Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas (Hardcover)

by Alberto Villoldo Ph.D. (Author) "We have been walking for days..." (more)
Key Phrases: sky chakras, intrusive entity, intrusive energies, Luminous Energy Field, Illumination Process, Don Antonio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Anthropologist Villoldo has studied shamanic healing techniques with the descendants of the Incas for more than 25 years. Perhaps more than any westerner, he has mastered the ancient art of "seeing," which gives more direct insight into the true causes of disease than can be revealed through all the technological advances of Western medicine. He has written ten previous books chronicling his adventures on the path to becoming a master shaman, and teaches energy medicine to thousands every year. Now he reveals the concept of working with the "luminous energy field" that surrounds our physical bodies in a practical, easy-to-understand format. Although shamanism is often shrouded in riddle and mystery, Villoldo has managed to present the basic principles in a step-by-step program, beginning with a series of simple exercises to cleanse and activate the chakras, the key entry points of the luminous body. By interweaving stories from his personal journey, he makes energy work accessible to a broad audience, and paves the way to its acceptance by the medical community. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Praise for Shaman, Healer, Sage

"At last a deeply committed seeker, scholar, and teacher has brought the rich legacy of Native America forward to take its rightful place among the world's great spiritual traditions."        
-- Rudolph Ballentine, M.D.,        author of Radical Healing

"Weaving together his gifts as a storyteller and healer with his ability to share practical tools to incorporate into our lives, Villoldo assists us in finding spiritual methods that lead to our ultimate healing."
-- Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval and Medicine for the Earth

"Laced with luminous tales of adventure, these field notes from a stream of Inkan wisdom kept alive in the Peruvian Andes are an invitation to realize truths of the spirit in the fabric of our own lives."        
-- Martin Goodman,         author of In Search of the Divine Mother

"A living blueprint of a body of knowledge, ancient and sacred. This book is a shaman's manual for practical work on the evolution of Being."        
-- Heather Valencia, author of The Queen of Dreams

"A refreshing air of integrity. Villoldo has dedicated his life to centuries-old healing techniques, and we should all be thankful. Use this book to embark upon your own healing journey."
--Peg Jordan, author of The Fitness Instinct


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; 1 edition (December 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609605445
• ISBN-13: 978-0609605448
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,274 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #24 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Shamanism
  #63 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Alternative Medicine > Healing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Dr. Villoldo, December 31, 2004

By	Scott Walker - See all my reviews

This book has completely changed my life, as well as the lives of the many people I have touched, since reading Shaman, Healer Sage in late 2003. After finding myself (totally unexpectedly) on the path of shamanism, I found and read this book. I will admit, I did have many reservations on much of the books teachings. Frankly, it just didn't seem possible that such a profound level of healing, could be so simple. I mean, if it was this easy, why hadn't I heard of it before, or come across someone who was a shaman and could do these wondrous things. At 50 years old, I really didn't know what a shaman was, short of the 1992 Sean Connery movie "Medicine Man", in which the diminutive shaman (who Connery had made very angry) scared the hell out of me. Not a good start for me.

Anyway, I had just spent several months, looking for someone to teach me about shamanism. After reading his book, I decided that the good Dr. was probably a very good place to start. I read two more of his books, just because I'm an eternal skeptic, then I reread Shaman, Healer Sage again. Did I mention that I'm a skeptic???

I began formal study with Dr. Villoldo and his staff of shaman instructors in July of 2004. The work of the south was true to the teachings of the book, and I saw (and experienced) healing work that I still find unbelievable. The teachings are just as simple and eloquent as the book that led me to these classes. I found the same to be true about the next two classes. The gifts of healing I have learned so far, have allowed me to heal people of both physical and psychological ailments. In some cases, these people have been treated for, and suffered from these illnesses, for several years. I do not take credit for this work. If you have read the book, you will know why.

I am leaving for two more weeks of study in March of 2005. I read Shaman, Healer Sage before I leave for every class. I noticed that many of my fellow students who took the class on the teachings of the west, seemed to have their copy of the book with them. I believe that not only does the book serve as a helpful reference to what we are learning, but it also serves as an inspiration to those of us who have dedicated our lives to this calling.

Before I close this, I would like to say that I do not intend what I write in this review, to make anyone think this road is an easy one to follow. Much to the contrary. To learn, and apply Dr. Villoldo's teachings take total commitment, and intentions that must be pure. It isn't something you do on a whim, as your entire life will never be the same, and you won't either. This is a serious way of life, that is sometimes a heavy weight to carry. I will say that to be able to do something about someone's suffering, instead of standing by and watching them suffer, is a gift that goes beyond any gift I could ever imagine. I can think of nothing more wonderful to do for someone, than to remove their pain.

If you are going to read one book on shamanism, read Shaman, Healer Sage. You will be glad you did. To Dr. Villoldo, who has taught me so much, as well as all of the teachers who taught him, and the people who are instructors in his classes, I (and the people I have healed) thank you.

Please pray for the healing of the earth and all of her people.


Scott Walker

102 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SHAMAN, HEALER, SAGE by Alberto Villoldo, December 29, 2002

By	Sandra L Kashyap (Santa Fe, NM United States) - See all my reviews

In SHAMAN, HEALER, SAGE, Alberto Villoldo spells out practices for personal and collective transformation of consciousness. The techniques elaborated are his own synthesis and interpretation of ancient healing practices. He strongly emphasizes that they must be employed with the highest code of ethics and integrity. What can heal can also hurt. Therefore, much of shamanic training is dedicated to developing ethics and values grounded upon a deep reverence for all life. To Villoldo's mind, energy healing from someone with inadequate training is basically black magic, regardless of one's good intentions.

