5 comments about Reiki The Ultimate Guide Vol. 4 Past Lives & Soul Retrieval Remove Psychic Debris & Heal Your Life (Reiki - The Ultimate Guide).

1. This is a great book! I liked the illustrations because they made the Past Life and Soul Retrieval process easy to understand. The few books on these topics never really show you how to do them. They just tell you in the text. That's what I like about all Steve Murray's books, they give you good visuals on what he is talking about.



2. Very useful book. As someone who takes the study of Reiki very seriously, and as someone who also studies hypnosis, I found that this book was easy to use and had a past life experience the first day I received it. I couldn't wait to see how Steve was able to take Reiki and use it for Past Life Regression.
   
   I had several very good outcomes from my first Reiki Past Life session. The answer to a question that I needed answered was given. Not only was that one question that I asked answered, but other revelations came from the same session. I was curious as to how a history buff like me could love all times in history except one, that was answered during this session. I also saw that one of my spirit guides was a good friend of mine during that time frame. What was really great is that each of us, me and my guide, had the same personalities back then as we do now.
   
   Not only do I use this method of Reiki healing for myself, but I also use it to guide people through past life regression.



3. I was already a Reiki Master, and purchased Steve Murray's, Reiki Ultimate Guide, Ultimate Guide Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and Vol. 4, along with the DVD attunements for each. The attunements were very powerful, and the energy flow is no doubt stronger. This program has to be the most convent, and realistic way to get started in the Reiki healing practice. I have tried several other Reiki programs in the past, and Steve Murrays Reiki Ultimate Guides, are the very best I have found yet. You will not be disappointed.
   D. White



4. Empowering!!
   I am by nature open minded but cautious. I read Steve's website top to bottom and was inspired by the truth as I read it. It resonated with something deep inside me. I was very drawn to his openness and perspectives on Reiki and decided that this was the right path to follow. I have not been disappointed at all!! Very congruent in all his writing and his mission statement.
   His DVD's and books empower you on whatever level you are interested in learning. He is a true teacher. You can read it, see it and feel the energy.
   Thank you so much Steve for all your insightful information and for sharing all your knowledge with everyone in an affordable way. This was a smart investment for me. I am truly grateful and much more knowledgeable.



5. My review for VOL. 4 will read close to that of VOL. 1-3 as I had close to the same wonderful experience: In my 10 years of non-stop study in the healing energy arts, especially Reiki - these books are the best I've read. Steve's approach is open, honest and straight to the point. Sure with different Reiki teachers you are going to get some different minor points here and there. This is the nature of Reiki at it's core anyway. We are all connected to this great source of healing energy, and we all have a different use and way of reaching for it. The good part is simply to take that reach. Steve's entire course is hand crafted to spell out the knowledge and give the guidance needed to heal yourself and others. This guide speaks of healing lost and emotionally charged parts of ones soul. I greatly enjoyed this book. True, there are a lot of pictures and if taken out the writing portion wouldn't be enough to make a big book. BUT this was one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. When you start from Book/DVD Vol. 1 and work to get to this point: there is so much that doesn't need repeating. I actually felt like this book honored the knowledge I have alread learned and made me feel even more empowered for its delivery. I wouldn't read this one first, but after all it is Vol. 4 for a reason. I highly and with pride say to each and everyone of you, take the chance to read his work - you only have healing growth to achieve!

5 comments about The World Is As You Dream It: Teachings from the Amazon and Andes.

1. This is a superb rendition of spiritual principles crafted within the context of indigenous cosmology. It reflects broader corollaries that can be assigned to numerous spiritual disciplines world wide and provide a source of inspiration to those who question the nefarious motives of unfettered "development" with all its hideous consequences.
   
   Mr. Perkins utilizes vast personal experience to highlight indigenous wisdom that takes to task our ethnocentric, greed based, industrialized world view that seems designed to ransack planetary resources and exploit the lives of all it can consume. A sad commentary on the foibles of an economic system run amuck, yet, a surprisingly inspirational joy ride through time and space as seen through the eyes of the author.
   
