Journeying : Where Shamanism and Psychology Meet

Journeying not only shows the commonalities shared by shamanism and psychology, but expands on inherent healing possibilities when their forces are joined. This book offers informed insight as to how the practice of journeying weaves into the psychological perspective, as well as providing those who know little about shamanism an enlightened view.

Journeying is the term used to describe a shaman's movement into an altered state of consciousness to obtain healing information. Psychology, like shamanism, works to alleviate human suffering and makes use of altered states in a variety of ways including guided imagery and hypnosis. Shamanism, the oldest healing tradition known to humankind, springs from natural, intuitive, and spiritual sources. Psychology, a relative newcomer on the Western scene, relies on logic and science.

In bringing these two healing disciplines together, the author illustrates how variations on the practice of journeying strengthens the psychological process. The true heart of this book rests in the application of journeying to the healing of emotional wounds--wounds that occur when parents are unable to sufficiently bond with their infants. In such healing journeys shamanic power animals and spirit helpers provide nurturing not previously experienced, softening edges of neediness and desperation that sometimes feed adolescent and adult aggression.

Journeying beats a fast-paced path to the alchemy of psychological transformation in words easily understood by practitioners and lay persons alike.

Jeannette Gagan's Journeying is a must-read for those who are interested in shamanism but have been turned off by fuzzy-headed mystical claims or sloppy exposition. In this well-written and eminently useful manual, shamanism, "perhaps the oldest form of practical spirituality in the world," is explained in a straightforward, scholarly manner by a respected licensed psychologist. Gagan succinctly summarizes the procedures, philosophies, and purposes of modern psychology, illuminating the common areas occupied between the two. She builds a strong case for the introduction of shamanistic journeying into the retinue of healing modalities for the modern psychotherapist. For those intent on healing the psyches of themselves or others, shamanism may well work where other modalities have failed. For example, long-repressed anger can be processed while journeying without fear of upsetting the neighbors, or one day awakening to the horrible realization that you just kicked the dog. --Randall Cohan