An exploration of shamanism and the archetypal symbolism that sits at the foundation of all human life • Not just an academic work. Helps the reader experience the actual mindset of the shaman • Presents a cohesive view of the recurrent patterns of symbolism and visionary experience that underlie all religion The human psyche contains archetypal patterns largely lost to contemporary society but which shamans have employed for over 30,000 years to gain access to the spiritual world. Shamanic symbols both affect and reflect these durative patterns that exist, with uncanny similarity, in civilizations separated by expanses of time and distance. The Strong Eye of Shamanism draws together the many facets of the art of shamanism, presenting a cohesive view of the recurrent patterns of symbolism and visionary experience that underlie its practice. The "strong eye" of the title refers to the archetypal symbolism that sits at the foundation of all human life--whether in Paleolithic caves or today's temples. The author asserts that society has become separated from the power of those symbols that lead us into deeper understanding of our spirituality. In today's world of splintered psyches, a world in which people are in search of their souls, shamanism survives as an age-old technology of soul recovery, a living Rosetta stone that reminds us of the shared foundation that exists beneath even the most radically different perspectives. Through its study of shamanism, archetypal psychology, and symbolism, The Strong Eye of Shamanism encourages individuals--and society--to look inward and remember that the deepest forms of awareness begin with the knowledge that the answers reside within us.

An exploration of shamanism and the archetypal symbolism that sits at the foundation of all human life • Not just an academic work. Helps the reader experience the actual mindset of the shaman • Presents a cohesive view of the recurrent patterns of symbolism and visionary experience that underlie all religion The human psyche contains archetypal patterns largely lost to contemporary society but which shamans have employed for over 30,000 years to gain access to the spiritual world. Shamanic symbols both affect and reflect these durative patterns that exist, with uncanny similarity, in civilizations separated by expanses of time and distance. The Strong Eye of Shamanism draws together the many facets of the art of shamanism, presenting a cohesive view of the recurrent patterns of symbolism and visionary experience that underlie its practice. The "strong eye" of the title refers to the archetypal symbolism that sits at the foundation of all human life--whether in Paleolithic caves or today's temples. The author asserts that society has become separated from the power of those symbols that lead us into deeper understanding of our spirituality. In today's world of splintered psyches, a world in which people are in search of their souls, shamanism survives as an age-old technology of soul recovery, a living Rosetta stone that reminds us of the shared foundation that exists beneath even the most radically different perspectives. Through its study of shamanism, archetypal psychology, and symbolism, The Strong Eye of Shamanism encourages individuals--and society--to look inward and remember that the deepest forms of awareness begin with the knowledge that the answers reside within us.

Shamanic journeying is the inner art of traveling to the invisible worlds beyond ordinary reality to retrieve information for change in every area of our lives from spirituality and health to work and relationships. With Shamanic Journeying, readers join world-renowned teacher Sandra Ingerman to learn the core teachings of this ancient practice and apply these skills in their own journey. Includes drumming for three shamanic journeys.

An in-depth look at the role of plant spirits in shamanic rituals from around the world • Shows how shamans heal using their knowledge of plant spirits as well as the plant’s “medical properties” • Explores the core methods of plant shamanism--soul retrieval, spirit extraction, and sin eating--and includes techniques for connecting with plant spirits • Includes extensive field interviews with master shamans of all traditions In Plant Spirit Shamanism, Ross Heaven and Howard G. Charing explore the use of one of the major allies of shamans for healing, seeing, dreaming, and empowerment--plant spirits. After observing great similarities in the use of plants among shamans throughout the world, they discovered the reason behind these similarities: Rather than dealing with the “medical properties” of the plants or specific healing techniques, shamans commune with the spirits of the plants themselves. From their years of in-depth shamanic work in the Amazon, Haiti, and Europe, including extensive field interviews with master shamans, Heaven and Charing present the core methods of plant shamanism used in healing rituals the world over: soul retrieval, spirit extraction, sin eating, and the Amazonian tradition of pusanga (love medicine). They explain the techniques shamans use to establish connections to plant spirits and provide practical exercises as well as a directory of traditional Amazonian and Caribbean healing plants and their common North American equivalents so readers can ex-plore the world of plant spirits and make allies of their own.

Bringing together extensive research on psychology, psychophysiology and phenomenology of the shamanic trance and altered states of consciousness, this book represents a cross-cultural approach to the study of shamanism. It discusses Buryat shamanism in Siberia in comparison with Buddhist and Hindu Yogic techniques, as well as other esoteric traditions. The phenomenon of the shamanic trance is here investigated from the esoteric point of view as a form of mystical or religious experience. The book explores the inner feelings and psychic states of the shaman during the trance, describing the inner psychic processes and referring to the systems of chakras and subtle channels in shamanism and classical Buddhist and Hindu yoga, as well as other cultural traditions. In addition to its adoption of psychoanalytic and transpersonal approaches, it also uses phenomenological methods in its investigation, representing works from scholars in Oriental studies, as they provide deeper insight into the research of shamanism and mystical experiences.

