The Shamanic Journey: A Practical Guide to Therapeutic Shamanism

"This book, if you let it, will take you on a journey… you will experience first-hand the healing power of shamanism, and your eyes will be opened to a world of mystery and potential that has been there all along. You don't need any special talents or powers, just an open mind. And you will trust this new way of being, because you will personally experience it. To say that this will change your life for the better is a remarkable understatement." - from 'The Shamanic Journey'. Many people feel a growing disenchantment with modern life; that something fundamental is missing or 'wrong'. Our increased material wealth is making us less happy, not more. Mental health issues are on the rise, and we face an environmental crisis. Somehow, we have lost our way. People long for a deeper sense of connection, a greater purpose, and a more sustainable and natural way of living. Yet people are often unsure as to what they can do to find this. If you are ready, the practice of shamanism holds the answers. As the oldest healing and spiritual practice known to humankind, it can help us to retrieve that which feels lost. In shamanism, we find a journey that can lead us to true fulfilment and purpose, and to a right way of living and being in the world. In The Shamanic Journey, shamanic practitioner, teacher and psychotherapist, Paul Francis, offers an apprenticeship for our times. By building upon the work of Michael Harner, author of 1980's classic 'The Way of the Shaman', Francis has created a practical, ethical and experiential guide; from what shamanism is, right through to giving a shamanic healing to another person. It includes: a full introduction to the lower, middle and upper shamanic realms; an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to doing your first shamanic journey; guidance on how to connect and nurture a life-long relationship with your Power Animal; instruction on how do a basic shamanic healing; practical know-how for interpreting the meaning and symbolism contained within your journeys. Moreover, this book looks at how to place the ancient art of shamanism at the centre of our modern lives, in order to be able to experience that longed-for connection with our true selves and with Spirit. For we are no longer the same kind of people as our hunter-gatherer ancestors were, and we live in very different times and face many different challenges. So the book explores how to bring shamanism up-to-date, to make it fully and directly relevant to modern-day life. This includes exploring how modern 'civilisation' has changed us mentally, emotionally and spiritually; how it has domesticated us and tamed us, and how this has led to many of the problems that we now face. In understanding these changes in us, and what has caused them, the book explores the vital and central role that shamanism can play in our recovery. The book also explores the ways though in which shamanism will need to be adapt and changed in order to do this. This includes examining the connections between ancient shamanism and modern psychotherapy, understanding the differences between them, but also by understanding what they can (and need to) learn from each other. To help with your journeying, contained within this book is a code that gives you access to free shamanic drumming audios from the author's own website. The Shamanic Journey is the first in a series of books that will cover the full spectrum of Therapeutic Shamanism, including: The Medicine Wheel; Soul Loss and Soul Retrieval; Healing the Mother and Father Wounds; Healing Ancestral and Family Wounds; The Inner Totem Pole; Plant-Spirit Shamanism; Shamanic Activism; Shamanic Counselling and Psychotherapy.