By way of brief definition, Shamans are said to treat ailments and illness by mending the soul of their subjects, whether that subject is a human, an animal, a community or a biosphere. Alleviating traumas affecting the souls and spirits of these entities restores the physical body to balance and he spirit and soul to wholeness. The shaman often enters supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting those living in the material world. Shamans may visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses caused by foreign elements from those worlds/dimensions. The shaman operates primarily within the spiritual world, which in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance results in the elimination of the ailment.
In Reiki Shamanism, Ewing has produced a superlatively useful and practical, as well as thoroughly enjoyable, guide to healing people, places, things, and relationships whether at hand or from a distance, utilizing the principles of both the Reiki and shamanic traditions and employing the techniques of Reiki and shamanism united to form a powerful, efficient and deeply impacting healing modality. Compelling and informative, this book relates some of the author's many experience in Native American healing ways, including shamanic travel and soul recovery, which are evident throughout.
The principles and techniques are presented and elaborated in simple, straightforward and concise terms, illustrated by numerous real-world examples to demonstrate the ways in which Reiki can be practiced within the context of shamanic journeying. Reiki Shamanism provides numerous practical exercises, references to other written works and to online resources that both newly-attuned as well as experienced practitioners will find useful in augmenting their knowledge and capabilities in assisting clients to clear away deleterious and growth-inhibiting energies and accelerate their spiritual maturation and psychological and physical health.
I have been practicing and teaching the traditional Usui Method of Reiki Energy Healing for the past 9 years, have reviewed and read countless books on Usui Reiki and have found in this author's words teachings that have resonated deep within my being and that, with the clarity of hindsight, I know now to have been exactly what I was waiting to learn in order to achieve that which I initially studied Reiki for.
Just as so-called "New Age" teachings and understandings are not at all new - indeed, much the opposite - neither is Reiki merely a Japanese variant of energy healing discovered by Mikao Usui about a century ago.. Rather, its antecedents are ancient and its roots deeply immured in shamanic practices that were old when settled agriculture and alphabets were new-fangled. Dr. Usui himself was, clearly, a shaman of special insight and great ability who received the Reiki symbols and teachings whilst on a vision quest.
I emphatically recommend this wonderful work for all students, practitioners and teachers of Reiki as well as those with an interest in shamanism and in energetic, vibrational or spiritual healing. This is one of the most important and groundbreaking books on Reiki published in the since its introduction to the West in the 1970′s.
Review provided by William Courson, BVSA, D. Ayur., an Ayurvedic Practitioner, faculty member and the College Dean of Institutional Development at Sai Ayurvedic College & Ayurvedic Wellness Center.