chapter  5
18 Pages

Experiencing Personal and Communal Emotions

As we first listened to the women and men in this study, and then listened again

to their recorded stories, we heard numerous examples of wide-ranging and

well-articulated feelings. There were tears, sighs, whispers, and long pauses;

there were words of sorrow, joy, discouragement, anxiety, and calm. Most of

the participants talked easily about their affective experiences, relating them

comfortably to their spiritual lives. For the women in particular, expressing

emotional expression was far more than an outlet-it was an intricate part of

their spiritual resiliency.