Shamanism

The Timeless Religion

De: Manvir Singh

Narrado por: Frits Zernike

From a brilliant, young, Harvard-trained anthropologist and contributor to The New Yorker comes a fascinating investigation into the spiritual practice of shamanism, from its beginnings to the present moment, for listeners disaffected with organized religion who seek a more personal approach to spirituality.

What are the origins of shamanism, and what is its future? Do shamans believe in their powers? What exactly is trance? What can we learn from indigenous healing practices?

Traveling from Indonesia to the Colombian Amazon, living with shamans and observing music, drug use, and indigenous curing ceremonies, anthropologist Manvir Singh journeys into one of the most mysterious religious traditions. Fundamentally, shamans are specialists who use altered states to engage with unseen realms and provide services like healing and divination. As Singh shows, shamanism’s appeal stems from its psychological resonance. Its essence is spiritual transformation: a specialist uses initiations, deprivation, and non-ordinary states to seemingly become a different kind of human, one possessed of powers to cure, prophesy, and otherwise tame life’s uncertainties.

Following a fascinating cast of characters, Singh reveals the complexities and vicissitudes of a timeless, always relevant, and ubiquitous phenomenon. He argues that biomedicine can learn from shamanic practices and that psychedelic enthusiasts completely misrepresent history. He also shows that shamanic traditions will forever re-emerge—and that by contemplating humanity’s oldest spiritual practice, we come to better understand ourselves, our history, and our future.

©2025 Manvir Singh (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Brilliantly traces the evolution of shamanism across history. . . . Singh makes especially insightful points about how shamanism has engaged in a somewhat contradictory dance with religion, first influencing it and then threatening to siphon away adherents who crave a rawer spiritual experience. . . . Combining meticulous research and an excellent grasp of psychological and sociocultural theories, Singh paints a panoramic portrait of a little-understood subject.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“What a pleasure to read a book so broad and deep, including as it does both a history of shamanism and a provocative vision of how it manifests in our world today. Shifting easily between personal experience and scholarship, Singh weaves an instructive and entertaining story.”—Kim Stanley Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of The Ministry for the Future

“What does the practice of shamanism tell us about how the mind works? Through vivid field encounters and cutting-edge research, Manvir Singh shows that shamanism is a psychological universal, emerging wherever humans gather, from Amazonian healing ceremonies to Wall Street trading floors. Singh is a brilliant young scholar and a gifted writer, and the remarkable book will change how you think about religion, spirituality, consciousness, and human nature.”—Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University, and author of Psych: The Story of the Human Mind

An absolute triumph.

This book blew me away. Love how evocative, and incisive the prose is. Singh takes the listener on a journey that is part memoir, part theory, all with memorable case studies/characters. Amazing narration as well.