In the not too distant future, the Dark Continent has changed. It's become Federal Africa, with all of the old countries now united into one great nation. The separate tribes are gone, technology has boomed ... it is a very modern place.But if you think that it's completely changed, meet Lieutenant Abel Enetame of the Zimbabwe State Police Force, a single father with a great deal on his plate. He doesn't only have the usual crimes to deal with, murders, assassinations, kidnappings. There are violent Black Supremacists. There are fanatics like the Tribalists, who want to take the whole place back to the old days. And there are egotistic billionaires and power-crazy politicians.And when those kinds of people start getting their hands on brand-new devices that can do startling things, like change the past, for instance ... well, that's when the sparks really start to fly. Because the future of the whole of modern Africa might well rely on one police detective."Man, this guy can write!" - Ed Gorman."A terrific storyteller" - Graham Joyce."A terrific writer. A unique and eloquent voice" - editor John Pelan.

The fascinating account of a pioneering ethnobotanist’s travels in the Amazon—at once a gripping adventure story, a passionate argument for conservationism, and an investigation into the healing power of plants, by the author of The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know For thousands of years, healers have used plants to cure illness. Aspirin, the world's most widely used drug, is based on compounds originally extracted from the bark of a willow tree, and more than a quarter of medicines found on pharmacy shelves contain plant compounds. Now Western medicine, faced with health crises such as AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer, has begun to look to the healing plants used by indigenous peoples to develop powerful new medicines. Nowhere is the search more promising than in the Amazon, the world's largest tropical forest, home to a quarter of all botanical species on this planet—as well as hundreds of Indian tribes whose medicinal plants have never been studied by Western scientists. In Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice, ethnobotanist Mark J. Plotkin recounts his travels and studies with some of the most powerful Amazonian shamans, who taught him the plant lore their tribes have spent thousands of years gleaning from the rain forest. For more than a decade, Dr. Plotkin raced against time to harvest and record new plants before the rain forests' fragile ecosystems succumb to overdevelopment—and before the Indians abandon their own culture and learning for the seductive appeal of Western material culture. Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice relates nine of the author's quests, taking the reader along on a wild odyssey as he participates in healing rituals; discovers the secret of curare, the lethal arrow poison that kills in minutes; tries the hallucinogenic snuff epena that enables the Indians to speak with their spirit world; and earns the respect and fellowship of the mysterious shamans as he proves that he shares both their endurance and their reverence for the rain forest.

Defines the practise of shamanism, recounts its role in religion and culture throughout history, and its influence today.

Folded plate (1 leaf, 39 x 61 cm, folded to 19 x 16 cm) in pocket.

"In this dazzling book, Chidester moves effortlessly and insightfully between the serious and solemn and the playful and humorous. The case studies are so very fresh and interesting, and he brings a wonderfully nuanced eye to the material."—Edward T. Linenthal, author of The Unfinished Bombing "Chidester's analysis of popular religion and culture is the most extensive and penetrating that exists."—Wade Clark Roof, author of Spiritual Marketplace "This book is impressively wide-ranging in the scope of its discussion, adding a global dimension for a vantage point that makes it quite unique."—Bruce Forbes, coeditor of Religion and Popular Culture in America

Lifestyle theory seeks to redress the problems created by psychology's dependence on theoretical mini-models by offering an overarching conceptual framework that combines the insights of yesterday's grand theories with the methodological rigor of today's mini-models. The past, present, and future mentioned in the title of this book refers more to lifestyle theory's ability to clarify the past, present, and future of human experience than the past, present, and future of lifestyle theory.

This Introduction surveys the beliefs, rituals and techniques found in shamanic traditions around the world.

Alexis convincingly examines the crisis in education from a Christian perspective. (Social Issues)

An experiential guide to the shamanic spiritual practices of the Himalayas shared by a 27th-generation Nepalese shaman • Presents step-by-step, illustrated instructions for authentic Himalayan shamanic practices, including physical and spiritual healing, shamanic journeys, and ceremonies • Includes exercises to meet the ancestors in your shamanic lineage, techniques to use your voice as a shamanic tool, and practices for negotiating the spirit world safely • Details shamanic chants and rituals, how to create an altar, and the sacred objects of the shaman, along with exercises and techniques for using them properly There are few areas of our world where shamanic traditions have been preserved in their original context and form. Nepal is one of these rare and special places. In the shadow of the Himalayas Nepalese shamans, known as dhamis or jhankris, are still consulted for healing and divination, as well as for providing comfort and maintaining harmony. Following the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015, shamanic teacher Evelyn Rysdyk and 27th-generation dhami Bhola Nath Banstola decided it was time to safeguard Nepalese shamanic knowledge for future generations by recording the practices in a book. With this comprehensive, experiential guide to the ancient spiritual traditions of Nepal, Rysdyk and Banstola present step-by-step instructions for authentic Himalayan shamanic practices, including techniques for physical and spiritual healing, shamanic journeys, and advanced ceremonies, such as the Kalchakra Katne, a shamanic ritual for removing toxic energies from an individual. They include exercises to help you meet the ancestors in your shamanic lineage, techniques to use your voice as a shamanic tool, and practices for negotiating the spirit world safely. They detail shamanic chants and rituals, how to create an altar, and how to use the sacred objects of the dhami/jhankri, including the mala, the magic mirror, the drum, and the Khurpa, the shaman’s magic dagger. Rysdyk and Banstola also examine the importance of Nepalese cosmology in shamanic ritual and spiritual deities such as Hanuman, Garuda, and the Nagas. Illustrated with photos and Rysdyk’s artwork, the book also explores the history of Nepal, its culture and myths, and the different ways Nepalese shamans serve their communities. Written specifically to share the traditional Himalayan shamanic method with the Western world, this guide not only preserves these ancient teachings but also reveals how they are still relevant in the modern world.

Who are the Shapers? What is their will of us? In the First Time, the kingdoms of earth and the realms of light were one. Wise in the ways of the Otherworld, the Na-Akhu-El Sages of the Motherland tended the ongoing creation in the earth: Masters of the Four Forces and the cycles of creation, they shaped the pattern of things to come before they took form, and kept the balance of life in the worlds. But the Kingdom of the Sun fell, and a catastrophic dark age ensued, obscuring the way of the Makers. In the cataclysmic destruction of the world that was, the way of the Otherworld and of the First Time was lost, and Man forgot the realms of light. Nevertheless, veiled by the commonplace, a vestige of the Na-Akhu-El Sages survives, and subtly intervenes at crucial moments to keep the way they have shaped to restore Man to the First Time. In ancient Egypt this remnant is known as the Akhu, the Shining Ones of the First Time, who serve the Lord Osiris. Knowing the secrets of life and death, the making and unmaking of things, and the way of resurrection and ascension into the Otherworld, they are worshiped as deathless gods. In thirteenth century Egypt, the alchemist Flegetanis of Alexandria confronts an ancient adversary, the shaman Morgon Kara, in a dispute over a fallen Templar who has become the key to the survival of the Na-Akhu-El Sages. A contest unfolds in a subtle weave of intrigue and betrayal, in a quest for the meaning of a lost way, and the resurrection of a man whose awakening holds the key to the fate of the world to come.