Shamanic energy healing is not about rules or ideas. It is about vision and spirit - about realizing our luminous nature in infinity. It is about being caretakers of the Earth - speaking with thundering rivers, whispering mountains, and hearing the voice of God in the wind. In the world of the shaman, there are no divisions between mind, spirit, and matter. There is nothing to transcend and nothing in need of yoking. Said his teacher, Don Antonio, "We are luminous beings on a journey to the stars."

As Villoldo portrays it, the Illumination Process of the shaman is a direct interaction with the forces of Spirit. It allows us to taste infinity and renew ourselves from the source that animates and informs all life. In experiencing infinity, the illusions of old age, disease, and death are shattered. Every cell in our body is informed and renewed. Our immune system is unfettered, healing is accelerated, miracles and spontaneous remissions become common occurrences.

According to Villoldo, The Luminous Energy Field contains an archive of our personal and ancestral memories. That informs the chakras which organize our physical and emotional world. Erasing negative imprints in the Luminous Field enable the immune system to efficiently eradicate an illness. Amazon shamans believe that when all the chakras are cleared, one acquires a "rainbow body." One can visit the spirit world and die consciously because one knows the way home. One is not stalked by death, but claimed by life.

In the shamanic view, the four survival instincts - fear, feeding, fighting, and sex - are mirrored in the first two chakras. An unbalanced first chakra manifests as feelings of scarcity. When cleared, we know with every cell of our body that we are cared for and sustained by the universe. The second chakra has the capacity to digest negative emotions and expel them as waste. The tool of the third chakra is visualization. Balancing the third chakra improves the surrounding world since, according to the shaman, we dream our world into being. The nature of the fourth chakra, the heart, is impersonal love. The fifth chakra, the throat, gives voice to the feelings of the heart. In the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth chakras, development becomes transpersonal as we explore ever more subtle domains. We master death, time, invisibility, and the ability to keep a secret. It is said that all the desires of one with an awakened third eye come true. Therefore, a number of healers holding the same vision can manifest its truth for the planet.

To develop the shaman's way of seeing, we need to see with the eyes of the mind and the heart. Villoldo gives visualization meditations as to how to develop and strengthen those connections. The result is primary, direct, immediate, multisensory perception (synesthesia). The seer learns to track the origin of illness across time by finding the wounded "face" of the patient. Once it appears, it will reveal its story.

Before healing, the shaman summons the organizing principles of the Universe and aligns himself with them. He invokes a sacred space for healing and maintains it through the purity of his intent. That protects him from absorbing negative energies. After completing his work, he closes the sacred space so that it will not become contaminated. Otherwise, the forces of nature would no longer respond to his call. Villoldo says that he has seen healers who neglected to close their own sacred space absorb toxic energies from their client and become ill themselves.

Villoldo gives detailed steps for the Illumination Process of energy healing. It works by combusting and digesting toxic wastes that obstruct chakras and fuel imprints. Clear light is employed to overwrite information contained in the blueprint to prevent reorganization of the disease. Thus, the Illumination Process integrates and transforms emotional wounds into sources of knowledge and wisdom.

According to Villoldo, every form of energy has consciousness and frequency of vibration. Just as the brain has receptor sites for specific chemicals, we have receptor sites for specific energies. Villoldo cautions his students that negative energies are attracted to those with whom they share an affinity. Students may be drawn to work with those having similar psychological issues. In that case, an afflicted energy might change hosts -- passing from the patient to the healer.

According to Inka prophecy, we are now in a period of great chaos and upheaval. It will last until the year 2012, when "the paradigm of looting and pillaging the Earth brought by European civilization will end and the ways of the Earth peoples will make a comeback. The conquistador will perish by his own blade." The Inkas speak about a new human, Homo Luminous, being born - a being connected by luminous threads spanning across time, anchored in infinity. Says Villoldo, "We are that new human. Our question no longer is can we make a quantum leap into who we are becoming, but rather dare we do so."

In that dynamic, courageous vision, SHAMAN, HEALER, SAGE offers great hope and promise for our world -- for the individual and collective transformation of consciousness necessary to heal our planet. It inspires and encourages us to realize our luminous nature in infinity -- in the birth of a new humanity in harmony with the forces of nature, at one with all life, and at peace with the world.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars worthwhile, November 18, 2002

By	kaioatey (Awatovi, AZ) - See all my reviews

In this book Villoldo provides us with a glimpse into Andean healing practices. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Villoldo's Journal written during his training sesions with the teachers from the Q'ero nation, and with the healers he encountered in the Peruvian and Brazilian rainforest. Villoldo then goes on to describe the foundations of energy medicine and ends most chapters with simple exercises to give us the taste of what he is writing about. Myself i am interested in parallels between various shamanic practices and energy training in martial arts and SHS provided several useful tips. However, the practical usefulness of this book is probably limited, because even the simplest exercises need verification and support by a qualified teacher.

I find the information in this book to be (to the best of my knowledge) accurate, provided by a competent and well-trained specialist. The stories about the Q'ero shamans and their training are especially interesting. These people have a sophisticated understanding of consciousness and of the issues related to death and dying. As all indigenous shamans, they are intimately connected to nature and show amazing skills taping forces residing within the majestic landscape of the Cordilleras. i think it is high time we start to look at the Q'ero with new respect.

In my view this is probably one of the best books available on Peruvian shamanism and its applicability to the Western practice of "integrative medicine". i recommend it.