Unlock Free Global Shipping at $50
Delivery & Return:Free shipping on all orders over $50
Estimated Delivery:7-15 days international
People:22 people viewing this product right now!
Easy Returns:Enjoy hassle-free returns within 30 days!
Payment:Secure checkout
SKU:38780762
Long ago the ancestors of the Greeks, Romans, and Hindus were one people living on the Eurasian steppes. At the core of their religion was the "shamanic trance," a natural state but one in which consciousness achieves a profound level of inner awareness. Over the course of millennia, the Indo-Europeans divided and migrated into Europe and the Indian subcontinent. The knowledge of shamanic trance retreated from everyday awareness and was carried on in the form of myths and distilled into spiritual practices--most notably in the Indian tradition of yoga. J. Nigro Sansonese compares the myths of Greece as well as those of the Judeo-Christian tradition with the yogic practices of India and concludes that myths are esoteric descriptions of what occurs within the human body, especially the human nervous system, during trance. In this light, the myths provide a detailed map of the shamanic state of consciousness that is our natural heritage.This book carries on from the works of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell to show how the portrayal of consciousness embodied in myth can be extended to a reappraisal of the laws of physics; before they are descriptions of the world, these laws--like myths--are descriptions of the human nervous system.
As "Literary Omnivore" mentioned, this book is not for everyone. But should every book be? In the "Body of Myth", I for the first time truly understand the definition of "Esoteric."This is no small feat. This book is full of special words. Its synaesthetic intellectual qualities alone make it worth the cost of buying.In the book, J. Nigro Sansonese proposes an innovative, elegant--though sometimes hyperextended--hypothesis on the intimate connections between human anatomy, shamanic trance (meditation), and the stories passed down through old myth of antiquity, pre-history, and modern religion. I for one am in awe of Mr. Sansonese's vast scholarship.The writing is academic and rigorous. What I appreciate most about this book is the author's honesty--he repeatedly states that the ideas form a "hypothesis", an interpretation. This humility gives me permission as a reader to dive deep into these amazing ideas and indulge in the fantasy of theorizing at the periphery of modern spiritual experience. This is a deep cut.
