The Shaman's Quest: Journeys in an Ancient Spiritual Practice Book

Share in the journeys of four shamans and learn the ways of their ancient spiritual practice.

Since the beginning of time, from all corners of the earth, cultures have been producing shamans-men and women who are visionaries and healers. Their aim is to remind people of the sacredness of human life, and to reinforce appreciation of the earth and its gifts.

This intriguing, original narrative recounts the spiritual journeys of four shamans, from their first calling through initiation and training into their roles as leaders and healers. From the arctic snows of Canada, the central Australian desert, the mountains of Japan, and the forests of South America, these four shamans embark on a quest to the mythic center of the world, where they will bear witness to the healing of the earth.

In addition to Nevill Drury's visionary fiction, shamanic practitioner Tom Cowan adds an accessible, basic introduction to Shamanism that explains the concepts, terms, and core features of the tradition, as beautifully depicted in Drury's narrative. This book is the ideal place to begin your exploration of this ancient spiritual healing practice

About the Author

Nevill Drury is the author of more than forty books on Shamanism and other subjects, including Exploring the Labyrinth: Making Sense of the New Spirituality and The Shaman and the Magician. A longtime resident of Sydney, Australia, his work has been published in fifteen languages. Tom Cowan is the author of numerous books, including Shamanism As a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life; Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit; and The Way of the Saints: Prayers, Practices, and Meditations. He is a shamanic practitioner specializing in Celtic visionary and healing techniques and is a member of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies

Publishers Weekly

Many of the great spiritual truths are conveyed in stories, and it is in this time-honored form that Drury (Exploring the Labyrinth; The Shaman and the Magician) weaves a convincing portrait of shamanism. Four tales told in uncomplicated style represent the North, East, South and West, relating how three males and one female undertook the ultimate calling from within to serve their community spiritually. The unnamed indigenous cultures sample the globe, roughly engaging Canada's arctic region, Japan's mountains, Australia's deserts and South America's forests. The stories have an odd and powerful blend of document and myth of which Joseph Campbell would no doubt approve, and students of Campbell will find many examples here of the hero's quest. At the end of the book, hearing "the Song of the Great Spirit," the exemplary characters converge in a fifth chapter ("Center"). Here they witness the rebirth of the world, made necessary by the broken promises of the people who failed to honor the Earth and the ways of the Ancient Ones. Drury's work could be relegated to the realm of simple stories with a vague ecological overtone, but this is rightly seen as an outsider's map to the world of the mystic in service to humankind and the Divine. Cowan's introduction speaks ably to the principles of "core shamanism," those dimensions that are universal to a practice that is 40,000 years old and still thriving. This poetic, useful and worthwhile work could become a classic. (Dec.)