Between Two Worlds
In Chapter One of my upcoming memoir, Changing Woman Speaks: From Lost to Found in the Navajo Beauty Way, I chuck my corporate heels for a pair of moccasins in one impetuous 48-hour adventure that takes me from New York City to the Navajo Indian Reservation in northern Arizona.
It begins a wild ride that entails rifles, coyotes, sand paintings and black magic, and being squeezed between four Indian men in a pickup truck in the middle of a dark night. It’s uncertain what I’ve gotten myself into, but it’s clear I’ve entered some mysterious world and I’ll have to keep my wits about me to find my way home.
What follows is my personal journey into a beautiful indigenous culture which offers hope and understanding of the great changes we are experiencing today. With a trusted mentor who becomes my husband and spiritual guide into the realms of Navajo shamanism, many portals of ceremonies, initiations, and teachings are opened. My loving Navajo family and strict medicine men keep me in line and return me to center even when the darkness comes and my faith is shaken to the core. In my darkest times, it is always the Navajo Beauty Way which brings me back to center and balance.
This is a spiritual path I have followed for most of my adult life and find the teachings of Changing Woman to be relevant in every life challenge, no matter a person’s age, race, religion, or circumstance.
My upcoming memoir, Changing Woman Speaks: From Lost to Found in the Navajo Beauty Way was foretold by my Navajo mentor and explained that it would be my exchange for the teachings. It is written with much love and respect for my Navajo relatives and those who have come before us.
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Brenda Beck
Brenda Kay Beck has walked in two worlds for over thirty-five years as a successful publisher, award-winning author, film producer, and a practitioner of the Navajo Beauty Way. She helps the diné, Navajo people, preserve their ancient stories and teachings, and offers her skills as a cultural bridge in these changing times. Learn More
