Shaman's Secret: The Lost Resurrection Teachings of the Ancient Maya

Title: Shaman's Secret: The Lost Resurrection Teachings of the Ancient Maya
Author: Douglas Gillette
Indigenous Studies: 1703283
ISBN: 9780553377798
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 1998
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Edition: Reprint
Number of Pages: 304
Section: Social Science | Native American Studies
Condition Note: Excellent, unmarked copy with little wear and tight binding. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.
Publisher Description: Much more than an archaeological adventure, The Shaman's Secret is the most comprehensive documentation yet of the extraordinary spiritual forces that set the civilization of the ancient Maya apart. As Douglas Gillette deciphers sacred artwork, hieroglyphics, myths, and artifacts, he shows how entire cities mysteriously disappeared into enveloping jungles, taking with them a world of magic, miracle, and wisdom - a vast, untapped treasure of the human spirit. Through ritual, sacrifice, and altered states of consciousness, the Maya developed a remarkable resurrection technology - precise encoded instructions for preserving the essence of the human spirit after death. In a culture of savage splendor, of exotic gods and goddesses both benevolent and bloodthirsty, the shamans taught a potent psychological truth: that one must embrace the dark side of oneself and of the world - cruelty, suffering, and death - in order to overcome them. Only by walking through the shadows can we reach the light and become masters of our own destinies. Utilizing his training in depth psychology and comparative religion, and drawing on his rich experiences in Mexico and Central America, Gillette brings the vivid mythology of the ancient Maya to life. He traces the archetypal patterns underlying this uncompromising, sometimes disturbing, but ultimately beautiful tradition. He shows us how out of the great cosmic drama between creation and destruction, good and evil, and life and death, we can experience a vivid awareness of ch'ulel - the life force at the heart of all things. The shamans sought and found a way to achieve an intensity of everyday experience that led them to an intimate and mutually empoweringconnection with nature and with the divine. The Shaman's Secret enables us to share in the ancient Maya experience of "fire in the blood" and to hear for ourselves the once lost, now recovered sacred resurrection message of the ancient shamans. The Maya resurrection teachings throw o