman

2016 Nautilus Book Awards: Gold Winner, Women’s Category 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Finalist, Women’s Issues 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Finalist, Self-Help 2016 USA Best Book Awards: Women's Issues, Finalist “In The Way of the Mysterial Woman, Suzanne Anderson and Susan Cannon present their brave, pioneering, richly-informed proposals for the advance of womankind. This is a big and unique set of proposals, which is bound to enlarge our thinking about both the thwarting and liberation of our greater potentials. It's time now for women to get out of jail. Reading this book, I say ‘hurrah’!" —Michael Murphy, co-founder of the Esalen Institute and author of The Future of the Body “The Way of The Mysterial Woman: Upgrading How You Live, Love, and Lead is awesome! Here I am at 85 reading it with recognition of so many growth potentials still to come in my own life! The ‘Mysterial Woman’ offers a new source code for our culture. Beyond equality and empowerment lies the evolving woman, a new archetype I have named the Feminine Co-Creator. It is a new map for women. She’s in the midst of an evolutionary move, between mystery and manifestation at the edge of a new world. With great compassion and wisdom we are guided through dynamic steps toward a new level of wholeness. Highly recommended.” —Barbara Marx Hubbard, The Foundation for Conscious Evolution and author of Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential “In their excellent book, The Way of the Mysterial Woman, Susan Cannon and Suzanne Anderson describe sophisticated yet user-friendly leadership models and techniques that are empowering for women and men alike. The Way of the Mysterial Woman reveals the full complexity of the mature Feminine essence, providing a new source code—a fundamental set of inner instructions for personal and professional growth.” —Steve McIntosh, author of The Presence of the Infinite, and president of the Institute for Cultural Evolution "In their new book, Suzanne Anderson and Dr. Susan Cannon engage a recognition that could not be more timely and significant: current images of realization for women, those that in recent decades have provided more equal roles and essential new freedoms, while important, are not in themselves enough. The book’s sensitive inquiry into what more must lie ahead is richly pertinent not just to the lives of women, but also to broader questions of what will be needed if humanity as a whole is to progress in ultimately rewarding ways.” —Charles Johnson, M.D., author of Cultural Maturity: A Guidebook for the Future, and founder of the Institute for Cultural Maturity “The Way of the Mysterial Woman presents a code, a sequence of experiences that, if followed in order, delivers a woman to a place of wisdom, love, and power beyond any prior accomplishments in business or service or personal life. This transformational pathway is rooted in the co-authors collective years of graduate studies, coaching, research, and leading cohorts of intelligent and soulful woman. Anderson and Cannon have mapped what could be called a rite of passage for women who are ready to draw up the love of being from the well of the Feminine and combine that with the creative action of the Masculine in ways that are both powerful in the world and nourishing in their personal lives.” —Vicki Robin, author of Blessing the Hands that Feed Us and Your Money or Your Life “The Way of The Mysterial Woman is an amazing compilation of wisdom and practice. Our most successful leaders will recognize this book’s guidance as akin to what they follow. What Anderson and Cannon provide is a well-researched, practical roadmap for how woman can consciously develop this capacity to positively guide the future. Men should read this—and not enough of us will. We all, male and female, need to lean in this book’s direction and become our deeper, truer selves. The next generation will be very grateful that we did!” —Geoff Bellman, consultant and author of Your Signature Path "The Way of the Mysterial Woman brings health, depth, and clarity to the rising feminine voice. Flip through it, you’ll catch the vision. Read it, you’ll feel the challenge. Work through it and you will grow." —Rev. Samuel G. Alexander, author of Evolving Christianity, Life After Faith Crisis "Ever longed for a more fulfilling, joyful life, enriched by deep relationships and satisfying accomplishments? Anderson and Cannon offer an original roadmap for achieving such a dream. Derived from their own life journeys, years of research and work with women, they draw together myth, psychology, complexity science, and more. The resulting alchemical mix is a nuanced, comprehensive, and actionable approach that changes how women live, love, and lead, with exciting implications for us as individuals and as a society." —Peggy Holman, author of Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity and co-author of The Change Handbook “The Way of the Mysterial Woman is a powerful, resonant, and original offer to the world. I loved every chapter—especially when I followed the “Mysterial Sequence” and found myself in all the archetypes and their fascinating shadows. Think of this as a transformational guidebook—as life changing as The Artist’s Way, anchored in a conversation as groundbreaking as Women Who Run With the Wolves. This is our time and this is our book.” —Gail Hudson, writer, life coach and co-author with Jane Goodall of Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species are Being Rescued From the Brink and Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder From the World of Plants “The Way of the Mysterial Woman at once heralds, activates, and incarnates a worldview shift of inconceivable proportions. If that sounds exaggerated, we would do well to submit ourselves to Suzanne Anderson and Susan Cannon’s tutelage here, which transmits the Mysterial disposition and capacity they describe and gives such superbly realized, informed, and tested guidance for achieving it. Though it fiercely celebrates and serves women, this book has much insight for both the Feminine and the Masculine in men too. If anyone wants a viable path beyond chronic Hypermasculinity, take off your spurs and your helmet, press your palms together before your heart, enter in, and go all the way through this book, doing the work you find here that really calls to and challenges you. The journey may change you more than you can presently imagine.” —Saniel Bonder, author of Waking Down: Beyond Hypermasculine Dharmas, co-founder, Human Sun Institute “What a rich book! Like the wise women they are, Anderson and Cannon take us by the hand and guide us confidently through the transformation that is already underway for thousands of women—and men—who have felt the tug of the Mysterial potential within. In delineating five clear stages and multiple practices to support the maturation of integral capacities at each stage, the authors have created an elegant map for a brave new emerging model of leadership. Brava!” —Belinda Gore, PhD, senior faculty at The Deep