   Highly recommended.



2. I plan to buy ShapeShifting next. This book will change your life and the way you look at things. I know...there are so many books out there that claim to do that as well, but they are nothing compared to this book. Only an intelligent spirital person would read this book, but it is also an easy read. I have the highest respect for John Perkins.



3. This book needs to be labeled fiction and it totally misrepresents the indigenous South Americans about whom he's talking. The native Amazonians he visits have a well-documented history of head hunting and raiding until very recently! These groups survived colonialism because they retreated deep into the rainforest, and because they were extraordinarily violent towards outsiders, other fellow Amazonians, and especially to their own women.
   
   It's insulting that Perkins remakes these indigenous Amazonians into his own hippy, 1960's idealistic view of a nature-loving, dream-centric, egalitarian culture with some special understanding of the world that we can use to remake our own. He neglects to tell anything truthful about the Shuar culture-- and it's tiresome and offensive to have people put their own ideals into some "Wise Indian's" mouth.
   
   The truth is always interesting, and I'm sure Perkins' trippy, drug-induced vision of an eco-friendly imaginary dreamworld could be interesting too. His lie is to conflate the two.



4. This book is for those of you who recognize that there is something inherently wrong with the way our society operates. Even if you don't recognize it, this book will shed light on a myriad of problems. We can all learn a few things from indigenous people, and Perkins is a level-headed expert on the subject. Short and easy to follow, this book is a must read!



5. Perkins is a 50 plus year old former International businessman who made the transition from a tool of the modern day robber barrons to a spiritually concerned member of the human race. I suggest that his books be read in the order of their publication to really understand the mans evolution. His body of work should be in the high schools of all the countries that are sucking up the worlds resources. Then, maybe, with a generation of informed people the planet can change it's course from a head on collision with disaster to a place where people understand the bounty of this world must be properly allocated and the appropriate opportunities are available for everyone. There is to much in his books to write about here. An automatic for any person wondering how the world really works and how it could work.

5 comments about Andean Awakening: An Inca Guide to Mystical Peru.

1. Through this book Jorge and MaryAnn lead you on an unforgettable journey throughout Peru's Sacred Valley including Machu Picchu , Cuzco and Lake Titicaca. Jorge's teachings of Incan traditions, rituals and ceremonies allow the reader to feel connected with Pachamama (Mother Earth), the Sacred Apu (Mountain Spirits) and the Peruvian People. He speaks of the spirit world and one's connection to it through their authentic self. This book makes you want to board the nearest plane and travel to Peru to experience such a powerful and special place!



2. "Andean Awakening: An Inca Guide To Mystical Peru" by Jorge Luis Delgado a modern descendent of the ancient Incas) presents (with the assistance of MaryAnn Male) an illustrated guidebook to Peru's mystical and spiritual Incan heritage. This 'spiritual tour guide' takes the reader to the most powerfully spiritual places in Peru including Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Lake Titicaca, and most especially, the legendary Inca doorway of Aramu Muru. A welcome, illustrated, and highly recommended addition to Metaphysical Studies reference collections in general, and Peruvian Studies reading lists in particular, "Andean Awakening" is enhanced with the history, culture, mythos and magic of the old Incan empire, inspiring places and enduring legacies left by the 'Children of the Sun' that are still accessible to visitors today.



3. I had the honour and pleasure of travelling with Jorge Luis Delgado this past May. It was with much anticipation I awaited to purchase my copy of this amazing shamans book. The Andean Awakening is a most pure reflection of mystical Peru narrated by Jorge. As the images of my travels fade I need only open the pages of this book to bring the stories and places alive again. He is a gifted shaman, teacher and narrater. He is a true Chacana - bridging the north and the south. I would recommend to anyone in search of spritt in Mystical Peru.



