| Description |
xxii, 278 p. : ill., map ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. [253]-265) and index. |
| Contents |
Pronunciation Guide to Maya Words -- Time Line for the Maya Area -- 1. Rediscovering a Lost World -- 2. A Terrible Beauty -- 3. A Living Cosmos -- 4. Blood and Ecstasy -- 5. The Creations of the Lightning-Serpent -- 6. God -- 7. The Soul -- 8. The Shaman's Secret -- 9. Death -- 10. The Trials of Xibalba -- 11. The Ballgame and Human Sacrifice -- 12. Resurrection -- Family Tree of the Maya Gods. |
| Summary |
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. |
| Subject |
Maya mythology.
|
|
Mayas -- Religion.
|
|
Maya philosophy.
|
|
Immortality (Philosophy)
|
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Shamanism.
|
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Spiritual life -- New Age movement.
|
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Immortality (Philosophy) (OCoLC)fst00967858
|
|
Maya mythology. (OCoLC)fst01012734
|
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Maya philosophy. (OCoLC)fst01012738
|
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Mayas -- Religion.
(OCoLC)fst01012826
|
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Shamanism. (OCoLC)fst01115159
|
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Spiritual life -- New Age movement.
(OCoLC)fst01130134
|
| ISBN |
0553101544 (hc) |
|
9780553101546 (hc) |
|
