A shaman—according to the classic definition given by Mircea Eliade—is a man or woman who makes spiritual ‘‘journeys’’ in an altered state of consciousness in order to heal the sick, divine the future, or contact the spirits of the dead. In this book Holger Kalweit has collected the first-person accounts of tribal shamans from Africa, Australia, Asia, Siberia, and the Americas, describing their paranormal experiences and visions as well as their rituals, healing techniques, and spiritual disciplines. Out-of-body journeys, spirit weddings, the use of sacred drugs, descent to the underworld, healing with crystals, and acquiring animal allies are just some of the experiences surveyed. How a person becomes a shaman and what psychic stages of development he or she passes through are also discussed. By drawing parallels with the findings of modern research into altered states of consciousness, the author demonstrates that shamans are important ‘‘astronauts of inner space’’ who have valuable knowledge to contribute to our understanding of the universe and of our human potential.
Holger Kalweit, an ethnopsychologist with degrees in both psychology and cultural anthropology, has studied shamanism in Hawaii, Mexico, and Tibet. He is the founder of the Orpheus Project for the Study of Near-Death Phenomena in Germany and an active member of the German Transpersonal Association.
Author(s): Holger Kalweit
Publisher: Shambhala
Year: 1988
Language: English
Commentary: scantailor optimized, still with underlining
Pages: 324
City: Boston & London
Tags: shamanism;dreamtime;consciousness;religion
Dreamtime & Inner Space
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION Snake Does Not Bite Man; Snake Bites What Man Thinks
PART ONE The Religion of the Twice-Born
1. A Geography of Death
2. Life beyond Birth and Death
3. The Reality of the Soul
4. Soul Journeys and Teachings about the Beyond
5. The Body/Spirit Connection: Ropes of Air and Invisible Threads
6. The Out-of-Body Experience
7. The “True Earth”
PART TWO Shamanic Initiation
8. Suffering Kills, Suffering Enlivens: Sickness and Self-Healing
9. Rituals of Dismemberment and Bone Displays in the Underworld
10. Imaginary Friends, Partial Personalities, and Genuine Spirits of the Dead
11. Sacred Weddings, Spirit Marriages, and Dream Sexuality
12. The Song of Power: Joy, Joy, Joy!
13. Sacred Drugs: Where the World Is Born
14. The Acquisition of Power by Inheritance, Transmission, and Change of Sex
15. The Rejection of Power
16. The Loss of Power
PART THREE Transformative Symbols of Consciousness
17. In the Bowels of the Earth
18. Experiences of Light and Balls of Fire
19. Ascending the World Tree
20. Portals to Heaven and the Underworld
21. Rulers of Nature and Givers of Life
22. Crystal Came Whirling, Crystal Came Raining
23. The Rhythm of Life
24. Walk in Balance, Walk in Beauty
PART FOUR Religion and Science
25. When the Anthropologists Arrive, the Gods Leave the Island
EPILOGUE
Too Much Think about White Man, No More Can Find Dream
APPENDIX: Tribes and Their Locations
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