4. I liked this book very much because it is the first book I read about a person with actual Inca blood figuring out more about the tradition. It is a refreshing departure from all these stories about sheltered Americans who venture out into the unknown world of them scary Indigenous people because of this or that. But like many stories about people connecting with something different, I felt that the book didn't really speak to me. I enjoyed learning more about the Inca traditions, since I myself am part Inca, but there was something missing. Could it be because the author makes a living bringing tourists to the same locations he talks about in the book? Not sure. I do think that he is honest in his spirituality and wishes to share it with the world, and since he has experience with tourism, well.... But I was hoping that the book would not be so much another story of personal discovery, but that in reality it would be the Guide To Mystical Peru the title offered.
   
   The book is well written, and the story interesting and compelling. The author vividly and accurately describes the areas in a very enticing manner. This is why I am giving it 3 stars. I liked very much learning more about the Lake Titicaca area, and thanks to this book I now hope to visit the region. Maybe some of you would rate it higher. But this book was not what I was hoping for when I bought it.



5. This book offers a rare insight into Andean life, a life in which animals are part of the extended family, stones are living beings and the apus (spirits of the mountains) speak. The author, Jorge Luis Delgado, is an Aymara chacaruna who grew up and still resides in Puno, Peru and whose mother is a healer. Delgado has written a compelling account of his spiritual adventures as he moves from a man of science, facts and technology to a man who resonates and communicates the essence of the sacred places of the Highlands of Peru and Bolivia. Integrating the spiritual into one's daily life achieves balance. Following a spiritual path, he notes, does not preclude one from becoming successful in the material world; he now owns several hotels and his own travel agency. "...the more I listened to my spirit, my heart, the more I succeeded in everyday life and my business." The book opens with a description of a recurring dream he had and his attempts to locate in the physical plane the pink sandstone landscape he saw in his dream. When he found the landscape, he discovered Aramu Muru, a sacred site at Bebedero del Inca, Peru close to Lake Titicaca. This book is so densely packed with information that I wished for an index. The lack of an index, however, gave me the opportunity to read the book three times, each reading resulting in a new insight, a new perspective. The chapters contain a wealth of details about the ceremonies, traditions, culture, sacred sites, cosmology, community life and legends of the Andean people. The author brings to life the three Inca principles of love (munay), wisdom (yachay) and service or work (llancay) by sharing with the reader his mystical initiation into the three principles, which occurred after an early morning meditation at Machu Picchu. Later that day, he is presented with three opportunities to interpret his mystical experience - to a fellow guide, to a friend and owner of a shop in Aguas Calientes and to the tour group he was leading. Delgado did not intend to follow a spiritual path. He did not ask for the experiences that unfolded for him, even though he opened to them and embraced them. They were the result of Spirit seeking him. Spirit's goal is not to overwhelm, because it never asks more of us than we can handle; its goal is to open our hearts. The author became a chacaruna, a bridge person, one who helps others to understand the traditions of the Andean world or to cross from one state of consciousness to another. He emphasizes that just as each chacaruna is unique in how he bridges the sacred for others, each person's spiritual awakening and spiritual path are also unique. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Andean spirituality, in Andean traditions or who is planning a trip to Peru.

5 comments about Journey to the Sacred Garden A Guide to Traveling in the Spiritual Realms.

1. Having read the book several times and done the journeys with the CD, I think that it's an interesting experience. The drumming has the ability to put you into a light trance and you can relax while going into your sacred garden. Nothing really scary has happened to me as I've gone on these trips alone and nothing really dramatic has happened either. it certainly doesn't compare to what supposedly happens on an LSD trip.-- Sorry. I don't get the kind of way out visions that Wesselman gets.
   
   After trying the journeys for a month, I think I MAY or MAY NOT be feeling better because of the sessions. I SEEM to be more creative musically, more aware of what is going on of significance in everyday life, a little more energetic at times, (...), and possibly relieved somewhat from a condition I have. Is it the sessions or just the natural flow of events? I don't know.
   
