The Shaman's Doorway: Opening Imagination to Power and Myth [Paperback]

Stephen Larsen Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1998

A renowned psychotherapist's and scholar's significant and inspiring work on the relation of shamanism to both the psyche and society. 

Shows the relevance of shamanism to the modern world and how it can lead to a creative and affirmative relationship with life.

The Shaman's Doorway is one of the most significant and inspiring works on the relation of shamanism to both the psyche and society. Drawing on his own experience as a psychotherapist and his understanding of primordial shamanic traditions, Stephen Larsen shows the relevance of this path to the modern world and how it can lead to a creative and affirmative relationship with life. Defining the task of the shaman as one of bringing meaning and healing into life, and creating a sense of growing accord with the root of all being, Larsen clearly shows how the shaman, all too often perceived as belonging to the world's past, actually holds the key to our future.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Shamanism represents a body of knowledge that is pertinent to the ailments of contemporary society. Dr. Larsen guides us through this legacy with skill and ease, teaching us how the shaman's visions can expand our own awareness."
(

Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., author of Personal Mythology and Broken Images, Broken Selves

)

"An excellent analytical and harmonizing survey of this very complex field."
(

Joseph Campbell

)

About the Author

Stephen Larsen is a practicing psychotherapist and director of the Stone Mountain Counseling Center. He is codirector of the Center for Symbolic Studies and is Professor Emeritus of SUNY. He is the author of The Mythic Imagination and coauthor of Fire in the Mind, the biography of his friend and mentor Joseph Campbell.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions; 1st Inner Traditions ed edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892816724
• ISBN-13: 978-0892816729
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars !QA^W, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shaman's Doorway: Opening Imagination to Power and Myth (Paperback)

Having read it some time ago, it is with extreme pleasure that I make use of this oportunity to review such a broad-spanning, extensively researched book. I recommend it to all of those which have interests in the subject of Shamanism or as an, extremely enticing and didactic, first book on the matter. I have to thank Stephen Larsen for enabling me to write that, if properly undertaken, "The Shaman's Doorway: Opening Imagination to Power and Myth" may become a traveled personal path, bringing its' reader to the gateway of a spiritual tomorrow.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars practical quide for artists, November 29, 2006

By 

E. Batdorf (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shaman's Doorway: Opening Imagination to Power and Myth (Paperback)

This book is useful for creative artists- especially performers who write their own material. It gives concrete and practical information to those looking for alternative methods of sourcing material that is both personal and universal. I use it as a textbook and recommend it frequently.

4.0 out of 5 stars Shows dangers of Eastern religions, September 9, 2009

By 

Casca (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shaman's Doorway: Opening Imagination to Power and Myth (Paperback)

Rather than focusing on shamanism as such, Larsen writes about the 'doorway,' which he identifies as the mythic imagination. Much of the book will will be familiar to those who have read the likes of Joseph Campbell, M. Eliade and C. G. Jung. The part I found most helpful is on Eastern religious practices. With an Indian teacher Larsen did yoga and meditation for three and a half hours each day. He expected to have more energy, but found he had less. When he had psychic upheavals his teacher could not help him. Larsen observes that Eastern teachings usually say how hard it is to subdue the 'monkey' mind. The mind is a living entity that does not wish to be eliminated. Larsen notes that Westerners are 'eternal seekers of experience: adventurers, not renouncers.' He also questions techniques of sensory deprivation, for they can lead to anxiety, delusions and compulsive fantasies. Paths that deny the self and the world, and espouse nothingness, are life denying. Larsen is in favour of working with the psyche, not obliterating it. Westerners who have tried Eastern practices and found them wanting will gain from Larsen's ideas.