Coaching Institute, author of Ecstatic Body Postures: An Alternate Reality Workbook and The Ecstatic Experience: Healing Postures for Spirit Journeys “This book provides a compelling, overarching theory of human, and particularly women’s, development. It weaves multiple psychological, sociological, futurist, and philosophical systems into a stunning arc of individual and societal development. But the book goes beyond theory. This is a working manual. You can feel the traction given this work by the ten years of on-the-ground training, coaching, and consulting that were the cauldron from which the vision and methods emerged. As a man, I learned more about myself and about women, and I completed this book inspired and hopeful. There is little doubt that the emergent feminine power is sadly and deeply needed in our atomized and hierarchically damaged world. If there is one thing to take from this book, it is the confident and well-etched vision of feminine capacity fully realized and its potential influence on our world’s future.” —Gregory Kramer, co-creator of Insight Dialogue, founder of the Metta Foundation, and author of Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom and Dharma Contemplation: Meditating Together with Wisdom Texts “Let's face it. The masculine leadership that has run the world for millennia is a double-edged sword. Its focus on hard science, economic growth, military might, and political dominance has left us a world that, despite the consumer cornucopia produced by its powerful technologies, is coming apart at the seams from war, greed, climate change, and over-exploitation of resources. And until now, much of the world’s female political leadership has gotten where it has by governing in the same way and with the same priorities. But The Mysterial Woman—using carefully developed new paradigms and illustrative case studies—uncovers a new way of female leadership capable of bringing about the ‘great transformation’ our world so deeply needs. In this book, Susan Cannon and Suzanne Anderson bring all of their insight together in one volume. Beautifully written and clear, this is a book for both men and women who believe that another world is possible and much needed." —John de Graaf, co-author of Affluenza and What’s the Economy for, Anyway? “Original, dynamic, compelling, and eminently practical, The Mysterial Woman is a blessing of a book for any women whose inner guidance system is nudging her to grow into her authenticity and wisdom to make a powerful contribution to the world, one that is hers alone to make. Rich with lyrical content, as well as down-to-earth action, Cannon and Anderson’s book is a step-by-step guide to recognizing and freeing ourselves from our limiting beliefs and patterns. This is one of those books you’ll want to keep as a reference, but also one you’ll recommend to others, so buy several copies!” —Kerul L. Kassel, author of The Thinking Executive’s Guide to Sustainability “Anderson and Cannon had me when they used the expression ‘the long emergency.’ They were talking about the world situation, but I felt they were looking at my life. And so it continued, page after page. They were by my side on a journey through the book—my companions as I saw through a new lens, analyzed from a new perspective, and made choices using a new way of knowing. Perhaps you, yourself, are experiencing ‘the long emergency.’ Perhaps you are at one of life’s critical intersections and unsure which way to go. Perhaps you are feeling stuck without even knowing why. The Way of the Mysterial Woman will help you answer the question: What next? It can help you to decide mindfully and spiritually, and then to move forward with confidence, courage, and hope.” —Ruth Middleton House, EdD, president of Middleton-House & Company and author of It’s Time to Change the Way You Change “The Way of the Mysterial Woman offers a ground-breaking look at women’s leadership that is beautifully written and deeply thought provoking. Susan and Suzanne draw from the worlds of mythology, leadership theory and proven practice to create a path for women to EVOLVE. This book inspires the reader to think bigger and make the changes required to revolutionize the way we lead. If we do this, it will have a profoundly positive impact on society.” —Maureen Metcalf, author of the award-winning Innovative Leadership book series "The Way of the Mysterial Woman offers women leaders a pathway to inner discovery through multi-dimensional self-evaluation, understanding of mythological prototypes, and common sense. The well-researched, beautifully written book gives its readers an approach that is both intelligent and compassionate. It allows them to embrace their inner strengths as women and unique human beings." —Julie Benezet, founder of The Journey of Not Knowing® and Academic Advisor, Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education, Challenges of Leadership "The Way of the Mysterial Woman is an elegant, deep, and personal call for women to arise at this moment in history and activate their power to lead humanities’ story forward. This is more than a book—it’s a repository of wisdom that evokes a new way of being, and offers a detailed path forward called the mysterial sequence to open the doorway. If you are a woman who wants to love herself, or a man wants to bring the full life of your woman into the world, this is your guidebook." —Ross Hostetter, author of Keepers of the Field, and lead teacher of the Fieldwork School "When the Dalai Lama famously suggested that the world will be saved by Western women, he was talking about the kind of 'Mysterial women' who emerge from the processes that inform this deeply wise guidebook. It details a powerful alchemical journey of spiritual and psychological integration that manifests in real-world wisdom and leadership. Usefully, it’s grounded with real-life examples from participants in the authors’ leadership academy. It also offers a profoundly insightful integral lens that enables the reader to understand all the dimensions of each step of her transformation, inner and outer, personal and relational. This guidebook sets a new standard of excellence, depth, thoroughness, and systematic clarity." —Terry Patten, author of Integral Life Practice “What if it were no accident that we came to earth at this time to bring a particular presence into the challenges of the day? What if women were especially needed now, with our strength, beauty, unique instincts, and affinity with the earth? What if the discontent, yearning, confusion, depression, and exhaustion we are feeling signal the awakening of our full Self, pressing to be set free? The Way of the Mysterial Woman answers these questions with hard-won experience, decades of research, workshop by workshop, client by client. What Suzanne and Susan offer is no less than an initiation into our true nature and personal calling. Highly recommended to any woman who feels like she is cracking out of an old shell!" —Barbara Cecil, author of Coming Into Your Own: A Woman’s Guide Through Life Transitions, http/www.endingsand beginnings.com