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Interview — David Shi, Author of The Mysteries and Magic of North Asian Shamanism
Linda Bischoff (PaganPages.Org): In your book “Spirit Voices” you talk about your background and your path to where you are today – is there anything else that you’d like to add? What do you see your future path looking like? David Shi: Yes – thank you. I grew up in what I would term an Atheist family meaning that I was raised by parents with a mindset of believing in hard science; somewhat of a STEM perspective. The ancestral practices in the book are coming from my ancestors who began appearing in my dreams when I was in my mid to late teens. It was in this way that I…
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Book Review – Shamanic Reiki Drumming: Intuitive Healing with Sound and Vibration by Faye Johnstone
Book Review Shamanic Reiki Drumming: Intuitive Healing with Sound and Vibration By Faye Johnstone Publisher: Findhorn Press 208 Pages Release Date: August 15, 2023 The sound of the drum beat softly as I read Faye Johnstone’s Shamanic Reiki Drumming; Intuitive Healing with Sound and Vibration. It’s the first book I’ve read with my drum by my side, periodically drumming and reading as I ventured along the veil of words and worlds. I loved every minute of it. Faye provides extensive materials for beginners as well as the validation and support needed for practitioners in the wide field of healing arts. This book will obviously draw readers who…
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Book Review – Journeys with Plant Spirits by Emma Farrell
Book Review Journeys with Plant Spirits by Emma Farrell Published by Bear & Company 288 pages Publication date: October 26, 2021 In part one of Journeys with Plant Spirits, Emma Farrell delves into several broad spiritual and supernatural topics that are shared by many shamanic traditions, such as healing wounds from past lives and navigating shamanic journeys through the upper, middle, lower, and other worlds. This introduction takes a primarily animistic view of the plant spirits, with a heavy emphasis on using intuitive practices like meditation to connect to the spirits of the plants. While many of these notions are now well-trod traditional pathways of plant spirit medicine…
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Book Review – Shamanic Alchemy: The Great Work of Inner Transformation by James Endredy
Book Review Shamanic Alchemy The Great Work of Inner Transformation by James Endredy Bear & Co. 277 pages Shamanic Alchemy: The Great Work of Inner Transformation, tracks the parallels between the “Great Work” of classical alchemy and the shamanism’s work of aligning the inner and outer worlds through the process of initiation and transformation. Endredy’s introduction to the book sets out his thesis: “both alchemy and shamanism are practical gnostic systems of enlightenment…The predominant reason for practicing gnostic systems…is that direct experience is highly effective in relieving suffering, ignorance and fear of death. The direct experience of practicing shamanic alchemy has the power to invoke peace of mind, a healthy…
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Book Review – Shamanic Healing: Traditional Medicine for a Modern World by Itzhak Beery
Book Review Shamanic Healing Traditional Medicine for a Modern World by Itzhak Beery Destiny Books 226 Pages Shamanic Healing: Traditional Medicine for a Modern World is a great introduction to the power and scope of traditional medicine techniques from cultures that stand outside of Western medicine. Itzhak Beery opens the book, his third, with a compelling chapter on the need to integrate the wisdom and personal approach of shamanic healing wisdom with the benefits of Western medicine. He then takes the reader on his personal journey to shamanism, starting with his first workshops with Michael Harner and John Perkins, both of whom were instrumental in popularizing cross-cultural shamanic practices and…
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Shamanic Healing Work with Crystals
Throughout the history of humankind crystals…have been highly valued by spiritual leaders, healers, and scientists…Crystals can help activate and facilitate… transformation [in human consciousness] through their ability to amplify and balance energy fields such as the one surrounding your body…Physical form in essence is comprised not of matter, but of energy…Crystals and gemstones have extremely high and exact rates of vibration which can be precisely manipulated to augment, transform, transduce, store, and focus other rates of vibration…These same vibrational qualities of crystals can be used to modify thoughts, emotions, and the energy fields of human bodies and other physical forms by first effecting change on the subtle energetic level–just…
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Pandemic: A Ceremony from the Universe
(art by Aman Dalal) What if the universe is trying to get us to slow down? To stop producing. To stay home and let the earth breathe a little without all the extra pollution we cause daily. To take a step back and realize how we really impact earth and one another. That we aren’t as significant or in control as we think we are. A virus can come through and wipe us all out but earth will still be here. We are all connected. Just like we can spread a disease, we can also spread love, kindness and positivity. Use this time for reflection of your contribution and…
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Book Review – The Ayahuasca Test Pilot’s Handbook by Chris Kilham
Book ReviewThe Ayahuasca Test Pilot’s Handbookby Chris Kilham230 Pages “The Ayahuasca Test Pilot’s Handbook” by Chris Kilham is a small but information-packed book perfectly sized for travel and guidance. While the Ayahuasca experience is clearly immense and varied, Kilham focuses on traditional use and the rituals surrounding Ayahuascero shamanism, and creates a book that tells you just about everything that you’ll need to know if you’re planning to travel to Iquitos (or a nearby region) for an Ayahuasca ceremony. What this book won’t tell you is how to make your own brew, how to dose, where to source ingredients, or much else that would help you prepare Ayahuasca at home;…
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Book Review – Shamanic Plant Medicine-San Pedro: The Gateway to Wisdom by Ross Heaven
Book ReviewShamanic Plant Medicine-San PedroThe Gateway to Wisdom by Ross Heaven 144 Pages San Pedro: The Gateway to Wisdom is one in The Shamanic Plant Medicine series authored by Ross Heaven. Each book introduces a plant medicine teacher and medicine ally. This well-written, accessible book introduces us to the Cactus of Mystery, San Pedro, native to the Andes and used by Andean shamans in healing ceremonies. Mr. Heaven, who died in 2018, has left us with a practical and nuanced introduction to San Pedro. The book gives us an overview of the plant’s history and the lore relating to its sense of mystery, which certainly drew me in to…
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Plant Spirit Medicine in Shamanic Practice
What’s in the Brew? Scientist: Mescaline. Shaman: God. Shamans…believe that the information given to us… by other teacher plants or in non-ordinary states such as dreams and meditations is as valid (or more so) than that received from ordinary perception and thought. Furthermore, such information is given to us to be used in daily life not to be ignored, denied, or seen as lacking in merit or purpose. To deny our dreams, after all, is to deny a large part of our human and spiritual experience. Thus, for San Pedro shamans, the visions and insights gained from the plant are there to inform our everyday behavior in the ‘real world’…
