The Chakras in Shamanic Practice: Eight Stages of Healing and Transformation

In this self-help, practicing shaman Wright blends Gestalt psychotherapy with New Age concepts by matching Eric Erikson's theory of developmental crisis to the eight chakras, energy centers of the body outlined in Eastern spiritual traditions. A licensed social worker and therapist, Wright's meditative techniques promote immersion in a sacred inner space where one can, with the help of power animals and other guides, safely confront the past. With sublime, unapologetic hokiness, Wright presents healing techniques like belly-dancing (""swirl the sacred, creative bowl of your pelvis"") and using a chicken egg to extract negative energy (""Ask the egg's permission to be used to help in this process""), but grounds her techniques by distinguishing between reality and ""non-ordinary reality""; a concept like ""shapeshifting,"" in this sense, can be seen as an accessible imaging exercise. Throughout, Wright shows there's no need to tamper with one's spiritual foundation to explore the chakras (her own spiritual guides are Jesus and ""the Mary's""), and proves illuminating in both her stories of personal tragedy-childhood want and abuse-and cultural critique (""Just like all serious addicts, we are even willing to sacrifice our lives"" to materialism). For those with an open mind, Wright's wise and optimistic strategies will provide a number of unconventional roads to inner peace.