We are all MORE THAN the anonymous ‘target' of the barrage of advertising that insists that - if we simply buy more and more - we can satisfy our thirst, have it all and have it now, because we're worth it.  The Zone is an Internet community that will journey with you in this search for the MORE THAN that we can all become. We want to walk with you, as fellow-pilgrims, in the discovery and the nurturing of the seed of MORE THAN that already lives in your mind and your heart. This voyage toward wholeness begins when we recognize we are tangled up in what the Buddhist tradition calls Samsara (the cycle of suffering), and what the Jewish and Christian faith calls ‘Sin'.

This is not simply "bad things that happen" or "bad things we do", but is our experience  - at a deep down level - of broken relationship; our feelings of separation from God, Life, the Universe, our own true selves, other people and the natural world. Pema Chödrön, a present-day American Buddhist monk, teaches that from great suffering can come great openness of heart and a great sense of kinship with others. However, she also warns us that from great suffering can come hatred, resentment and despair. When we realize how much the suffering and separation is in our minds and attitudes - the "Problem Story" we thoughtlessly repeat - we can begin to work with this suffering. The Gospel word metanoia (repentance) is a change of mind before it becomes a transformed life!

The Jewish and Christian traditions tell many stories of women who ‘came out of hiding' - who became MORE THAN. Women who took the initiative, risked and believed enough to confront the "Problem Story" of their circumstances, and the thinking that contributed to their suffering.  Egypt's Pharoah had ordered that all male Hebrew babies be murdered. Jochabed, the mother of Moses, had the faith, courage, and common sense, to put her baby boy in a reed basket at the waters' edge - where the Egyptian Princess regularly went to bathe. Centuries later Hadassah, who became Esther, Queen of Persia, had the wisdom and determination to prepare herself for her destiny, and the courage to risk her life in challenging a Royal Decree.[1][2] In both these instances an entire nation was saved.

A woman who had been ill - and therefore condemned to social isolation as ‘unclean'- for twelve years, heard about Jesus of Nazareth. She decided to come out of hiding, made her way through a crowd, reached out and touched the prayer shawl of Jesus. She was immediately healed, and therefore also able to take her place among her family and society.  In another incident a single woman - an "ethnic alien", and therefore ‘invisible' to society - stood up against the sexism and xenophobia that disallowed help for her daughter. Her compassion, courage and wisdom challenged even Jesus, and her daughter was healed. Pema Chödrön also teaches that a big part of compassion is being honest with ourselves: not trying to shield ourselves from our pain. She tells us this courageous honesty can lead to an awakening of the heart that leads us beyond the habitual attitudes and actions that prolong our suffering. We at the Zone hope to encourage and equip women to have confidence in our own community strength to risk "coming out of hiding", to accept responsibility for our own healing, and to share the small steps and stumblings of our journey together.

By GL Pema Chödrön (Author), Hadassah: One night with the King (Book)[1][1] Book of Exodus Chapter 2[1][1] Book of Esther Chapter 8[1][1] Gospel of Mark. Chapter 5[1][1] Gospel of Matthew Chapter 15  We are more than the story of the Big Problem we are living with Right Now. We are all more than the frustrations, fears and failures that plague us.

Author: Greg