The Sacred Heritage: The Influence of Shamanism on Analytical Psychology

Book Overview

The contributors to this volume describe the many facets shamanism and depth psychology have in common: animal symbolism; recognition of the reality of the collective unconscious; and healing rituals that put therapist and patient in touch with transpersonal powers. By reintroducing the core of shamanism in contemporary form, these essays shape a powerful means of healing that combines the direct contact with the inner psyche one finds in shamanism with the self-reflection and critical awareness of modern consciousness.

The contributors' draw from experiences both inside and outside the consulting room, and with cultures that include the Lakota Sioux, and those of the Peruvian Andes and the Hawaiian Islands. The focus is on those aspects of shamanism most useful and relevant to the modern practice of depth psychology. These explorations bring the young practice of analytical psychology into perspective as part of a much more ancient heritage of shamanistic healing.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415915163
• ISBN13: 9780415915168
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Great book, a must!!!!!

This is a great book. If you are a counselor, psychologist or social worker and would like to know a little bit more on how traditional healing works, here is a pretty good place to start! The book is easy to read and is accesible to anyone, regardless of past experience or cotact with the topic. For all those doing work in therapy, this book will open new venues of inquiry and hopefully will get you going to research some more. If you are looking for inspirational work for your own practice, ths book will work for you as well. The book speaks directly to our core as it accounts experiences that are easily related to our collective mind as human beings. The more books like this one, that connect spiritual dimensions into our work as counselors, the better!

Profound experiences and insights

Being interested in both Jungian psychology and Shamanism I found this book extremely interesting. It contains a series of short chapters written by various authors that represent both diversity and expertise in their fields. While showing their knowledge in their fields the individual authors relate deeply personal experiences that are very moving and thought provoking. The order of the chapters is well thought out and each of them has an informative intro that both prepares you for what comes next and helps tie the whole book together. At the end of each chapter there is a list of references that can further help with ones research in this and related material. Although each chapter can be read individually as one's interest is sparked, I enjoyed reading the whole book in succession.

An always engrossing, sometimes harrowing compilation

This book is a compilation of essays on Shamanism and Jungian Psychology. Many diverse points of view are presented, from Christian mysticism to Native American visionary dance rituals. The book is presented in four sections, which progress from the abstract to the concrete. The essays in the first section make a convincing case that Dr. Carl Jung was a Western Shaman whose healing energies were coincident with his personal wound. The next section, dealing with shamanic medicine, contains essays with brilliant therapeutic case studies, interpretations of animal dream symbolism, a fascinating discussion of shamanic allies and examples of the healing potential of altered states of consciousness. The third section grounds us further with essays dealing with the realities of coping with pain, cancer, surgery, death in childbirth and loss of soul. Some of these essays were difficult reading, but worthwhile nonetheless. The fourth section, the most amazing of all, takes us into the physical experience of shamanic visionary states. Essays include: shamanic practices of a Native American tradition, a visionary Big Dream in the Christian mystical tradition, a participation in the modern counterpart of an ancient sacrificial ritual and worship of the Goddess Pele in a Hawaiian volcano. This diverse book is a marvel, bringing together the ancient and modern, weaving them with the thread of Jungian thought and spirit. It is a worthy addition to the library of anyone interested in Shamanism, Jungian Psychology and mystical experience.