by George Schwimmer, Ph.D.
The author describes the three major shamanic healing practices of the Peruvian Q’ero shamans—illumination, spirit releasement and soul retrieval – and shows how these very ancient practices differ from Past Life Therapy and spirit releasement therapy in practical application
Linda Adler, L.C.S.W.
Linda Adler, L.C.S.W., APRT’s President from October 1997 to April 2000, has studied shamanism for many years and in many cultures. Here she draws on her extensive knowledge to discuss the similarities between PLT and shamanic practices and beliefs.
Shamanism may be the most ancient and widespread mind/body healing method known to man. It spans thousands of years and reaches across continents. Almost none of the ancient cultures left written records, so we can only learn of their practices through those who remain living and are willing to share them with us. Shamans are the spiritual leaders of tribal indigenous people, ordinary people with extraordinary powers. They are the keepers of a phenomenal body of ancient techniques which they use to achieve and maintain well-being and healing for themselves and members of their communities.
Shamanism essentially means to honor life ‑ all life. Although their practices are not identical, there are remarkable similarities among the cultures and the intention and integrity of the shamans are aligned. The word “shaman” comes from the Tungus people of Siberia. It refers to those who have achieved mastery with the spirit world and who can bring spirits into themselves or visit them and use their power to help others.
by Brad Steiger
Since childhood I have been challenged by the idea that we have lived before on this or other worlds. One of my early articles, “How Many People Are You?” (Exploring the Unknown, February, 1963) led to my first book-length exploration of past lives, The Enigma of Reincarnation (Ace, 1967).
By 1968 I was ready to begin personally exploring cases suggestive of reincarnation through individual regressions, but at that time my sole motivation was to prove that such phenomena existed. I sought to obtain solid documentation that would satisfy the most rigorous skeptic that the human soul might indeed express itself in more than one incarnation during the process of spiritual evolution.
But while extensive in-field research did produce birth certificates, death certificates, land grants, deeds and real estate transfers for many of the personalities who spoke through our regressed subjects, the rigorous skeptics remained unconvinced. I discovered that just as there exists in certain people the will to believe, the will to disbelieve rigidly thrives in others. Although I had accumulated the kind of proof of identity that would have satisfied any court of law in the nation, for the most part the materialists, the religious dogmatists, the physical scientists, and the behaviorists, remained unimpressed. Depending on their particular perspective, they all had their prized interpretation of what phenomena such laboriously amassed documentation might be demonstrating other than reincarnation.