The 36 short but startling poems in Judith Goren's, The Tao of Awakening," alternates between making you feel like you've just taken a drink from a pure mountain stream, and being placed in a state of kentron, a term that Jane Hirschfield says, is "The Greek word for the sharp point at the center, from a verb meaning, 'to prick.' When you go to concentration's center, you are pricked, which should mean you wake up - exactly what a good poem helps you do." And, indeed, that is the prick you will often feel when reading these poems. Ms. Goren gives a lengthy explanation of her contemporary concept of "The Awakened One" in the book's preface where she honors the Awakened Ones that have preceded us such as Jesus and Buddha, while also pointing toward a door we can all pass through to join them. And the doors are everywhere and ordinary. Her point of concentration and the awakening "prick" that we feel focuses not on life in a monastery or cave, but on the every day as sacred and on the ordinary as extraordinary opportunities to serve and to become our potential on this earth. Goren's Awakening can happen in any profession or setting. Her words illuminate what many of us never see as a possible stepping stone in our spiritual journey. The following poem in the book says it better than I can.

OPPORTUNITIES/ The people think life is divided/ between everyday chores/ and silent homage to the divine./ They say they have no time/ to be spiritual; they are too busy/ with their families and their work./ The Awakened One lives/ in a world of no divisions./ She sees her family and work/ as opportunities to deepen./ The entrance to heaven is at every portal./ When the baby cries/ she goes to him with love.

This is an ideal book to give to anyone for numerous occasions, but it's especially appropriate for women and anyone who needs a boost with their self image. While Ms. Goren acknowledges that her poems loosely follow the English form of the Tao de Ching, or the Book of the Way, a group of meditative poems written in Chinese by Lao-Tzu, it is no easy feat to become as transparent as this author does to enable so much light to come through on to the page. It will remain in my library right next to my favorite translations of Lao-Tzu and the I-Ching, and I will return to it often to drink from its clear stream. I can't imagine anyone coming away from this book and not feeling better about who they can become by just living each day as best as they can. It helps one to see how our life is our path. It's right in front of us and calling to be seen. The book is inclusive, not hierarchical. It embraces all paths as one and necessary and plants us firmly and calmly in our lives. clear./ In times of conflict or disaster/ her centeredness calms the people./ When the people are calm/ they learn to stand/ in the midst of a storm,/ reach beyond the chaos/ and find ways to help one another.

Ms. Goren wrote this book as a tribute to her teacher, but I believe in the end it is also a tribute to her and her path of service which is so evident throughout this healing and timely book.