This book is the outcome of an extraordinary convergence of three remarkable female minds. The pure exhilaration I am left with, having had the extreme good fortune to have witnessed this encounter, empowers me to attempt to record?and thereby to share?this profound affirmation of a different kind of feminism. Finally! At a time when most are committed to minimizing the distinction between male and female consciousness, here are women who dare to be other than men; to admit, without qualification, that we are different!

It's a great awakening?the emergence of a new kind of woman from behind the veil of traditionally imposed conditionings and role encapsulations. Active, intelligent, strongly committed women who are evolving a new consciousness of the potentialities of female beingness, and who are beginning to apply that consciousness to larger issues, to realms historically dominated by male thinking and masculine images and values. That dominion is being challenged. Sometimes quietly; sometimes with great ?clat. To those who would question this, I offer The Power of Yin as an introduction to the power and resources of feminine consciousness.

The women participating in the conversations transcribed in this book are all representative of this new breed of women. Together they form a fascinating triad of perspectives; a communion of highly evolved sensibilities, each one illuminating unique, but complementary aspects of a different kind of vision. A distinctly feminine vision. There is tremendous energy in their dialogue; a strong sense of solidarity with one another, and with all of us who are committed to evolving as women, and as human beings.

We live in a time of transition. Female identity, as we all know, is still a confused issue. We have outgrown the old images, but the new ones aren't yet clear. And so we need to explore new kinds of roles and images. Such is my purpose in presenting these dialogues. This is a book about images. Alternatives. Possibilities. About women at various stages of personal evolution attempting to define the parameters of their own growth and transformation. Although differing in approach and focus, these women are all social transformers commonly bonded by an active commitment to evolutionary change, to radical new visions of human possibility.

Although the conversations encompass a broad range of themes and an interesting juxtaposition of perspectives, the central proposition comes through clearly ? that the minds of women differ from the minds of men! Where not explicit, this distinction is nonetheless manifest on several levels ? in the method of exploring ideas as well as in the points of view. The result is an abundance of themes filtered through the alembic of the female sensibility.

I was impressed immediately, in listening to these women, with the way in which they were able to move so easily from the objective to the subjective, and back again to the objective. I couldn't help imagining a parallel scenario: three male intellectual "heavyweights" gathered for the express purpose of discussing, say, masculine consciousness. One would expect such dialogues to be, I dare suggest, rigorously objective, impersonal, abstracted.

I was both relieved and excited to find something very different happening here. Although rich in intellectual content, the dialogues function primarily as the vehicle for a penetrating process of mutual self-exploration. This becomes a means of unveiling some of the essential qualities of female experience as it relates to the forging of new roles and images.

Throughout the conversations, regardless of the subject at hand, there is a deep sense of personal significance ? through exploring the personal, the transpersonal meaning is brought into focus. There is no fear of exposure: these are women who dare to be vulnerable; to express the inner sources of their motivations, their pain, their uncertainties ? and, indeed, their strengths. The kind of thinking that takes place is a wonderful manifestation of "yin" thinking: there is an integration of the feeling and intuitive functions with rational, objective faculties; a healthy mix of earthy female body wisdom and forceful intellectual clarity.

Reprinted with permission from The Power of Yin.