Sacred Manhood Sacred Earth: A Vision Quest into the Wilderness of a Man's Heart [Paperback]

Joseph Jastrab (Author), Ron Schaumburg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1995

A firsthand account of the vision quest explores the rituals, meaning, and impact of this contemporary rite of passage that lies at the heart of the men's movement, discussing the impact of various cultural teachings on the rite and its influence on participants.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Teacher, counselor, and wilderness guide Jastrab entwines his story of personal awakening with the firsthand accounts of a group of men as they participate in a contemporary heroic rite of passage called the Vision Quest. During the ten-day quest, participants enact a variety of ceremonies, and rituals-beating tom-toms, dancing around fires, fasting-for the purpose of stripping away their old identities and forming a new community. The men then return to their communities as heroes, having lived the heroic separation-initiation-return cycle. Unfortunately, in attempting to recount tales of spiritual awakening, Jastrab slips into a black hole of New Age jargon that reads like enigmatic fortune cookies. While he is to be applauded for his attempt to inject a sense of spiritual vitality into the decaying corpus of secular society, ultimately, Vision Quest is an event to be experienced, not read. A marginal purchase.
David R. Johnson, Arnold LeDoux Lib., Louisiana State Univ., Eunice
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A flaky journey into the heart of dimness that is the Men's Movement. Jastrab, an instructor at a survival school and a guru of the Men's Movement, offers (with freelance writer Schaumburg) his own and others' experiences of the Vision Quest. Appropriated from traditional Native American spirituality, the quest is a central ritual of the movement. Jastrab discovered the importance of the rite while in the Utah desert, when he felt the overwhelming presence of ``feminine power.'' Later, after being introduced to Native American teachings, he knew he must unite the roles of priest and naturalist. The stories related stem from a series of retreats conducted by Jastrab in the Adirondacks of New York between 1982 and 1993. The ritual as practiced by Jastrab combines a wilderness trek with prayer, self-purification, storytelling, ancient myth, Native sweat lodges (a favorite New Age sauna), and- -literally--howling at the moon. He admits that all this really amounts to is men, alone together as men, acting ``like a bunch of damn fools.'' It even involves what he calls ``ritual humiliation.'' A credo of his teaching is ``No foolishness, no growth.'' The goal is to reconnect men to images of manhood in the living earth and in the Great Mystery. Besides corrupting a lot of indigenous American wisdom, the quest also involves the legends of the Holy Grail and the Fisher King, and animistic talk of Rock People and Pan and satyrs. Quotes from gurus and heroes of the New Age and the Men's Movement such as Robert Bly and Carlos Castaneda abound. There are also passages written by retreat participants and signed with the Indian names they take, such as Earth Drum Dancer, Stands By His Heart, and Soaring Eagle. This utter silliness would be offensive if it weren't so funny. Yet the reader will be constantly and wincingly aware that the authors are perfectly earnest. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060926325
• ISBN-13: 978-0060926328
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,115,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intro to Men's ROPs and the Men's Movement, February 11, 2004

By 

Apollwnion (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Manhood Sacred Earth: A Vision Quest into the Wilderness of a Man's Heart (Hardcover)

"The old story had run its course and had given me all that it could. Now I was being called to give myself over to a larger story -- one I couldn't yet name, but could feel as a deep longing moving through every cell of my body."

I enjoyed this book. It speaks to the heart of every man who feels a deep inner longing to know himself and his place in the world.

Jastrab shares with us the experiences of many men who have undertaken the challenge to return to nature to learn, and encourages those who do so, to return from the quest and share what they have learned.

This book isn't a how-to guide, but it's worth reading...

5.0 out of 5 stars Food to fill the hunger of a man's soul, January 11, 2010

By 

Mr. Donald A. Schmitz "Oceans of Color Painting" (Sag Harbor, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sacred Manhood Sacred Earth: A Vision Quest into the Wilderness of a Man's Heart (Hardcover)

Joseph Jastrab writes each paragraph like a poem. He beckons the reader into his world with a sense of love, courage and vulnerability. This book was the impetus for me to go on his vision quest many years ago. It has changed my life. It is easier for women to make deep connections than it is for men. As men we are hardwired biologically and societaly into a culture of competition and resulting loneliness.
Joseph's book can give a glimmer of the world available to men when we open our hearts. I have given this book as a gift many times and each reader was rewarded by its wisdom.