The Shaman’s Doorway:Opening Imagination to Power and Myth

SHAMANISM / INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS “Shamanism represents a body of knowledge that is pertinent to the ailments of contemporary society. Dr. Larsen guides us through this legacy with skill and ease, teaching us how the shaman’s vision can expand our own awareness.” –Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., author of Personal Mythology and Broken Images, Broken Selves The Shaman’s Doorway is one of the most significant and inspiring works on the relationship of shamanism to both the psyche and society. Drawing on his experience as a psychotherapist and his understanding of primordial shamanic traditions, Stephen Larsen shows the relevance of this path to the modern world and how it can lead to a creative and affirmative relationship with life. “Life dismembers us,” Larsen says, and a new grasp of these ancient techniques for altering consciousness is required to escape from the alienation and confusion caused by our demythologized and industrialized environment. Defining the task of the shaman as one of bringing meaning and healing into life, Larsen clearly shows how the shaman, all too often perceived as belonging to the world’s past, holds the key to our future. STEPHEN LARSEN is a practicing psychotherapist and director of the Stone Mountain Counseling Center. Codirector of the Center for Symbolic Studies, he is the author of The Mythic Imagination and coauthor of Fire in the Mind, the biography of his friend and mentor Joseph Campbell.