   I did not have to go to the lower worlds to find my spirit guides as Wesselman instructs. I found them immediately in the garden. I think I mostly made them up from what I would want them to be, except, heh heh, the Birdman and the Tarzan-like guy with the snake. I also have a nymph, a beautiful woman, a knome, a wizard, Jesus, my oversoul, and a council of elders. I also imagined my dead mother too. I think I'm capable of making this all up from imagination anyway. They mostly work on healing me in some way through light, light balls that I swallow, and water and healing potions. I also have gifts from them that represent goals that I focus on while there. It is easy to hold a vision with the drumming. I can even be interrupted and move back into the vision again relatively quickly. I never really get much verbal council of any significance about, for instance, the purpose of my life--just generalized, cliched, bland stuff that I could have guessed on my own. I never communicate with nature or the elements the way Wesselman does and I'm probably not that interested.
   
   The instruction book is short, to the point, informative and easy to read. The sessions are relaxing. Are the visions real or imaginative? Are they profoundly beneficial? At this point, I don't know.
   
   Update August 2, 2004: I'd knock it down a star. I haven't used the CD in several months and I don't think it has changed my life in any significant way. I think it could only be effective with certain people, as Wesselman seems to suggest. Maybe if you get someone to help you who knows something about it, you would do better. I did my visions with the CD by myself.



2. This is a great book and cd for a practical application in the direction of mediation and shamanism. It is more than an explanation of things and more of an experiential event. I recommend this book and the one that follows it for those who are looking to do work and have not yet found a group or teacher to help them with the real work.



3. This lovely little book makes it easy for the beginner or delightful for the experienced "traveler" to visit their own personal garden or sacred space deeply. The accompanying CD adds immensely to the process and is part of the reason I purchased the book. Having recently attended one of Hank Wesselman's workshops, I found that this book an CD are like being at the workshop!



4. This is an excellent introduction to shamanic journeying. Your own experience and mileage may vary, but you will have a better idea of how to go about journeying, and what you might expect. It's a short read - I was done in an hour or so.
   
   The included CD is worth the price of the book - 2 sessions, 30 minutes each, of either drumming or rattling. There are no vocals in the recordings; it's just pure drum or rattle. I have worked with journey CDs in which the author counts you down, takes you into the journey, etc etc. It's refreshing to have just the sounds and be able to control it myself.



5. Very different from Dr. Wesselman's first three books about Nainoa; this is a great meditation tool.

2 comments about Shamans Through Time.

1. I have been studying shamaic cultures for decades, and this was an unusual collection seeing through the eyes of Westerners over half a milenium. It gives me hope that we can rise above ethnocentricity to see that reality is mutable although by way of this book it took over 400 years.



2. I borrowed this book from the library and ended up buying my own copy. Gives great info on the topic of shamans. You could buy several of the books that are listed but there are parts from articles and journals that are not available. I am enjoying this book very much and plan to use it when I write my Ph.d on shamanism.
   You will enjoy every article.

2 comments about The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom.

1. Joan Halifax accomplishes the ultimate through this great book -- she transmits Buddhism through the heart.



2. (and I have read a lot of books!) I am on my second reading, and will soon reread a third time, slowly, taking notes and making my own commentary. Halifax's ability to combine a deep understanding of Buddhism, shamanism, deep ecology, the history of civilization, indigenous cultures is unparalleled - and her understanding is not academic, it has been gained through forty-plus years of experience. This is a book to read slowly, several times, meditating, pondering, and experiencing for oneself what Halifax so profoundly points to.

5 comments about Mushroom Wisdom: How Shamans Cultivate Spiritual Consciousness.

1. Finally, we have post baby-boom author with the authority and integrity of McKenna to talk about psychedelic experiences. This material is more of a general orientation into modes of thought, consciousness, and perspectives used by mystics, shamans, knowers, etc. There is scant material here on mushroom specifics but enough to make it an almost required resource for anyone researching psychedelic experiences. If you are new to the spiritual path or psychedelic studies then there is much more than a pinch of good information here. Much of the authors music is also good expecially Shaman's Path.



