Where the Spirits Ride the Wind: Trance Journeys and Other Ecstatic Experiences

“Dr. Goodman has pioneered in the study of bodily postures and altered states of consciousness.” —Stanley Krippner, professor of personal mythology and parapsychology

“And suddenly the understanding of my own vision washed over me like a mighty wave . . . For life or for death, I was committed to that mighty realm of which I was shown a brief reminder, the world where all was forever motion and emergence, that realm where the spirits ride the wind.” —from the Prologue

Anthropologist and spiritual explorer Felicitas Goodman reexamines our notions of the nature of reality by studying the ritual postures of native art assumed by her subjects during trance states. For readers desiring to discover this world of ancient myths, she has included a practical guide on how to achieve such ecstatic experiences.

“The book is clearly written for the general reader and includes many descriptions of trance experiences. It may serve as a good introduction to the nature and appeal of the shamanic revival in modern Western cultures.” —Theological Book Review

“A case study in experiential anthropology that offers a unique mix of autobiography, mythology, experiential research, and archaeological data to support a challenging thesis—that certain body postures may help induce specific trance states.” —Shaman’s Drum

“This is a spellbinding and exceptionally readable book by an extraordinary woman.” —Yoga Journal

© 1990 Indiana University Press (Ebook): 9780253014641

Release date

Ebook: 22 August 1990