Customer Reviews

Ecoshamanism: Sacred Practices of Unity, Power and Earth Healing

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I don't normally write book reviews but I'm making exception in this case. I was going to give this book four stars simply because the author, like many, does not touch upon the ecstatic trance states of Siberian shamans from where the term shaman originates. But the significance of this book itself deserves five stars simply because we finally have a mainstream publisher and author willing to speak out about the significant differences between modern neoshamanism (mostly commercially oriented) and classical shamanism (in the service of the Great Spirits). Even though the author has not worked with Siberian shamans, he does claim to have studied with Huichol shamans. If this is true, which from the material I'm guessing that it is, then I can honestly say that I feel his work is legitimate, as I have lived and visited with Huichols in the mountains of western Mexico for over two decades and they are the real thing. Even though for me some of the information in the book is not new, it is SO refreshing to have material from an author that actually works with REAL shamans as opposed to the make believe shamans that are constantly peddling their wares to an unknowing public. The techniques and practices in this book are the best and closest to authentic shamanism (for modern people) that I have seen published to date.

Although the author is very critical about the lack of ecological awareness in our society (which is something I can understand, many environmentalists including myself are completely fed up with the current state of things) I applaud him for taking the stance at trying to educate people and especially for bringing the subject of shamanism back to Earth where it is so desperately needed. Endredy's views will seem harsh to some, but if even a small percentage of people learn something from this book the world will be a better place. I have not taken a shamanic workshop in over 20 years, but I'm going to give Endredy's work a try as soon as I can.

If you ever want to have a good idea of how your consumer choices affect the environment, read this book. Endredy does a fairly good job of explaining the impact contemporary culture has on the environment. Even better he offers practices and approaches that can, for the most part, be incorporated into contemporary culture. Some practices, however can't be easily incorporated and involve, should you take them, a drastic change in lifestyle. Is it worth it...Depends on how feasible you feel his models are.

He does an excellent job of also explaining the difference between newage shamanism and actual authentic shamanism. As someone who's had a fair amount of similar experiences as this author I can really appreciate the distinctions he's made. He also provides some ways for people to really explore the ecoshamanic path...and I really recommend trying them.

I do have one problem however. Endredy takes the standard occult counter culture approach of "corporations and big business are evil and so is contemporary culture" While I won't disagree that contemporary culture creates a lot of waste and really needs to change those practices (and again you can learn ways to do that in this excellent book) I do disagree with how corporations are portrayed. Seeing them as evil entities is not the solution we need. It does nothing to address how to change the practices of these corporations so that they are environmentally friendly. What I really would like to see from James are strategies he would use and suggest others use to help these corporations really understand the effect they have on the environment and help them change their practices. Until that is done no change can occur. Education is more important than judgement and he tends to come across as rather judgemental in a way that suggest the guilty white complex.

Overall I think this is a book any and every person should read.

Ecoshamanism, Sacred Practices of Unity, Power, and Earth Healing by James Endredy. Llewellyn Worldwide, Woodbury, MN. 2005. $19.95 paper.

I knew of James Endredy because I had given a wonderful book to my three-year-old grandson, The Journey of Tunuri and the Blue Deer: A Huichol Indian Story, by James Endredy. It turns out that James Endredy has studied and taught shamanism all over the world, with a special focus on the wisdom of the Huichol Indians, who live in remote mountains along the western coast of Mexico.

This is an absolute treasure trove of a book. One can read and reread it, and use and re-use it, and there is always more depth and more richness.

Using the tools and rituals in this book will lead to a sorely-needed fundamental change in consciousness. We can become much more deeply aware of the natural world, and our place within it. James teaches us how to forge a spiritual alliance with the sentient forces that sustain our planet. With ceremonies and rituals we can transform ourselves as we save the world.

Shamanic practices involve entering an altered state of consciousness, one which disrupts the normal stream of thoughts. A simple drumbeat is very effective in inducing this state. Susan and I took a year's class in shamanic plant medicine from Connie Grauds, and James' approach reminds me of that class. Yes, that experiential class did profoundly alter my normal consciousness. I've always been closely connected with the natural world, but my connection now is deeper and more immediate-and very satisfying-if heartbreaking at times.

In this book, James helps us to make those deeper connections on our own, with step-by-step easy to use instructions. He begins with what he calls "counterpractice," which is seeing in systems. This practice requires us to identify the connections and the systems which tie everything together. We can begin, for example, with a light switch, and we can more on to more complicated items which may require Internet research.

Another part of counterpractice is seeing the spirals of the world, which he says are in everything around us. One of the many examples is the spiraling energy of trees and plants. He shows us many more counterpractices which help us to get into the flow of nature's energy.

One of my favorite things in this full, rich book are the rites of passage into each of the elements-water, earth, air, fire, and spirit.

He says,

"Join in the conscious-raising movements inspired by the psychic correspondence of flesh-that when we feel our flesh as the flesh as the flesh of the world, we feel the world feeling itself. When our respiration is perceived as a process of the air touching itself, or when the hydrologic cycle is felt as the ocean running through our veins, we become informed by an infinitely larger system than when we remain trapped inside the narrow limits of self-centeredness."

