Book Review: Trance Journeys of the Hunter-Gatherers Ecstatic Practices to Reconnect with the Great Mother and Heal the Earth by Nicholas Brink
This author works with a technique called sacred (or ecstatic) trance postures. He draws on the work of Felicitas Goodman, Thomas Berry, Ervin Laszlo and others. The idea is that one uses specific meditation postures to access information from the resulting altered state of consciousness. Many of his postures are taken from resources all over the world such as statues, rock art etc.
I reviewed another book by him in this same magazine a few months ago: Baldr’s Magic, The Power of Norse Shamanism and Ecstatic Trance. From my point of view that book had a number of serious (structural) flaws and I sincerely hoped to write a more positive review for this one (because no one enjoys writing very critical reviews but writing reviews is a pointless process if you are not going to honest).
The good news is that this book makes many valid points, for readers who relatively new to shamanic work. He invites people to derive inspiration from old earth-based religions. He does not attempt to fill in the blanks in the Poetic Edda or another sacred text – that is a relief. Neither does he overdose on lengthy descriptions of his own personal trance experience – which is a blessing and makes the book a far more engaging and interesting read than Baldr’s Magic.
On the less impressive side there is a lot of general information on repeat (including the pictures of various trance postures which appear all over again – that is a quick way of filling a book! And in all fairness I can see why the author would do that, for reasons of producing a complete text. Then again, perhaps he could have left that segment out and simply referred readers to his other publications (or a webpage perhaps) allowing space for more fresh material, making the book a more rewarding purchase for people who follow his work?
This is a basic book for beginners. Just as many teachers of shamanism write a basic book inviting people to use shamanic journeys to connect with Earth and land spirits, the animals and winds etc., this book offers the same material through the lens of trance postures.
If trance posture work speaks to you and you are new to shamanism, you may get good results from working through this book!
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Imelda Almqvist, 25 November 2017, London UK
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About the author:
Imelda Almqvist is an international teacher of shamanism and sacred art. Her book Natural Born Shamans: A Spiritual Toolkit For Life (Using shamanism creatively with young people of all ages) was published by Moon Books in 2016. She is a presenter on the Shamanism Global Summit 2017 as well as on Year of Ceremony with Sounds True. She divides her time between the UK, Sweden and the US. She is currently working on her second book Sacred Art.
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www.shaman-healer-painter.co.uk (website)
https://imeldaalmqvist.wordpress.com/ (blog)
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=imelda+almqvist (Youtube channel: interviews, presentations and art videos)