I'm not sure why indie musicians are, by and large, such uninteresting people. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they all think that they are interesting people and therefore spend no time learning about new things or thinking about new ways to make themselves interesting to others. It's not like everyone has to be interesting: I don't expect a gas station attendant to engage me in sparkling conversation, but it seems that if one is going to create art/culture that this person would go out of their way to learn about new things, try new experiences, etc. Such is clearly NOT the case, here in San Diego, or anywhere else, for that matter. The indie music world often seems about as interesting to me as junior high. I don't have any truck with the social world of junior high, with it's cliques and posturing, but, simply put, it's a boring world. It's the same thing with the indie music world: Like junior high, but with bands.
I was super excited to read Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy after seeing the citation in the Shape of Ancient Thought. I was even more excited when I realized that Wendy Doniger, my favorite scholar/professor, was mentored by this guy (Mircea Eliade is a Romanian, and a man, not a chick.) Shamanism was originally published in English (from the French) in 1951, but the book I have is a 2004 re-print with a new foreword by Doniger. Eliade's scholarship is a leetle out of date 50 years on, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this book was the first comprehensive approach to Shamanism that treated it as something other then a "degraded" "uncivilized" object of scorn. In fact, Shamanism appears to be the basis of all religious thought everywhere, showing up not only in the civilized religions of the Near East, West and East, but also in the indigenious peoples of Australia, New Guinea, Polynesia and North and South American. Shamanism is the closest things humans have to a "universal" religion prior to the emergence of the great world religions of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism (sorry Hindus!!!!)
So what is Shamanism? Eliade defines Shamanism as religious practice governed by the reaching of non-conscious ecstatic states by the Shaman. During this state, the Shaman travels to the sky or the underworld and rescues the souls of the sick/ill etc. That is Shamanism in a nut shell, but it's the description of the ritual ascents and descents that I found most interesting. I don't want to spoil the joys of the world tree, the soul egg and the bridge for those who might actually read this book, but suffice it to say that Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, contains enough food for thought to keep the reader thinking for months. Also, all the quoted sources are in Russian or German, so you don't have to worry about follow up reading.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 26, 2009
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 29, 2012
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 20, 2019
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 4, 2020
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 3, 2007
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 14, 2021
Top reviews from other countries
D45
Thorough, well-written text on Shamanism. Still the classic.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 24, 2012BadgerJelly
Great Piece of Work
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 21, 2012
