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The World We Used to Live In: Remembering the Powers of the Medicine Men

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This book is a compilation of the accounts of disinterested and often hostile observers of the amazing and often inexplicable workings of Native American medicine men and shamans. Most of the stories are drawn from 19th century books, while some predate that era.

Vine Deloria Jr., a wise and intriguing writer whose recent passing is a great loss, categorizes these accounts and discusses their credibility, based on the perspectives of the correspondents, and his own common sense and analytical ability. The stories range from the simple doing of medicine to heal sick and wounded people, whether Native or not, self-healing, protection from attackers, summoning of storms and rain, manifesting the growth of plants before one's eyes, communicating with spirits through animals and even stones, prophecy and clairvoyance, and general mystical topics including manifestation of the spirits of the dead, and accounts of the afterlife.

This book also has a good set of end notes for further study of these anecdotes, and a good bibliography. Deloria places the medicine man and shaman traditions in the context of wider spirituality and quantum physics.

Any serious student of spirituality and mysticism should become acquainted with the powerful Native American traditions, which were, and in many places still are, practiced all over North America. These stories compare favorably with the stories of yogis in India, and occidental accounts of ancient and medieval Europe, not to mention classical Greece, with the Delphic tradition.

Grandma once said, "I don't know how you boys are doing it, but you are bringing back ways that were lost--ways that I only heard about as a child." This book tells about ways that were lost, be they the making of little clay Indians and buffalo that the medicine man then animates to run around the lodge, or fantastic healings, this book is an in-depth look into what our ancestors use to be able to do. Tons of examples and references are included in typical Deloria fashion.

This book is not an instruction manual, but Deloria does offer his understanding as to how these things were done, calling upon his research into quantum physics to back him up. Reading this book will offer insight into some of those things that the boys are bringing back much to Grandma's delight.

Anyone with an iota of knowledge about Vine Deloria Jr.'s scholarly background could accuse him of being a sentimental crack pot fallen prey to tall tales and rural legends. Finally someone who is not afraid to be taken for such has written about paranormal encounters with powers that actually exist beyond special effects studios. However, those who like to imagine that only THEIR cultural/ethnic group has been chosen will find it disconcerting that Native Americans have had an on-going relationship with God and spiritual forces for thousands of years. This is an unapologetic as well as unsensationalized account of personal experiences with the real powers of the world.

This may be Vine Deloria's finest and most appreciable work. It is the kind of literary rarity that, when you realize the man has passed away, makes you weep that nothing more may be forthcoming from his genius. The collection of accounts and anecdotes is surprisingly complete to get his point across, namely, that the post-natural civilized world we live in today has forgotten something of great importance. The narrative is divinely inspired.

I love this author, Vine Deloria, Jr. he so eloquently relays the relationship between the Medicine Man and the Spirit - it is something the average person can't touch. This book provides excellant insight for anyone close to a Medicine Man or a Healer.

In his last writing, just as Nicholas Black Elk, the brilliant Vine Deloria Jr. returns to the "Ancient Way" and conjures up the miracles preformed by the "Medicine Men" and or "Holy Men" of many North American cultures! Using written accounts of the anthros and others in the predominant society, as well as Native accounts, Mr. Deloria reminds everyone that one could view "Miracles" in the Mystery of Turtle Island and that there were Masters of that Mystery in every Culture from the Atlantic to the Pacific;Arctic to Mexico and beyond! The book is ,as usual, well written and well put together and is meant to be a sweeping overview! I, for one, will miss his new insights and will have to revisit his works again and again ( which, fortunately, I can do since I own most of them )! You will be hard put to find a more insightful and balanced human being ( now through his writing alone since he has passed over the Star Road ) capable of an objective critique of the way the modern society has mistaken and distorted the reality of life on Turtle Island before during and after the " American Holocost "! This is a must read for anyone who loves this land and the people who are the living embodiments of the Ancient Wisdom! Finally, the book left me with the impression ( just an inkling, a slight hint ) that the Miracles, are still around us every day in the spiritual forms a Great Mystery always engenders and that when you open your mind to IT you will see the Masters are still being born and doing their deeds! Mitaque Oyasin!!

This book communicates the beliefs of many Native American Indian tribes concerning various aspects of worldview. It also covers the miracles that medicine men were able to do. It is a fantastic book, and a must-read for anyone who is interested in cultures, shamans, Native American Indians, multicultural teaching, and comparing the history of western miracles with the miracles performed by the medicine men. It is interesting to see the common miracles, as well as the other practices that were different.