Shamanic Wisdomkeepers Hb [Hardcover]

Timothy Freke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1999

This text contains the words of shamans from North and South America, Europe, West Africa and Australia. They discuss their training, how they go about their work, what "magic powers" they possess, the importance of the non-material world and keeping body, mind and spirit in good health.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This unique book "allows shamans to speak for themselves," presenting 10 shaman healers from diverse cultures. Readers meet, for example, a West African shaman with three master's degrees and two doctorates from top-flight European and American universities who integrates Western psychology and philosophy with traditional Dagara spiritual traditions. One of the book's most fascinating elements is its peek into religious syncretism: a Tibetan shaman whose tradition predates Buddhism by millennia shares some beliefs and practices with Tibetan Buddhism, and a South American shaman speaks of her son's "baptism" into Santo Daime, a mysterious pastiche of indigenous religion and Roman Catholicism. The shamans' self-described spiritual journeys reveal some striking similarities. They speak of being chosen by the spirits, not of choosing their heavy responsibilities, and of the constant temptation to employ their spiritual powers for self-aggrandizement instead of healing. The text is relentlessly ecological, emphasizing the intended harmony of humankind and nature. Every page boasts a color photograph; although the photos are visually pleasing, their subject matter often seems irrelevant to shamanism, depicting local scenes and people rather than shamanism in practice. Overall, however, this is a valuable cross-cultural introduction to shamanism. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Godsfield Press (October 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1899434690
• ISBN-13: 978-1899434695
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,208,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shamanic Wisdomkeepers; Shamanism in the Modern World, May 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Shamanic Wisdomkeepers: Shamanism in the Modern World (Hardcover)

This is a gem of a book on learning about Shamanism in the modern world. One gets tired of reading about new age spirituality with a guru bent. This book is clear sighted. Shamanism at its most non-commercial. Shamans who talk the talk and walk the walk. Photographs to immerse one in the big blue marble earth. Gaia is the key to understanding the way of the Shamans. We are truely an ecosystem and it is not nice to fool mother nature. This book is to learn what it means to be a non-commercial shaman. Someone who wants to be a true loving healer on this planet earth for its own sake.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Primal Spiritual Tradition, October 7, 2005

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shamanic Wisdomkeepers Hb (Hardcover)

_As this excellent book points out first thing, shamanism is the primal ground from which all our spiritual traditions first immerged. This is because it deals with the other world, the world beyond death. That is one of the common truths that keep coming out in interview after interview with living shamans from ten different traditions. Another of these truths is that you don't choose to become a shaman- the spirits choose you. Nor is it a matter of ego, for the shaman seeks to transcend the ego barriers that separate him or her from becoming one with both this world and the next.

_The author chose ten modern day shamans that had the feel of authenticity and integrity. That feel comes across in the interviews, for beyond a brief and perceptive introduction, he lets his subjects speak for themselves. As the author states, he didn't select these people, he merely held a vision of the kind of people who he wanted in his book- and they found their way to him.

_The range of traditions is broad, but they are all clearly speaking of the same experience- but with differing details and emphasis. It is a truly global sampling: Cherokee and Seneca , Dagara (West Africa), Amazonian, Kahuna (Hawaiian), Tibetan, Celtic, Santo Daime, Mayan, Apache, and Australian.

_The book is well illustrated with both full-color pictures of the Shamans, as well as of the land to which they are connected. There is a listing of contact addresses to reach both the contributors and organizations. There is a full index.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quick read. Highly recommended overview., November 21, 2007

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This review is from: Shamanic Wisdomkeepers: Shamanism in the Modern World (Paperback)

I read through this in a few hours, eager to get some insight into shamanism in the modern world, especially in the americas and in australia, and this book delivers the goods, diving quickly into the depths of rites through the personal words of various healers from hawaii, the aboriginees, and from those indigenous native americans, actually providing exercises you can do to enhance your visual skills. I was especially impressed various techniques the different shamans mentioned that are actually universal around the world, like sitting in the woods alone and watching without blinking. Of course, honoring the aniimal and nature spirits is always fundamental, but to really attune to them, that is what these healers have done, breaking through the limitations of our hypermodern world and glimpsing the other side, if only for a moment. Caution. Don't try this at home unless you have a spiritual leader to check on you. Some of the techniques mentioned in this book can be dangerous!