Synopses & Reviews
A traditional Native American healer from the Karuk tribe shares his personal story of reconnection to the Great Spirit in contemporary America.
• By Bobby Lake-Thom, author of the bestseller Native Healer.
• Provides Native American shamanic perspective on disease and healing.
• Explores indigenous social identity in a spiritual and political context.
• Reveals authentic indigenous traditions and ceremonies from numerous tribes.
This redemption story of Native American healer Bobby Lake-Thom invites the reader to enter a world of authentic indigenous traditions and ceremonies. Bobby, also known as Medicine Grizzly Bear, didn't recognize his shamanic calling at first. He didn't know that his vivid dreams, psychic abilities, and visitations by wild animals and ghostly figures were calls from the Great Spirit.
In the age-old shamanic tradition, it took a near-death experience for the message to get through to him. Though still a young man, he was wracked with debilitating arthritis. Unable to handle the physical and psychic pain, he set out into the wilderness determined to kill himself with an overdose of drugs and alcohol. But before downing the substances, he approximated a Native American ceremony as best he could, sending a heartfelt prayer for assistance to the Great Spirit. He woke up--alive--the next morning and received a message from Eagle, telling him to seek help from Wahsek, a medicine man in the northern mountains. And so Bobby's apprenticeship began. Forbidden to reveal Wahsek's secrets until 10 years after his death, Bobby is now free to share this fascinating story with the world.
Synopsis
Forbidden to reveal Wahsek's secrets until 10 years after his death, Bobby is now free to share this fascinating story with the world.
About the Author
Bobby Lake-Thom (Medicine Grizzly Bear) is a traditional native healer and spiritual teacher trained by 16 medicine men and women from different tribes. He lectures, conducts workshops, and has doctored hundreds of people from all walks of life. He has also served as Professor for Native American Studies at Humbolt State University and as an Indian affairs specialist for numerous Indian tribes and organizations in the United States. He lives in California.
Table of Contents
Preface
I Death and Dying: The Call to Shamanism
II Following an Eagle in Blind Faith
III Symbolic and Spiritual Synchronicity
IV The Exorcism
V A Time for Healing
VI Flowing with the Current of Time
VII Stories and Legends About Shamans
VIII Learning How to Deal with Demons, Ghosts, and Sorcery
IX The Changing Art of Native Healing
X Case Studies and Examples of Indian Doctoring
XI Living a Spiritual Life
Appendix I Shamanic System of Knowledge and Cosmology for Northwestern California Tribal Cultures and Neighboring Tribes
Appendix II Grizzly Bear and Mt. Shasta by Charles Red Hawk Thom