This thesis is a scholarly account of my personal journey as a single mother to find my place in the world both spiritually and professionally. Deep personal and universalizable issues are covered including the transition from childhood to adulthood, parenting, birth, death, significant life changing events and the dramatic effect that changing spiritual, gender and religious views have on facing life challenges. Special emphasis is centered on the importance of my feminine spirituality and the pursuit of religious/spiritual experiences within traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities up to and including the present day and my hopeful vision for the future. My writing is heavily laced with spirituality, personal insights, stories as illustration for key points and a few surprising revelations. Surprises included the nature of growing up in Generation X with a healthy understanding and disrespect for organizations of all types, especially religious, and the effect this had on nurturing my atheist Millennial children; the actual impact of my travels in Tibet and China versus what I had expected from going; and how everything I have learned up to this point makes me more convinced than ever that pursuing further studies in Women’s Spirituality is absolutely the route for me at this time and my way of making life a little bit better for those who come after me. My hope for this thesis is to further the understanding of the general interested public of the challenges facing single mothers and their children, to show the helpful effects of a spiritual connection or search in getting through life’s difficult moments, the power of writing as a means of spiritual and personal connection and to reinforce the notion that there is a still a long way to go in making our society a just place to be a woman in.

Spirituality is becoming an increasingly important dimension of Counselling Psychology. As multicultural communities become more inclusive and global, it is valuable for counsellors to become more familiar with the different types of spiritual experiences that individuals are having. By attending to such experiences, counsellors may address how current forms of spirituality encourage healing, growth, and development, thereby increasing our understanding of human potential. Furthermore, many cultures are emerging from a religious history that portrays a male god as supreme, and the predominant images of the Divine as masculine. This imbalance of the masculine and feminine in relation to spirituality has been associated with a profound disconnection from our bodies, the earth-body, and the split between spirit and matter. For this reason, relating to the Divine Feminine may hold an essential piece for many in to reconnect with earth, body, and soul. In this narrative inquiry, ten women are interviewed about their transpersonal experiences with the Divine Feminine. Their stories illuminate what the Divine Feminine is, the meaning attributed to Her, and the changes in their lives associated with their experiences. This study increases our understanding of the role that the Divine Feminine has in the lives of women, and represents some forms of spirituality emerging in the new global context. In turn, it widens our perspective on the therapeutic implications these and related phenomena could have on Counselling Psychology. The key findings of this research show that contemporary women are experiencing the Divine Feminine through: (a) Goddesses, (b) Shakti and Kundalini Shakti, (c) one’s Self (body, sexuality, women’s blood mysteries), (d) Nature and sacred plant medicine, (e) Mother, and (f) Spirit guides, visions, and past life experiences. This inquiry raises the awareness of the powerful healing, deep insight, and growth enhancing shifts that are attributed the Divine Feminine. The intention is that these stories will inspire counsellors to inquire into their clients’ transpersonal experiences with the Divine Feminine, as these experiences contain potent life-affirming and growth-enhancing resources. / Graduate / 0318 / 0453 / DawnRabey@live.ca