2. I remember a Terrance McKenna comment that went something like-- "If you want to work with psychedelics, the first place you should go is a library." Unfortunately, back in the 60's there was nothing to speak of in any library. So psychedelics exploded into the spiritual vacuum of social club Christianity, creating a backlash of fear and loathing. Bit by bit, this situation is being rectified with books like Mushroom Wisdom. This book is a must for anyone considering following the arduous spiritual path of working with Plant Allies.



3. Thuis was my first book over the subject. It is good, direct and clear for anyone. I will recommend it to everyone who wants to learn much more over the alternate state os conciousness with the mushrooms.



4. I bought this book because I was looking for a guide on using mushrooms ceremonially. Although, he does touch on this towards the end of the book, he basically just talks about spiritual enlightenment (not that thats a bad thing). He is not the best writer, lots of errors with the grammar and confusing sentence structures. I will continue my search!



5. Praise for Martin W. Ball Ph.D. for his asserted efforts in professing his rendition of such a contentious issue! For far too long society (political and religious) has retained the capital and exclusive rights to abrogate an individual's right to such an innocuous endeavor. The irony is that a beverage that has an insurmountable and prolifically definitive negative data due to the accidental deaths, overdoses, habitual addictions, teenage consumption, criminal domestic violence, diseases, doltish behavior, etc. so forth and ever continuing, of which it is conducive finds itself ubiquitously accepted as a mere nuance of fermented passion. By my interpretation it seems that in society this substance is quite often over shadowed by the debauched science that is shoved down our throats in proliferation about other "drugs." The only thing I can do is deride at the ignorance of the masses, their only flagellation to the negative events spawned by alcohol is, "Drink responsibly." Also, not many criticize the Fed or corporations whom so boldly continue advocacy for the prescription medications that are actually killing us. Herein lies the reason, profit! For the rest of us, especially those of us who abhor alcohol, our natural entheogens-those you can walk into nature and consume without manipulation-are artificially labeled the scapegoat for society's moral declivity. Consequently, there are those of us that will not allow the spiritual substances to become merely a vestige of days gone by.
   
   First and foremost, I respect the author's humble beginnings by his exhortation to the reader that by no means are his claims scientific or isolated to any one spiritual or religious path. For any of his book to be resonant with an individual you will have only had to experience an entheogen in the fashion that he so eloquently describes. I cannot, myself, advocate Dr. Ball's rendition of the revelations of mushrooms, simply because I have never consumed them. However, this has been the most spiritually resonant book I have ever read due to the commensurable effect marijuana has on me. For the past five years I have indeed vectored (metaphorically) individuals that for me marijuana is spiritual. Placing it into the context of the human language is a severe injustice. Our language is eons away from obtaining the evolutionary position of calibrating such profound divination and vibratory emotions. While Dr. Ball tries to ameliorate the comprehension of that convolution, he is severely limited in capability in actually describing the way it makes one feel to experience "The Witness", as he calls it. This is not due to his inadequate writing, it is due to the inadequate complexity of our language. Had I not experienced this effect with marijuana I would indeed have had to emphatically disagree with him.
   
   There are going to be those critics of this book that will say he is trying to guild such an imprudent substance that is detrimental to our state of being. By no means is the author trying to proselytize anyone in the use of illicit substances, he merely is describing his experience with the use of mushrooms by his interpretation. I personally do not advocate the use of entheogens for any social settings or for recreational use due to those events and individuals being the ones that disenfranchises the more prudent behavior of the rest of us that actually use these for spiritual enlightenment. I have to say that from a political position the government, especially the Fed, should not be in the market of abolishing anything on a social level. If drugs (alcohol, crack, cocaine, heroin, prescriptions, etc.) are reviewed for abolition it should be exclusive to only the State in which it is an issue. Here is where we find ourselves getting trumped on the 10th Amendment once again. Not to mention, I have no problem with people drinking alcohol, or doing any other drug for that matter, as long as I can continue to experience marijuana, and, eventually, mushrooms IN MY OWN HOME without its abrogation or criminalization. Also, if an individual is prosperous, intelligent, docile, gratuitous, healthy, altruistic and over all prudent in behavior what is the predication for such a reason to obviate their right to isolate their use in their own home?
   
