Synopses & Reviews
Shamanism is a spiritual path that emphasizes close connections with the immediate environment. As environments change, so too must shamanism change, but how can one distinguish between healthy innovation and corruptions of tradition?
Coyote's Council Fire focuses on these and other controversial issues that have ignited the shamanic community. Drawing on her decades of involvement in that community, Loren Cruden brings calm wisdom and common sense to these subjects. Along with her perspective are the words of contributors such as Brooke Medicine Eagle, Grey Wolf, Jamie Sams, and Ed “Eagle Man” McGaa, reflecting the diversity of opinion within the Native American community, while the contributions of Nina Wolf, Axis, and Sandra Ingerman suggest the variety of ways in which non-Natives have incorporated shamanism into their lives.
Throughout the book are meditations and exercises that help the reader explore his or her own attitudes and assumptions toward matters of race, gender, and community.
For anyone interested in shamanism, Native American affairs, or the role of spirituality in a changing society, Coyote's Council Fire offers a provocative opportunity to examine one's own beliefs and compare them with those of leading members of the shamanic community.
Synopsis
For anyone interested in shamanism, Native American affairs, or the role of spirituality in a changing society, Coyote's Council Fireoffers a provocative opportunity to examine one's own beliefs and compare them with those of leading members of the shamanic community.
Synopsis
Shamanism is a spiritual path that emphasizes close connections with the immediate environment. As environments change, so too must shamanism change, but how can one distinguish between healthy innovation and corruptions of tradition?
Coyote's Council Fire focuses on these and other controversial issues that have ignited the shamanic community. Drawing on her decades of involvement in that community, Loren Cruden brings calm wisdom and common sense to these subjects. Along with her perspective are the words of contributors such as Brooke Medicine Eagle, Grey Wolf, Jamie Sams, and Ed “Eagle Man” McGaa, reflecting the diversity of opinion within the Native American community, while the contributions of Nina Wolf, Axis, and Sandra Ingerman suggest the variety of ways in which non-Natives have incorporated shamanism into their lives.
Throughout the book are meditations and exercises that help the reader explore his or her own attitudes and assumptions toward matters of race, gender, and community.
For anyone interested in shamanism, Native American affairs, or the role of spirituality in a changing society, Coyote's Council Fire offers a provocative opportunity to examine one's own beliefs and compare them with those of leading members of the shamanic community.
About the Author
Loren Cruden, midwife and herbal healer, lives on a mountain in Washington State in a house that she and her son built. Following spiritual studies in Europe, Asia, and Africa, her six years of work with Lewis Sawaquat, a Potawatomie pipe carrier, deepened her engagement with the spirituality that is native to the land. Respectful of the integrity of Native American ways, she draws carefully on those and other Earth-oriented traditions to create an eclectic yet authentic spiritual practice that relies on a direct experience of the interrelatedness of all life. She is the author of Love Is Green: An Herbal for Parents, The Living Earth Tarot Deck, The Spirit of Place, and Coyote's Council Fire.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part One Race
1 Reflections on Race
2 Passing the Talking Stick
3 Looking Within: Contemplations on Race
Part Two Gender
4 Reflections on Gender
5 Passing the Talking Stick
6 Looking Within: Contemplations on Gender
Part Three Community
7 Reflections on Community
8 Passing the Talking Stick
9 Looking Within: Contemplations on Community
Conclusion
Participating in Community: Resources for Healing