Many / One

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Compiled by JoAnn Kite

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Shamanism: An Expanded View of Reality
Shirley Nicholson, Compiler
Includes essays by Michael Harner, Mircea Eliade, Stanley Krippner, John Redtail Freesoul and Ralph Metzner

1 "Our sacred pipe law reminds us of this oneness with all things. Whatever we do to any other being, we do to ourselves." Brooke Medicine Eagle, 'The Lineage of the Sun'

2 "The circle is a symbol of God, and the movement of God is in all directions." John Redtail Freesoul, 'The Native American Prayer Pipe: Ceremonial Object and Tool of Self-Realization'

3 "Shamans exercise their psychospiritual senses, and through this special form of imaginal knowing gain access to a visionary world that is not unlike the 'archetypal world' of Carl Jung. There shamans, dreamers, and visionaries return again and again, extending consciousness and reality at the source level of gnosis and creative process, a place where the self moves freely amid archetypes and universals, listening to the pulse and dynamic transorming patterns of the Universal Dance." Jean Houston, Foreword

4 "The source and center of all existence is pure spirit existing in all created things simultaneously." John Redtail Freesoul, 'The Native American Prayer Pipe: Ceremonial Object and Tool of Self-Realization'

5 "There is an interconnectedness of all things." Michael Harner, interview with Gary Doore

6 "Ancient [American] native sages and contemporary elders share with us in oral tradition that we human beings were not created and then cast adrift in a sea of despair. Knowledge of the Creator and of the great mystery of life is hidden in everything created." John Redtail Freesoul, 'The Native American Prayer Pipe: Ceremonial Object and Tool of Self-Realization'

7 "In shamanism, humans are naturally in communication with animals, spirits, and even rocks because they are one and the same in the great unified order of things." Jeanne Achterberg, 'The Shaman: Master Healer in the Imaginary Realm'

8 "Health is harmony with the world view. Health is an intuitive perception of the universe and all its inhabitants as being of one fabric." Jeanne Achterberg, 'The Shaman: Master Healer in the Imaginary Realm'

9 "The seen and unseen, the social and spiritual, the cultural and natural, the ordinary and extraordinary inhabit one continuum of being that is complementary, bonded, and interdependent inflections of a single extended unity." Joan Halifax, 'Shamanism, Mind, and No-Self'

10 "Hinduism, Buddhism, yoga philosophy, alchemy, and other Western forms of esoteric knowledge, along with shamanism, hold in common a mystical and holistic view in which all things are interconnected and all inhere in a numinous background Source." Shirley Nicholson

11 "Every person, animal, plant, or rock has a message or lesson…The more our perception is sharpened and our sensitivity purified, the less this presence of the divine in all things created seems secret or hidden." John Redtail Freesoul, 'The Native American Prayer Pipe: Ceremonial Object and Tool of Self-Realization'

12 "The shaman perceives a world of total aliveness, in all parts personal, in all parts sentient, in all parts capable of being known." Jean Houston, Foreword

13 " Like many other shamans, the Hawaiian kupua has the conception that everything is interconnected." Serge King, 'The Way of the Adventurer'

14 "The experiences that come from shamanism tend to foster a great respect for the universe, based on a feeling of oneness with all forms of life." Michael Harner, interview with Gary Doore

15 "Everything is connected at a deep level." Shirley Nicholson

16 "Our freedom is so much greater than we have comprehended. We can learn to shift from reality to reality, choosing the one that is most relevant to our needs and purposes at the moment and use our new approach…to nourish our being, love, cherish, and garden ourselves and each other, be at home in our universes, and help save ourselves and the planet." Dr. Lawrence LeShan, 'Alternate Realities'

17 "A numinous unity underlies all forms and all appearances." Joan Halifax, 'Shamanism, Mind, and No-Self'

18 "A Greater Mind contains many smaller minds. As I write this I am reminded of the words of the visionary Black Elk as he prayed on the summit of Mt. Harney: 'While I stood there I saw more than I can tell, and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shape of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together as one being.'" Joan Halifax, 'Shamanism, Mind, and No-Self'

19 "The renewed interest in shamanism today can be viewed as democratization, returning to the original spiritual democracy of our ancestors in ancient tribal societies where almost everyone had some access to spiritual experience and direct revelation." Michael Harner, interview with Gary Doore

This body of quotes compiled by JoAnn Kite