   The synergy that is revealed with the affinity to the entheogens is solely by experience and may not be for everyone. For you to believe or identify with what the author speaks of you will have had to FEEL, SEE and KNOW of what he references. If you have no profound experience from your use of such items, then this is not the book for you. If there is a wonder about the elucidative and narrative information that your use of these substances has had about your morality, spirituality or life in general, then you should read this. If you have never consumed any of these substances, then do not read the book and subsequently post a review that will be disingenuous to and mitigate the profound reflection of which the author proffers.
   
   I do recommend the book, but beware there are a several instances of grammatical errors both by human and machine; but, do not let that deter you if you are interested in the subject at hand.

4 comments about Shaking Medicine: The Healing Power of Ecstatic Movement.

1. I've always loved watching documentaries that show traditional African or North American Native dancing. The participants seem so deeply focused into the action that their bodies are doing the movements without conscious thought. That many of these individuals have deep spiritual experiences during these sessions doesn't surprise me at all. The dance is simply another form of mediation, much more active but still so all focused that nothingness is achieved so that the spirit self is given its freedom.
   
   Shaking Medicine is a wonderful introduction to ecstatic movement. The author himself is an experienced shaker. He is also a life-long learner who is extremely interested in finding out why people choose to shake, how they shake, and what they experience during and after the experience. Much of this book resembles a memoir of his experiences and his explorations of shaking in various cultures around the world, past and present.
   
   I found this book fascinating. I came to realize that there is no real right or wrong way to shake. Being with others who have traveled that path will certainly be a good resources but ultimately every person needs to find that something inside themselves. Reading Shaking Medicine and using the included CD of ecstatic drumming is certainly a good place to start.



2. If you are drawn to movement as a therapy, this book is a must. I have been interested in energy medicine and practicing as a homeopath since 1996. For years I have studied shamanism and have walked the path of a shaman. More recently I became fascinated with the idea of movement. I felt it from the inside out. This book was able to give me historical and practical information about "shaking medicine" that i have always known on a gut level. I also liked that the book explained the relationship between "sitting still" meditation and "movement" meditation. In my practice there are many clients who struggle with beign able to sit still yet they have a desire to meditate. In Shaking Medicine, I have found a tool to help them. This book has been of great help to me. The CD is also excellent quality.



3. I am conflicted about this book.
   
   There is no doubt in my mind that shaking is good for us. At its minimum, rhythmic movement of the body connects body systems into an organic whole. Shaking restores the flexibility of the connective tissue and eases communication between ligaments, bones, fascia, blood and lymph vessels and the endings of afferent/efferent nerves. Furthermore, when done with a proper attitude and surrender, dancing propels the dancer into the transpersonal.
   
   Here is where it gets a little shakey for me. What Keeney promotes as "shaking medicine" may not have that much to do with the !Kung (Bushmen). Here is an interiew with a !Kung recorded by the anthropologist Richard Lee: "Trance medicine really hurts. As you begin to trance the power (n/om) slowly heats inside and pulls at your insides. Your mind and your senses leave and youdon't think clearly. You can't listen to people and understand what they say. In !kia (trance) your heart stops, you're dead, your thoughts are nothing, you breathe with difficulty. You see ghosts killing people, you smell burning, rotten flesh. Then you heal and you pull sickness out." During the trance, the shaman (according to the anthropologist) "trembles violently, sweats profusely, staggers, lower his head, bleeds from the nose, froths at the mouth and finally crashes to the ground."
   
