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The Ecstatic Experience: Healing Postures for Spirit Journeys [With CD (Audio)] — Occult Philosophy

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The Ecstatic Experience: Healing Postures for Spirit Journeys [With CD (Audio)]

Name: The Ecstatic Experience: Healing Postures for Spirit Journeys [With CD (Audio)]
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ISBN: 9781591430964

✍️ Gore, Belinda

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4.6

(1 review)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

This compelling guide delves into the profound practice of utilizing specific body postures to access ecstatic trance states. Drawing from a rich tapestry of ancient and indigenous cultures—including Mayan, Egyptian, and Native American—it illuminates how these sacred stances serve as gateways for shamanic journeying, deep healing, and spiritual transformation. Author Belinda Gore demonstrates how such practices can purify the subtle energy body, fulfilling humanity's innate need for experiences beyond ordinary awareness. An accompanying audio CD provides rhythmic guidance, making these powerful techniques accessible for personal exploration and expanded consciousness.

Gore, Belinda

📚 all books by this author (2) →

🕯️

Occult Philosophy

Praise for this book

“Continuing the pioneering research of the late anthropologist Felicitas Goodman, her close friend and fellow researcher Belinda Gore presents twenty sacred postures that induce and facilitate the experience of religious ecstatic trance. Those who long for ecstasy have in this book a rich resource of simple strategies and proven ritual to achieve and satisfy that human craving.”

— John J. Pilch, Ph.D., professor at Georgetown University and International Society for Shamanistic R

🏛 Bear & Company 📅 2009 📖 160 pages 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9781591430964

Fun Fact

Belinda Gore’s "The Ecstatic Experience" offers a remarkably practical and profound pathway to altered states. Its strength lies in demystifying ancient postural techniques, making them accessible even for novices, while providing a substantial theoretical framework. This book is a must-have for those seeking tangible, body-centered spiritual practices. However, readers expecting only abstract philosophy or unwilling to physically engage with the exercises might find it less fulfilling. It stands as a vital bridge between scholarly insight and direct spiritual experience.

📝 Description: The Ecstatic Experience: Healing Postures for Spirit Journeys [With CD (Audio)]

Trance-inducing postures for shamanic journeying, initiation, healing, divination, and transformation of the soul - Provides practices from Mayan, Egyptian, African, Native American, Sumerian, and other ancient and indigenous traditions - Shows how these practices can detoxify the energy body - Includes 60-minute CD of trance rhythms to accompany the shamanic journeying exercises The human need for ecstasy--the ability to be free of the limitations of ordinary consciousness--is as imperative as the need for food. Renowned anthropologist Felicitas Goodman claimed that being deprived of ecstasy was the fundamental cause of all forms of addiction. Indigenous cultures and the civilizations of antiquity were aware of this and developed specific rituals to induce and channel trance energies to detoxify and nourish the subtle body in order to experience the ecstatic reality that gives life to matter. The body postures seen in ancient art from Mayan, Egyptian, African, Native American, Sumerian, and other ancient and indigenous traditions are a doorway to inducing this kind of ecstatic trance. People who assume these postures in a ritual context are able to experience expanded and transformative states of consciousness. Following up on the groundbreaking introduction of this practice in her first book, Ecstatic Body Postures, Belinda Gore provides a new series of 20 sacred postures and exercises that allow for a deeper understanding and utilization of these shamanic practices. She shows how to use the energy awakened by these practices for healing, shapeshifting, initiations into the mysteries of death and rebirth, divination, spirit journeying, and restoring balance to the cosmic patterns disrupted by destructive human activity. To help reach these deep, ecstatic trance states, the author also provides a 60-minute CD of shamanic trance rhythms to accompany the journeys.

📑 What's inside

Acknowledgments Introduction
Part 1
Longing for Ecstasy
1 Living Ecstasy 2 Defining Ecstatic Trance 3 Why We Use Ecstatic Body Postures 4 The Basic Method for Entering Ecstatic Trance
Preparing Oneself
Establishing Sacred Space
Quieting the Mind
Stimulating the Nervous System
Using a Ritual Posture
Part 2
Experiencing Ecstatic Trance through Ritual Body Postures
5 Healing Postures
The African Healer Posture
The Couple from Jenne Posture
The Lady of Atotonilco Posture
The Standing Woman of Jalisco Posture
6 Divination Postures
The Egyptian Diviner Posture
The Horned Man from Colima Posture
The Mayan Oracle Posture
The Tala Diviner Posture
7 Metamorphosis Postures
The Cernunnos Posture
The Chichén Itzá Posture
The Fish Woman Posture
The Olmec Medicine Man Posture
8 Spirit Journey Postures
The Bird Woman of Egypt Posture
The Sleeping Lady of Malta Posture
The Poppy Pod Woman Posture
The Tsimshian Shamaness Posture
9 Initiation Postures
The Inanna Posture
The Ishtar Posture
The Sekhmet Posture
The Shawabty Posture
Notes Bibliography
How to Use the CD and Ritual Postures to Enter Ecstatic Trance