James has a pledge to the spirit of the natural world to change the collective dream of industrial-consumer culture. As he says, the collective dream pits humanity against its earthly condition. "The dream of Ecoshamanism is the dream of Earth itself."

James' book makes me FEEL good-contented, full, well-satisfied. It's like biting into a full-flavored juicy purple plum. It delights my soul and my senses.

I can't recommend Ecoshamanism highly enough. I guarantee that whatever your level of connection with the natural world, even just reading it-let along using the practices-will deeply enrich your life.

Can I just say that this is one of the most superior books I've read in a very, very long time?

Now, those who know me know that I'm pretty environmentaly aware. But Endredy has written a book that is exactly what I need for this new stage in my life, when I'm livingt in a more wild area, and have a yard that I intend to turn into a shrine to the Wild.

His opening deals with the connection between shamanism an the environment. I canot thank him enough for spending an entire chapter explaining the differences between traditional indigenous shamanism, neoshamanism (ie, buy a crystal and take this seminar and you're a real-live shaman!) and ecoshamanism (drawin from traditional shamanism but with the community being served bein the entire Earth nd all inhabitants thereof). The book is worth the cover price just for that.

The following chapters deal with various aspects of ecology--not only theory, and constant reminders of the impact we have on the environment (without a bunch of guilt-tripping), but also over 50 exercises that are designed to help the reader bvecomemore in tune with nature. This doesn't mean things like stick feathers in your hat band, but rituals involving being buried alive overnight, and an impressive hunting ritual that can take a year or mroe to complete.

This book is very Earthy, and much, much grittier than the lip service a lot of "nature" based books give. Endredy takes us beyond tossing bird seed out in the yard, has us running through the mud, abnd getting to know Nature no matter the discomfort--and gaining an appreciation from that intensity.

probably oneof my favorite exercises involved mapping out special places in nature from childhood. I can clearly remember the various wild spots that were sacred to me when young, and, like Endredy, I saw most of them destroyed by development and human encroachment. It helped m retouch that connection of innocence and purity that often gets lost in the craziness of adult life.

I can't say enough good about this book. I believe it should be read by anyone who seeks to follo a true Nature-based path, rather than abstracting Nature into symbols and seminars that separate us from the dirt and the rain and the blood.

This book is amazing and should be required reading for those interested in the fields of psychology, holistic therapies, environmental education, and of course earth-centered spirituality and shamanism. No other book delivers the unique content that this one does. First, Endredy explains what ecoshamanism is and why we should even care to learn about it. He does this in splendid fashion by dividing the explanation of ecoshamanism into four levels of consciousness - mind, body, environment, and spirit while also drawing from and supporting his thesis by including quotes and theories by respected researchers and authors such as Thomas Berry, Chellis Glendinning, Stephen Kellert, Dolores LaChapelle, Ralph Metzner, Theodore Roszak, Jung, Emerson, Thoreau, and dozens of others (buying this book just for the bibliography would be worth the money). Next comes the real meat of the book as Endredy takes us on a fascinating journey that can only be fully understood by engaging in the more than 50 shamanic practices that he fully explains so that anyone can experience them. It saddens me to see reviews like the last one by Keith Savage because it is so misleading. The contents of this book will be NEW to almost everyone that reads it. In no other book on shamanism, spirituality, or environmental education will you find so intelligently blended together subjects as broad and life-changing as:

counter-practice, cognitive mapping, seeing in systems, concentric circles of perception, sensory depth exploration, fasting and psychic relations with food, practices with music and dance, chanting, entombment, celestial ceremonies, pilgrimage, hunting, blessing, offering, building temples, making instruments of sound and sacred objects, practices with trees, medicinal plants, animals, and the elements of water, soil, air, and fire.

The other unique thing about this book is the way Endredy creates a bridge between the indigenous teachings he has learned and the modern world where we live. For example, the Huichol shamans that Endredy lives with make pilgrimages to the ocean to honor the place where the rain that grows their corn originates. They bring and take water to and from the ocean and their sacred springs in ritual fashion out of the deep knowing that water provides the planet with life. Endredy, in his explanation of the practices surrounding water, takes this one step further by relating the correspondences of the Huichol pilgrimage to the Hydrologic Cycle of water and how deeply we are a part of that cycle. Amazing! He makes these types of correlations between ancient spiritual practices and modern science throughout the whole book. Folks, this is not some far out guide to some bizarre topic but rather a full-on course into the natural mysteries that make up not only our physical reality but the innermost workings of the human psyche. As a psychologist in private practice and a student of the shamanic arts I give this book ten stars.

James Endredy's Ecoshamanism: Sacred Practices Of Unity Power & Earth Healing is for any who have wondered what shamanism is. Earth Education is here explained as a spiritual offshoot of environmentalism, and Shamanism blends spiritual perceptions with understanding of nature's cycles and connections between spirituality and the earth. Chapters do more than provide a philosophical and spiritual overview: they include over fifty 'ecoshamanistic' practices from ceremonies to rituals and point the way to a lifestyle which supports these practices.

