The Body of Myth: Mythology, Shamanic Trance, and the Sacred Geography of the Body

(Paperback)

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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 andquot;shamanic trance,andquot; 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 hu-man 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.

Reviews

". . . a fresh and innovative view. What Sansonese has discovered and very nicely documented, is the symbolic presence of the human organism in those least 'physical' of all events, myth and dream. Even the very attentive and sophisticated reader will marvel at the detail and subtlety Sansonese has brought to his investigation." * Steve Larsen *
"Much like a musical composition by Claude Debussy, this is an impressionistic book, full of mythological and physiological allusions that affect the reader with "Eureka"-type discoveries. The book's organization is unorthodox, yet it succeeds in convincing the reader that there is definitely a physical connection between the human body and mythologies. Sansonese, who has practiced raja yoga for years and here shows how yoga can be used as an effective means of attaining a deeper self-consciousness, reveals himself to be a natural successor to Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung. Readers in public and academic libraries who appreciate and delight in the juxtaposition of science and religion, East and West, will especially enjoy this esoteric volume." * Gary P. Gillum, Brigham Young Univ., Library Journal (Sunday , May 01, 1994) *

Author Bio

J. Nigro Sansonese teaches physics and mathematics and has practiced raja yoga for twenty years