A powerful collection of essays from authors such as Mircea Eliade, Joan Halifax, Stanley Krippner, Brooke Medicine Eagle, Serge King, and Michael Harner on the mystifying phenomenon of shamanism around the world---what it is, how it works and why.

Shamanism is one of the world's oldest religions and is the practice of communicating with the natural and spiritual worlds through shamans, or medicine men. It may appeal to spiritual seekers who are disillusioned with traditional religions or New Age gurus because it offers a unique perspective, one based on experience rather than dogma and a celebration of the natural world and our place in it.

Discover the shamanic powers within each of us • Explores ayahuasca rituals in the Amazon, messages from power animals and plant spirits, intuitive dreams, soul retrieval, and holograms of past lives and spirits • Explains the shamanic way of “seeing” to diagnose spiritual, emotional, and physical ailments via candle readings, remote viewing, and shamanic journeys • Details how the author has helped individuals communicate with loved ones who have passed on and release themselves from negative spirits Each and every one of us has shamanic powers. Glimpses of them can arise at any age in the form of intuitive dreams, déjà vu, spontaneous visions, and out-of-body experiences. Most people dismiss these experiences. However, by embracing these gifts, we can unlock our shamanic potential to change ourselves and the world around us. Revealing his transformation from skeptic to respected shamanic healer, Itzhak Beery explains how, after countless prescient dreams and visions throughout his life that he brushed off, a series of synchronistic events led to his first shamanism workshop with Michael Harner, renowned shamanism scholar and teacher. This, in turn, led to a trip to South America with John Perkins to work with indigenous shamanic healers. Beery shares his experiences with ayahuasca rituals in the Amazon, messages from power animals and plant spirits, dreams that foretold future events, and holographic sightings of past lives and spiritual entities, both evil and benign. He details his shamanic way of “seeing” to diagnose spiritual, emotional, and physical ailments via candle readings and remote viewing. Explaining how we are always surrounded by spirits, he recounts helping people communicate with loved ones who have passed on and shares powerful stories of soul retrieval during shamanic journeys to other worlds. Through his true stories of visions that manifested in reality, Beery reveals that we are all shamans. By igniting our natural intuition and developing trust for our inner powers, we can each connect to the oneness of nature where all knowledge is found.

In the Upper Amazon, mestizos are the Spanish-speaking descendants of Hispanic colonizers and the indigenous peoples of the jungle. Some mestizos have migrated to Amazon towns and cities, such as Iquitos and Pucallpa; most remain in small villages. They have retained features of a folk Catholicism and traditional Hispanic medicine, and have incorporated much of the religious tradition of the Amazon, especially its healing, sorcery, shamanism, and the use of potent plant hallucinogens, including ayahuasca. The result is a uniquely eclectic shamanist culture that continues to fascinate outsiders with its brilliant visionary art. Ayahuasca shamanism is now part of global culture. Once the terrain of anthropologists, it is now the subject of novels and spiritual memoirs, while ayahuasca shamans perform their healing rituals in Ontario and Wisconsin. Singing to the Plants sets forth just what this shamanism is about--what happens at an ayahuasca healing ceremony, how the apprentice shaman forms a spiritual relationship with the healing plant spirits, how sorcerers inflict the harm that the shaman heals, and the ways that plants are used in healing, love magic, and sorcery.

Explores the living spiritual tradition surrounding birds in Native American culture • Pairs scholarly research with more than 200 firsthand accounts of bird signs from traditional Native Americans and their descendants • Examines the legends, wisdom, and powers of the birds known as the gatekeepers of the four directions—Eagle, Hawk, Crow, and Owl • Provides many examples of bird sign interpretations and human-bird communication that can be applied in your own encounters with birds Birds are our strongest allies in the natural world. Revered in Native American spirituality and shamanic traditions around the world, birds are known as teachers, guardians, role models, counselors, healers, clowns, peacemakers, and meteorologists. They carry messages and warnings from loved ones and the spirit world, report deaths and injuries, and channel divine intelligence to answer our questions. Some of their “signs” are so subtle that one could discount them as subjective, but others are dramatic enough to strain even a skeptic’s definition of coincidence. Pairing scholarly research with more than 200 firsthand accounts of bird encounters from traditional Native Americans and their descendants, Evan Pritchard explores the living spiritual tradition surrounding birds in Native American culture. He examines in depth the birds known as the gatekeepers of the four directions--Eagle in the North, Hawk in the East, Crow in the South, and Owl in the West--including their roles in legends and the use of their feathers in shamanic rituals. He reveals how the eagle can be a direct messenger of the Creator, why crows gather in “Crow Councils,” and how shamans have the ability to travel inside of birds, even after death. Expanding his study to the wisdom and gifts of birds beyond the four gatekeepers, such as hummingbirds, seagulls, and the mythical thunderbird, he provides numerous examples of everyday bird sign interpretations that can be applied in your own encounters with birds as well as ways we can help protect birds and encourage them to communicate with us.