Tao Flashes: A Woman's Way to Navigating the Midlife Journey with Integrity, Harmony, and Grace

By Lisa G. Froman

Midlife is a journey, one filled with rough terrain, but it can be navigated with integrity and grace. Using the Tao Te Ching to explore the passage through midlife, Lisa G. Froman shares her flashes of wisdom to inspire women during this confusing and often tumultuous time.

In Tao Flashes, she describes the duality of midlife, saying, Just as we become wiser, more pliable, more beautiful, just as we begin to have clarity, we also begin to notice the signs of aging, the wrinkles, the sagging skin. At menopause, we battle hot flashes and watch as our bodies reshape themselves into something we may no
longer recognize.

At the time when we are gaining power, we often feel we are losing our beauty. But the life lessons we wear on our faces are actually the subtle reminders of a rich and beautiful life executed with grace through times of pain and glory.

At middle age, we experience another paradox as we become freer, looser, yet somehow more serious about our lives, our purpose, our commitment to things and people outside of ourselves.

And as we discover what gives us depth and dimension, we can begin to embrace the light and the dark sides of our nature. Thats when things get interesting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Nov 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452561738

Lisa G. Froman

Lisa G. Froman is the author of Tao Flashes, A Woman’s Way to Navigating the Midlife Journey with Integrity, Harmony and Grace. A writer, poet, and award-winning communications professional, she lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is the mother of one son, Alexander. A lover of all that is mystical and spiritual, Froman is exploring midlife with wonderment and mindfulness. Visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/taoflashes.

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Copyright © 2012 Lisa Garon Froman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-6172-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-6174-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-6173-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012920016

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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Balboa Press rev. date: 11/1/2012

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1.The Mystery of Manifestation

Chapter 2.The Duality of Beauty

Chapter 3.Discovering Your True Spirit

Chapter 4.Women as Creators

Chapter 5.The Expansiveness of Love

Chapter 6.The Intuitive Feminine Spirit

Chapter 7.Power in Service

Chapter 8.Growing Through Kindness

Chapter 9.Keeping the Blade Sharp

Chapter 10.Knowledge as a Gift

Chapter 11.Quieting the Mind

Chapter 12.The Perfect Version of You

Chapter 13.The Chase

Chapter 14.The Journey of Enlightenment

Chapter 15.The Duality of Middle Age

Chapter 16.The Cycle of Midlife

Chapter 17.Women as Teachers

Chapter 18.Kindness as a Virtue

Chapter 19.Simplicity as More

Chapter 20.The Beauty of Imperfection

Chapter 21.Living in Spirit

Chapter 22.Truth and Integrity

Chapter 23.Self-acceptance

Chapter 24.The Ego

Chapter 25.Our True Nature

Chapter 26.Midlife Turbulence

Chapter 27.The Search for Grace

Chapter 28.Masculine and Feminine Sides

Chapter 29.Nourishing the Earth

Chapter 30.Peace as a Road Marker

Chapter 31.Forgiveness

Chapter 32.A Woman’s Worth

Chapter 33.Projecting Fear

Chapter 34.Search for Humility

Chapter 35.The Flow

Chapter 36.Overstretching

Chapter 37.Peacefulness

Chapter 38.Virtue

Chapter 39.Everything Supports Life

Chapter 40.Where Faith Lives

Chapter 41.Spirit as a Guide

Chapter 42.Polarity

Chapter 43.Tenderness

Chapter 44.The State of Surrender

Chapter 45.The Search for Answers

Chapter 46.The Pursuit of More

Chapter 47.What We Know

Chapter 48.Seeking Answers

Chapter 49.The Nature of Wisdom

Chapter 50.Divinity at Play

Chapter 51.The Natural Order of Things

Chapter 52.Connectedness

Chapter 53.The Human Divide

Chapter 54.Living in Truth

Chapter 55.Tossing Aside Old Shoes

Chapter 56.The Religion of Mankind

Chapter 57.Choosing Peace

Chapter 58.Trust

Chapter 59.Caring for Yourself First

Chapter 60.Competition

Chapter 61.Flashes of Humility

Chapter 62.The Challenge of Living With Integrity

Chapter 63.Yin and Yang of Life

Chapter 64.Taking Action in Life

Chapter 65.Herding of Thoughts

Chapter 66.Detached From Winning

Chapter 67.Loving From the Ground Up

Chapter 68.Respecting Yourself

Chapter 69.A Good Defense is Respectable

Chapter 70.Removing Distractions

Chapter 71.Be Your Own Star

Chapter 72.Community

Chapter 73.Slowing Down

Chapter 74.Managing Fear

Chapter 75.Paying Yourself First

Chapter 76.Staying Yin in a Yang World

Chapter 77.The Disguises of Needy

Chapter 78.Beauty in Truth

Chapter 79.Freedom From Righteousness

Chapter 80.Sharing Resources

Chapter 81.Giving Freely

Dedication

For the little girl in the red and black oxford shoes. For the teachers who didn’t know I was watching and listening. For my beloved son, Alex, my mom, Grace, my family, friends and significant other, Steve, thank you for the blessings and lessons. For anyone who has crossed my path and intersected with my life, even for a moment. You were noticed.

And for all of the women out there who need to know it’s time to look up.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my friend, Jamie Wax, for the title of my book, Tao Flashes. It was a flash of wisdom, and I appreciate it. Thanks to my talented designer friend, Genevieve Procell, for creating a cover that captures the essence of my book and my heart. Thanks also to Jason Cohen for capturing a piece of me in my author photo. And finally, thanks to those who offered their eyes and insights in advance of this release: Julie Madere McLin, Tara Lachney and Steve Burmester.

Introduction

Never in life is there a need to call on the power of grace and humility more than at midlife. As we take measure of our lives, we can find ourselves dismayed and discouraged and disillusioned to discover our lives simply no longer fit us. All that we thought we were, no longer makes sense. Suddenly, we don’t fit in our own skin, never mind our own clothes. We look in the mirror and see faces, even bodies, we no longer recognize.

And yet, somewhere behind the looking glass, we know intuitively that our true beauty, our value, needs to reflect from the inside out, and not the other way around. At midlife, we women watch the children we held close to our hearts turn away and move on to create a life outside us and away from us.

Suddenly, we may no longer experience mothering in the same way we once let it define us, and our empty nests seem too spacious for us to reside in comfortably.

Our jobs may no longer interest us in the same way, our relationships with our spouses or partners may have shifted—for better or worse—or even ended.

And finally, the things that we wore as badges of success no longer keep us warm, no longer offer us a sense of security.

These are the things I discovered at midlife. These are the things that sent me on a journey of the dark night, a treacherous place for the soul that took me to high and low ground,