Healing States: A Journey Into the World of Spiritual Healing and Shamanism

Although the authors of this provocative exploration into the spiritual realms of healing are trained in the orthodoxies of Western medicine and psychology (both have doctorates and are researchers and scientists in San Francisco), their inquiries into ""mind over matter'' phenomena have led them to conclude that science alone is inadequate in treating human illness. (On this subject, they note the question put to them by a Peruvian shaman: ``In the training of your healers, what steps do they take to attune Mother Earth and the Great Spirit?'') By observing diverse parapsychological and metaphysical methods of mediums, spiritists and others following ``indigenous'' healing from ancient to contemporary societies, Villoldo and Krippner enhance our concept of health by incorporating ideas that are ignored by allopathic medicine, a process advocated by the World Health Organization. The freshness of their approach results in a steady level of stimulation. (April)