   How many people at Keeney's workshops bleed from their nose (a result of dehydration), dance the whole night into exhaustion, exorcise ghosts or fall unconscious to the ground? How many will "journey" into the sky where they learn from the ancestors in a village in the sky, animal totems (giraffe and eland especially) and the "Big God"? My guess is: zero, and that includes Keeney himself. In other words, Keeney's "shaking medicine" is, in my mind, an invitation to innocuous social feel-good dancing. No problem with that, i enjoy shaking booties as much as any other guy... but this has little to do with the !Kung.
   
   Keeney is never detracted from name-dropping... he has studied with this Zulu, that Bushman, this cybernetic specialist, that African-American church all of whom have had (according to K.) the wisdom to recognize the importance of this holy man. Unfortunately, in this day and age name-dropping is at the very core of the definition of a spiritual charlatan. What has the man actually learned? Real spiritual message should stand on its own - yet when dissociated from these 'credentials", there seems to be little to Keeney's insights. I kept asking myself, what is this man's ACTUAL contribution to spirituality? The fact that we need to shake our bodies?
   
   I would be more impressed if Keeney actually learned from the Bushmen how to "ascend the ropes to the Sky God". This does not seem to be the case, at least it is not mentioned in the text. I am inclined to think that, if anything, this book reveal a man who is the quintessential opportunist and trickster. As for the CD, "arrhythmic cacophony" is what comes to mind.



4. For anyone who enjoyed reading the author's first book on shaking titled Bushman Shaman, Shaking Medicine gives the reader a more in-depth look on the shake itself. Amongst other things Keeney talks in length on what the shake means to different societies and how it has evolved or became suppressed over time. How the shake relates to our society and/or religion. And he also discusses how anyone can learn to shake.
   
   Quite a fascinating book that I would highly recommend. I would also highly recommend Keeney's other book, Bushman Shaman.

3 comments about Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man: A Study in Terror and Healing.

1. Arguably one of the most accomplished anthropologists working today, Michael Taussig provides an intensely individualistic bricolage of literary, historical, and ethnological interpretations of his many years of fieldwork in the Upper Amazon. One of the most detailed and poignant accounts of shamanism in its cultural context - will very soon be regarded as a classic.



2. trip through the rubber boom of the 1800's in South America. From detailed historical survey to his first hand accounts of life around the Amazon, he never ceases to confront the reader with reality. His study is comprehensive in that he brings attention to all different aspects of the European, Indian and African people who live there. The study helps integrate the anthropological view of society to consider the religious, political, economic and moral as part of the collective consciousness of a community. Powerful book.



3. Michael Taussig takes a stance towards "terrorism" not common in today's world. By trying to trace the roots of this phenomenon, he brings to light many explanations and understandings many of us fail to realize, only because we have not come across them before. I give this book four stars instead of five simply because it is a difficult read, but if you are interested in what we, today, call "terrorism" and are willing to take the time to plunge into this book, then it will certainly be worth your while.

5 comments about Spirit Medicine.

1. This book goes into more depth than The Secret Garden as to healing states and knowledge that Hank and his wife Jill have gained form their experiences with Hawaiian kahunas and healers. This book is packed with information and a CD designed to help one experience the book's contents. A worthwhile addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in healing, journeying, shamanism or Hawaiian healing and spiritual belief, no matter how many book one has on these topics.



2. Very good book and well worth the time reading it. It is full of very good information.



3. I bought 'Spirit Medicine'as a gift for a friend who has a keen interest in Shamanic work. She was feeling a bit down and I gave it to her earlier than planned. Well, she dived into it and devoured it! She loves this book, which she says has given her a new lease of life and has definitely set her on the road to Shamanc work, herself.



4. I did not find this book very helpful, I would not recommend it, get it from the library 1st. Then if you like it buy it.



5. This is a quick but comprehensive guide for beginners and seasoned health practitioners to learn about shamanic healing methods. The drumming/rattle CD is a great bonus!