Customer Reviews

Shamanic Wisdomkeepers Hb

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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.

_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.

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!

I agree this is a nice book to have. I enjoyed 'listening' to the various voices from around the world and I appreciate the input they gave to give everyone a better understanding of what shamanism is really about.

This book contains the photo of a deceased person.

This is an excellent book that allows people from all over the world speak in their own voice.