This book was a wonderful read cover to cover. The mix of some indigenous shamanism and general shamanism with environmental viewpoints is wonderful. In the beginning of the book the author goes into the differences with the general indigenous shamanism, the stereotypical neoshamanism, and ecoshamanism which was very interesting to see it laid out in that way. The progression of the book was very informative and many of the practices were very helpful to me personally. The author brought up many environmental concerns and ideas without really 'guilt tripping' the reader. I would personally love to be able do the Embrace of the Earth intimation ritual if I had the chance, because it seems like a very compelling opportunity and experience.

Overall, a really wonderful book for anyone interested in really nature-based and centered spirituality. Warmly recommended.

With the plethora of Wicca-oriented books out there (many of which are introductory in terms of material), James Endredy's "Ecoshamanism" already has the advantage of standing out among the crowd. This more novel flavor in itself makes it worth a look, but the book doesn't quite shine up to its potential.

On the one hand, this book introduces a perspective that sometimes gets lost in the many other books out there: yes, this is nature-centered religion! Let's talk about nature and our relationship with it head on! Let's really remember our sacred connection to the land! On the other hand, his book does not do the best job of presenting this perspective. Many will likely find Endredy's tone excessively condemning of modern society and there are other books outside the genre that do a superior job (check out his bibliography; some of them are listed there).

Endredy's book is rife with fascinating ideas and ways to incorporate a more nature-centered mindset into one's personal practice. There are enough of them that a reader is bound to find something enriching. At the same time, a solitary might be discouraged when reading about some of the most transformative practices (e.g. vision quest, embrace the earth) and realizing it is both foolish and unwise to do them without qualified supervision.

A final element which hurt the effectiveness of this book was the relatively poor layout and organization relative to many other Llewellyn publications. An organization more in the style of Penczak's "Temple of Witchcraft" series would have served the content of Endredy's work much better.

Though the book has its quirks and foibles, overall it's a worthwhile read, particularly if you are interested in cultivating a more pointedly nature-centered spiritual practice. It might not make it into your permanent collection, but you're sure to find a gem to hold onto within its pages.

Beware of the Bestie-man,for He is the Devil's Pawn.-Eventhough,James Endredy's book has some theoretical flaws,i agree with his shamanistic quest.I believe that man's desire for better living is hinged upon that of the well-being of other people and living things.Nature is a part of us,and we a part of Nature.We can't seperate ourselves from the natural world around us.Christian thinking promotes the idea that humankind has complete control over Mother Nature.And even Communism has shown that bureaucrats can impose laws against the farmers,yet the Acts of Nature can not be fettered by the laws of tyrants.The author takes a luddite's approach to solving the global environmental crisis today.Technolgy has given us a wealth of comforts for better living,yet we must use these resources wisely.I think global warming is part of mankind's actions and partly compounded by a periodic natural occurance of the Earth's cosmic path.We are borrowing from the Good Earth,with the blessings of the Lord and the Lady.We evoke the sounds and songs of Nature ,through chants,prayers and drums.Without human spirituality what then governs another person's actions?Without spirituality, humankind's purpose of living becomes meaningless. Mankind's christian belief that, 'Man controls all the animals of the Earth',is hog-wash.As we are seeing with the rapid loss of pollenating bees,whether by capitalist or communist ventures,will destroy our current standard of living,through crop failure and competitive warfare.This worthy shamanistic book envokes many sound questions about the values of modern humans and how these careless beliefs effect the environment around us.By getting people to see ourselves as a part of Nature,we then can save the environment and therefore ourselves from a global perdition.

I just bought and read this book entirely. While I can agree with some of the things stated in the other reviews that "glow" on about how good this book is, I really feel that it does NOT live up to its opening chapters. I am a student of shamanism, and have been for 15 years, and I'm always looking for a book that clinches my views. I thought, upon reading Endredy's Introduction, that I had found it. To discover that anything new he has to say could be summed up in one chapter, not dozens, was very frustrating.

Much of what he says about his shamanic practices and how his life lead him to those was/is instinctive to me and almost everyone on the shamanic path. And thus, most of what Endredy gives as spiritual methods to relate to Nature, all of us already do or know, in some way or another. I particularly did not care for the "shamanic burial ritual" he details, finding it somewhat gruesome and all-too-similar to certain rituals used by evil magicians... the Skull and Bones initiation, for example. A shamanic initiation does not have to involve humiliation or personally degrading acts!

I fully agree with Endredy on the following:

1. Urban shamanism and all the forms of pop shamanism out there are generally worthless. You have to really immerse yourself in wild, untamed Nature (even if it's no more than a wooded backyard!) to experience the truth of shamanism.

2. Our "western" way of life is killing not only our planet, but ourselves. We HAVE to re-learn the truth our ancient forebears knew- respect the Earth, treat all her children as you would your own human family, and that if you foul your own nest, you will get sick. That's where we are now, and what we can expect of the future if we keep going this way.

I appreciate greatly the passion Endredy puts into his opinions about the environment. But his book ultimately disappointed me, and it was quite a disappointment after being so "wowed" by his Introduction.