GateKeeper Alternative Guidance

MIchael Harner is the founder of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. He is responsible for bringing Shamanism and the concepts therein to the white western world.  In “The Way Of The Shaman” he has given us an intimate and practical guide to the art of shamanic healing and the technology of the sacred.  Harner has impeccable credentials, both as an academic and as a practicing shaman. “The Way of The Shaman” is a phenomenal book and guide for anyone who wants to study or just better understand Shamanism in today’s world.

Open your heart and mind to the wisdom of the animal world. Animal Speak provides techniques for recognizing and interpreting the signs and omens of nature. Meet and work with animals as totems and spirits by learning the language of their behaviors within the physical world.

Animal Speak shows you how to: identify, meet, and attune to your spirit animals; discover the power and spiritual significance of more than 100 different animals, birds, insects, and reptiles; call upon the protective powers of your animal totem; and create and use five magical animal rites, including shapeshifting and sacred dance. This bestselling guide has become a classic reference for anyone wishing to forge a spiritual connection with the majesty and mystery of the animal world.

The book comprehensively details the animal kingdoms with an extensive dictionary that provides key qualities and characteristics of particular animals, the mythology and history surrounding them, and questions to ask when they are encountered during the course of a day.Ted Andrews has put a lot of research & dedication into this resource.  As a shamanic guide this is one of the best books to help explore the meanings and messages of our brothers and sisters of the Natural World. There is a great of of information on all animals included & excellent sections on how to incorporate animal wisdom into your life.  It is also an excellent resource for healers & Kinesiologists when balancing or for anyone who loves animals & nature. 

This book is a great resource of information about the natural world, both of a spiritual nature, and scientifically so, about all sorts of herbs, flowers, and trees.

Andrews includes guidance for ceremonies (like making a staff -- or celebrating Solstice etc), a dictionary of landscapes (why are you drawn to oceans), magical rhythms (like seasons, angels, etc), even the meaning of numbers in nature (why did you plant two birches?) And of course the expected definition of plants, trees, flowers, etc.  It is a handy guide and reference to learning more about our place in the world of Nature.

The shamanic journey is a practice common to all indigenous societies throughout history. By listening to a drumbeat or other rhythmic percussion, the shaman enters "non-ordinary" reality--an altered state of consciousness beyond time and space--to access spiritual guidance and healing, assist others and the planet, and reconnect with the cycles of nature. Shamanic Journeying offers readers an interactive learning experience to discover how to journey just as traditional shamans have for centuries. With the instruction in this book and the accompanying CD, internationally respected teacher Sandra Ingerman illuminates: * The original role of the shaman in indigenous cultures * How to meet and work with your "power animals" and other spirit guides * How to navigate the Lower World, Upper World, and Middle World--the three divisions of unseen reality * The keys to successful journeying in our modern culture. Sharing fascinating accounts of the powerful results of shamanic journeying and answers to the questions common to most beginners, Shamanic Journeying is an accessible guide for exploring the visionary worlds of the shaman. CD includes drumming for three journeys.

Drawing on shamanic practices from around the world, Shamanism As A Spiritual Practice For Everyday Life addresses the needs of contemporary people who yearn to deepen their own innate mystical sensibilities. This inspirational book shows how to develop a personal spiritual practice by blending elements of shamanism with inherited traditions and current religious commitments. Shamanism As A Spiritual Practice For Everyday Life covers the central role of power animals and spirit teachers; visionary techniques for exploring the extraordinary in everyday life; elements of childhood spirituality including songs, secret hiding places, power spots, and imaginary power figures; and the journey to an ancestral shaman to recover lost knowledge. Engaging, informative reading.

Traditional healers use plants in their techniques; but Cowan learned that leaves and plant parts are relatively ineffectual: he maintains that it's the spirit of a plant that does the actual healing. Cowan contacts these spirits and asks for their help: his different herbal remedy method is imparted to readers, here.

Ancient shamanic practice compelled the magician-healer first to make contact with the spirit of the plant to ask for its help before administering the herbal cure. This practice is alive today in Mexico among the traditional Indian shaman healers-principally the elder Huichol Indian shaman and plant spirit healer Don Guadalupe Gonzales Rios. Elliot Cowan reveals these ancient practices and guides the reader in the effective use of the wild herb plants in the area in which he or she lives. the result is a wonderful psychic and spiritual approach to holistic healing