Way of the Shaman

As far as I can tell, Michael Harner is responsible for creating the new age phenomenon of Neo-Shamanism. This book was the first of its kind, and although many books on the subject litter the bookstore shelves these days, Harner's is by far the best of the ones I've read and perused. Most of the complaints by reviewers here are concerned with Harner "stealing" the traditions from other cultures and/or "corrupting" these traditions. Ignoring the obvious flaw in thinking regarding "theft" of cultural or spiritual traditions, I think this is exactly where Harner excels over the others. Rather than turning out some new-age fluff that pretends to adhere painstakingly to any particular tradition, Harner cuts to the viscera of the real phenomenon of Shamanism.Although there are specific exercises and methods in this book, the fact that they don't rigidly conform to any one tradition is what makes it great. It is rather like the approach of Chaos Magick, which doesn't rely on precise traditional incantations, sigils, etc, to perform magick. Instead, the idea is that this power is latent within us, and is basically archetypal within the framework of the psyche.In cultures with Shamanism, every once in a while a shaman is born; they are discovered to be "special" (in a way specific to that culture) and/or predisposed to this sort of thing. Even though the modern Western world doesn't have any significant "place" for these sorts of individuals, they are still are born into our society. I like to call them (us) the weirdoes. These are latent shamans or mystics. Books like Harner's just might be a key to helping us "weirdoes" find our "place".

When I first read this book I thought that it was the greatest thing I had ever found. Not only did it describe experiences that I thought were unique to myself, but I found that there was actually a name for such things- shamanism. I had never even heard the name before. Yet, I knew exactly what was being described. That's just it, though, this book's importance to me was in its validation of the path that I had already traveled- alone. When I see people claiming that they are shamans, or "neo-shamans", based on reading a few books or attending a workshop or two, I can only shake my head. I mean, I see nothing wrong with such things, no more than I see anything wrong with dabblers in Wicca, it is just that I don't personally believe that it is shamanism. I don't say this out of arrogance, self-righteousness, or a sense of superiority- it is just that I have found that the transition involved in crossing over to the spirit world is absolutely life shattering and soul transforming. There is a good chance that it may kill you. Actually, in a sense, it does kill you, for to be a shaman means to die and be reborn. It is not the sort of thing that a bored yuppy can do on a weekend to demonstrate his "spiritual sensitivity."Personally, I think shamans are either born, or they result from a certain type of near death experience. As much as I respect Native American medicine people, I do not think that they have any sort of inside track or "secret knowlege." Their advantage lies in being outside of the artificial hell of the modern world- and perhaps in having more of an "opportunity" to hit bottom and reflect on it. They also have open minds- they KNOW the realities of spirits and of a world beyond. These are the advantages of any outsider....

I have read many books on the subject of shamanism and have been very dissapointed...until now. Michael Harner provides the clearest explanation I have been able to find about what shamanism IS without loading the reader down with vague New Age references and ego stroking. Expectionally clean presentation of information on a very weighty subject.