The shaman's doorway: opening imagination to power and myth

The Shaman’s Doorway is one of the most significant and inspiring works on the relationship of shamanism to both the psyche and society. Drawing on his experience as a psychotherapist and his understanding of primordial shamanic traditions, Stephen Larsen shows the relevance of this path to the modern world and how it can lead to a creative and affirmative relationship with life. “Life dismembers us,” Larsen says, and a new grasp of these ancient techniques for altering consciousness is required to escape from the alienation and confusion caused by our demythologized and industrialized environment. Defining the task of the shaman as one of bringing meaning and healing into life, Larsen clearly shows how the shaman, all too often perceived as belonging to the world’s past, holds the key to our future.