Spirit Allies: Meet Your Team From The Other Side

Spirit Allies: Meet Your Team from the Other Side

From ancient Egyptians to modernday witches, King Solomon to Native American shamans, individuals throughout time have possessed the power to work with the spirit world. But it's not necessary to be a Tibetan holy man or ghost hunter to communicate with the other side. Everyone has friends beyond the veil, as author Christopher Penczak explains, "A spirit ally is a being in the unseen realms who, for whatever reason, decides to aid, befriend, protect, or teach us while we live our own Earthwalk." He dispels the shadowy ambiguity and fear surrounding the existence of these spiritual entities, shares compelling personal anecdotes, and offers straightforward techniquessuch as relaxation, automatic writing, and oracle interpretationto help readers contact their own guides. Through 30 simple exercises, Spirit Allies helps readers find their Power Animal, dream journey, speak with devas, communicate with ancestors and ascended masters, meet their personal spirit allies, and much more.From Publishers Weekly"Interfacing with the spirit world is fairly easy.... The lands beyond the veil are part and parcel of our nature," says Penczak (City Magick). Here he makes a convincing case for such a world, detailing a multitude of ways not only to contact, but also to communicate with the entities who inhabit it. He gently argues that the spiritual dimension (heaven and hell in the most simplified forms) perennially exists in every culture, and that we, too, are spiritual beings. ("If our spirits are here, there are many other spirits, in other realms, experiencing other things.") Penczak leaves no spirit untouched: angels, ascended masters, deities, ancestors, soul groups, power animals, elementals, devas, constructs and ghosts can be contacted by such means as ritual, channeling, shape-shifting, riding (as in Voodoo) and walking in, to name but a few. Penczak wisely does not throw the door open to any and all such spiritual entities. He repeatedly provides checkpoints and signposts to discern which spirits are interested in one's higher good, and he emphatically rejects abdicating one's spiritual authority in any case. It would be hard to imagine a more complete guide for getting to know such companions who want to help, befriend or teach us. Numerous exercises, primarily forms of meditation, visualization and ritual, make this a very practical manual. This work can benefit those of any faith who can comfortably trust that divine aid may come in many forms. (Mar.)Forecast: Although the New Age market has cooled somewhat since the mid-1990s, this book will be jump-started by its status as a selection of the One Spirit Book Club.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.About the AuthorChristopher Penczak (New Hampshire) is an award-winning author, teacher, healing practitioner, and eclectic Witch. His practice draws upon the foundation of modern Witchcraft blended with the wisdom of mystical traditions from across the globe. He has studied extensively with renowned Witch Laurie Cabot and other Witches, shamans, yogis, and healers in the New England area which have influenced his eclectic path of personal Witchcraft. Penczak is an ordained minister of the Universal Brotherhood Movement, is a certified flower essence consultant, and is a certified Reiki Master (Teacher) in the UsuiTibetan and Shamballa traditions. A popular public speaker, he tours extensively throughout the year at bookstores and major gatherings. Penczak is the author of City Magick (Red Wheel;Weiser), Spirit Allies (Red Wheel;Weiser), and Gay Witchcraft (Red Wheel;Weiser'nominated for a Lambda Award). A columnist for newWitch magazine, his work has also been featured in publications such as Genre, InnerSelf Magazine and Kaleidoscope, and his writing appears in the recent book I Do, I Don't: Queers on Marriage. Penczak is a faculty member at the North Eastern Institute of Whole Health and a founding member of the Gifts of Grace Foundation,