The Truth about Shamanism the Truth about Shamanism

This little introductory volume really does catch the true spirit of shamanism. After the author's excellent _In the Shadow of the Shaman_ I am not surprised. Just the many well drawn and meaningful little line illustrations done by the author tells me that this was a labor of love and not simply something slapped together. Amber Wolf understands the Path. You see that on the first page when she states that a shaman is one who helps people in their dealings with other worlds. That's the core of it exactly.In this book she manages to touch upon everything from the basics of Lakota wisdom (her orientation is primarily Native American- wolf clan), to power objects, power object ceremony, altered states of consciousness, shamanic healing, spirit walks, harmony with the universe, methods for entering the shamanic worlds, divination through elements of nature, etc. Just reading this isn't going to make you a shaman, but chances are, if you are drawn to this path it will clarify and validate what you've already experienced to varying degrees.The only disagreement I have with the author's approach is that she suggests that the old shamanic paths of vision quest and of physical and psychic trauma are a thing of the past. She seems to think that anyone can cross the threshold through more gentle methods of communion with the universe. Maybe it is so. All I know is, that traditionally a price had to paid for the gift. After all, it is the shaman's way to be the wounded healer. It is in the ordeal of our hard won wounds, of even death and rebirth, that we bridge the worlds. There have been many gifted medicine people who have never undergone the Shaman's ordeal, but then they are medicine people and not true shamans.Yet perhaps it is possible in these new times for everyone to attune with all the worlds in harmony with Spirit without undergoing the old trials. In any case, we agree on the goal- to be the bridge between worlds, to restore the balance, to serve as a living channel for the flow of subtle energies.