💎 Expert review

“

💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

Gore presents a compelling synthesis of cross-cultural postures designed to induce ecstatic trance, supported by rhythmic audio guidance. The book succeeds in making complex shamanic concepts accessible for personal exploration and expanded consciousness. However, it does not suit readers who prefer strictly academic anthropology or those skeptical of non-ordinary states of awareness. Those seeking rigorous historical documentation rather than practical spiritual application may find the content too subjective. Conversely, individuals looking for immediate, embodied techniques to transcend ordinary consciousness will appreciate the clear instructions and cultural depth provided.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Readers seeking profound spiritual expansion and tangible methods for inner healing will find this book invaluable. It is particularly suited for those feeling disconnected from ordinary reality and craving a deeper, embodied connection to the divine. Belinda Gore offers a practical pathway to purify the subtle energy body through sacred postures, addressing the innate human desire for experiences beyond standard awareness. The inclusion of an audio CD makes these ancient techniques accessible for daily exploration, allowing practitioners to easily guide themselves into ecstatic trance states. Whether you are a seasoned shamanic practitioner or a curious beginner, this guide provides the tools needed to unlock ancient wisdom and facilitate deep spiritual transformation through the power of the body.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

If you are drawn to exploring expanded states of consciousness, indigenous spiritual practices, or holistic healing, this book offers a profound methodology. It's ideal for those seeking practical, body-centered techniques to deepen their meditative practice, embark on shamanic journeys, or simply…

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

Gore presents a compelling synthesis of cross-cultural postures designed to induce ecstatic trance, supported by rhythmic audio guidance. The book succeeds in making complex shamanic concepts accessible for personal exploration and expanded consciousness. However, it does not suit readers who prefer strictly academic anthropology or those skeptical of non-ordinary states of awareness. Those seeking rigorous historical documentation rather than practical spiritual application may find the content too subjective. Conversely, individuals looking for immediate, embodied techniques to transcend ordinary consciousness will appreciate the clear instructions and cultural depth provided.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Not at all. The practices are designed to be accessible for beginners, with clear instructions and an accompanying audio CD to guide you through the trance rhythms, making these powerful techniques approachable for anyone curious to explore.

The book focuses on a holistic form of healing that primarily involves detoxifying the "energy body" and transforming the soul through ecstatic states. It aims to restore balance and vitality by addressing the subtle energetic and spiritual dimensions of well-being.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Cultivating Ecstatic Awareness

This work posits that the human drive for ecstatic experience is fundamental, comparing its necessity to that of food. It explores how intentionally induced trance states can serve as a potent antidote to modern ailments, facilitating deep energetic detoxification and offering profound healing for both the subtle body and the psyche, moving beyond ordinary consciousness.

Sacred Postures & Trance

The book meticulously details how specific body postures, meticulously preserved in the art and rituals of cultures spanning millennia—from ancient Egypt to indigenous America—act as direct conduits to altered states of consciousness. These precise physical alignments are presented not merely as poses, but as keys to unlocking deeply embedded spiritual experiences and shamanic journeys.

Subtle Body Purification

A core tenet explored is the concept of an "energy body" and its purification through ecstatic practices. The author explains how engaging with these ancient trance postures can actively cleanse and re-energize one's subtle energetic field. This process is presented as essential for fostering overall well-being, spiritual growth, and a deeper connection to the ecstatic realities of existence.

📜 Historical context

This work stands firmly within the tradition of ethnographic research into altered states, particularly building upon the foundational work of anthropologist Felicitas Goodman. It bridges ancient indigenous wisdom, such as that found in Mayan, Egyptian, and Native American traditions, with modern practice, demonstrating how these time-honored methods for accessing ecstatic consciousness remain profoundly relevant for spiritual seekers today.

📚 Glossary

Ecstatic Experience
Energy Body
Shamanic Journeying

📔 Questions to reflect on

How does the idea of "ecstasy as necessity" resonate with your own experiences, and have you felt its absence?
Consider the ancient postures discussed. How might intentionally adopting a specific physical stance influence your mental or spiritual state?
Reflect on your own "energy body." What practices or sensations suggest its health or a need for detoxification and nourishment?