A resurgence in alternative spiritual practices has led to the proliferation of writings; these two examples share a common link to Jungian psychology. Gillette (The Magician Within, Morrow, 1993) explains the ancient Maya view of the world and afterlife. In relating the art and writings of the Maya shamans, Gillette invites readers to use their imagination to journey back to the Maya world and explore Maya practices to affirm life and achieve immortality. Using Jungian tools of interpretation to understand Maya myths, Gillette decodes the Maya belief in finding the divine center of the soul where God and human beings are one. Noel (Paths to the Power of Myth, Crossroad, 1990) refers to the writing of Carlos Castaneda, relating it to Merlin and underscoring it with the Jungian psychology of imagination. Noel provides a model for renewed shamanic seeking. Through dreams and imaginings can come the spirituality of imaginal healing, and the loss of imagination equates to the loss of the soul. He draws from two decades of work with shamanic imagining, relating in anecdotal fashion psychological assumptions of renewed shamanic seeking. Both books are best suited to academic libraries.?L. Kriz, West Des Moines P.L., Ia
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Shamanism appeals to spiritually minded Westerners looking for alternatives to their own tradition, but few recognize the vast divide between genuine indigenous shamanism and New Age fantasies fashioned by such popular writers as Carlos Casteneda and Lynn Andrews. Noel attempts to dispel the haze that surrounds what he calls neoshamanism by asking key questions: Do Casteneda and Andrews write fiction or nonfiction? Are they, as they claim, reporting on actual experiences or relating personal revelations in the form of fictive narratives? And does it matter if their books are based on verifiable fact or "imaginal realities" ? Noel, writing from a personal as well as a scholarly perspective as he follows the course of these thorny but intriguing lines of inquiry, describes his own peculiar dealings with Casteneda and offers unique interpretations of Merlin, the archetypal Western shaman, and Carl Jung, the wellspring of neoshamanism. Ultimately, Noel concludes that the "nonliteral reality" found within the fairy tales created by Casteneda and company can, indeed, contribute to spiritual growth. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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