A Journey Among Shamans (English edition) （New release in January 2026 / 2026年1月新刊）
Author: Midori Nishida
English Translator: Team Hokusai
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■Bookstore edition: None / 書店販売書籍：なし
■eBook: ¥1,800 (excl. tax) → Purchase on Amazon here / 電子書籍: \1,800 (消費税別) →アマゾンでの購入はこちら
■POD (Print-on-Demand) edition: ¥1,800 (incl. tax / A5-variant size,
196 pages / ISBN 978-4-910056-84-5) / POD書籍: \1,800 (税込/A5変形判196頁）
First edition published January 26, 2026 → Purchase on Amazon here / 2026年1月26日初版発行 →アマゾンでの購入はこちら
(Available at POD retailers: Amazon, Sanseido Bookstore, Rakuten Books
★ Not sold at other bookstores)
（ご購入はPOD書籍取扱い店：アマゾン、三省堂書店、楽天ブックス★その他書店では取扱いがございません）
■The Principal was published in Japanese by Hikaruland on April 30, 2023, under the title "Shaman Exploration Diary" (ISBN 978-4-86742-249-6)
※Please purchase via the retailers listed on the top page. / ご購入はTOPページの販売店でお求めください。
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◎ About this book
This book liberates readers from the outdated preconceptions about "Buddhism"
and reinterprets it from the perspective of "cognitive psychology."
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♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ |
This book examines the contemporary resurgence of shamanism within a global,
modern context, where materialism, political power, and spiritual belief
increasingly intersect. Through high-profile cases—from celebrity shamans
in the West to mysterious deaths among Russian energy elites—the prologue
frames shamanism as a phenomenon no longer confined to the margins of society.
Tracing the origins of the term “shaman” to Siberian traditions, the book
defines shamans as individuals capable of entering altered states of consciousness
to access non-ordinary realities and intervene on behalf of others. It
distinguishes between hereditary shamans and those initiated through spiritual
possession, and introduces six practitioners whose experiences form the
core of the work. By presenting multiple accounts of otherworldly dimensions
and spirit encounters, the book suggests a plurality of parallel realms
beyond ordinary perception. The prologue positions the renewed public visibility
of shamans as a cultural sign of instability and transformation, proposing
that humanity may be approaching a period of profound upheaval in which
spiritual mediation regains urgent relevance. 本書は、物質主義、政治権力、そして精神的信仰がますます交錯するグローバルな現代社会において、シャーマニズムが再び注目を集めている現状を考察する。西洋の著名なシャーマンからロシアのエネルギー業界のエリートたちの不可解な死まで、数々の注目すべき事例を通して、序章ではシャーマニズムがもはや社会の周縁部に限定される現象ではないことを明確にする。本書は「シャーマン」という言葉の起源をシベリアの伝統に遡り、シャーマンを、変性意識状態に入り、非日常的な現実にアクセスし、他者のために介入できる人物と定義する。世襲制のシャーマンと霊憑依によってシャーマンとなる者を区別し、本書の中核を成す6人の実践者を紹介する。異世界の次元や霊との遭遇に関する複数の事例を提示することで、本書は、通常の知覚を超えた複数の並行領域の存在を示唆する。序章では、シャーマンの公的な認知度が再び高まっていることを、不安定さと変革の文化的兆候として位置づけ、人類は精神的な瞑想が再び緊急に重要となるような、深刻な激動の時代に近づいている可能性があると示唆している。 |
-About the Author
Midori Nishida
Midori Nishida is an editor and author holding a Ph.D. in literature. She received the prestigious Ruikotsu Prize from Chūgai Nippō for her work Makoto and the Savior: Kume Kunitake’s Comparative Cultural Theory. After teaching at Shibaura Institute of Technology, Gakushuin University, Taisho University, and other institutions, she is now active as a freelance scholar and writer. Her major publications include Writing with Structure and Logical Writing Techniques, as well as edited and translated volumes such as Ikai Kenbunroku 6: A Modern Retelling of Hirata Atsutane’s “The Rebirth of Katsugorō” and Discovering the Self Through Narratives: Participatory Research in High School with Dr. Shinichiro Kumagaya of the University of Tokyo (all from Chigensha). She is also the author of Extraordinary Experiences with Sai Baba and The Miracles of Amma, the Hugging Saint (Tokuma Shoten), and Journeys with Shamans (Hikaruland), among many other.
●Table of contents
Sri Lankan Shaman
Nepalese Shaman
▌ Prologue
Part 1 Shamans of Nepal
Chapter 1 — The Shaman Who Calls the Souls of the Dead
▌ How She Came to Possess Shamanic Power
▌ "Suffering Drew the Shaman’s Power Out From Within Me"
▌ Meditation as a Bond With the Gods
▌ "The Goddess Kali Entered Me and Rebuked My Violent Husband"
▌ "When I Married Him, He Already Had a Lover — and She Was His Relative"
▌ "The Evil Family That Could Change Into Animals"
Column 1 — The German Clients Who Turn to Nepal’s Tibetan Monk, Pema Lama
Chapter 2 — A Shaman Speaks of Nepal's "Book of the Dead"
▌ A Lineage of Shamans, Taught by His Grandfather
▌ The Spirits of Those Who Die by Suicide or Accident Can Latch Onto the Living
▌ Encountering the “Jungle People” Brings Illness
▌ Healing Illness Through Puja
▌ Encounters With the Dead
▌ The Novelist Aiko Satō and the Ancestral Spirit Who Came for Help
▌ The Day an Economist Was Visited by a Colleague’s Spirit
▌ More Important Than Asking Whether Something Exists: The Willingness to Accept Facts as Facts
▌ What Gives a Mantra Its Power
▌ The Power of the Vedas Reaches the Dead
▌ For a Time After Death, We Don’t Realize We’re Dead
▌ A Healing She Cannot Forget
▌ When Bitter Resentment Manifests as a Living Spirit
▌ Leaving a Feast at the Crossroads for a Living Spirit
▌ When a Commissioned Curse Turns into a Battle Between Shamans
▌ The “Boksi”: Specialists in Curses
▌ For the Shaman, Power Comes from "Ancestral Spirits” and “Forces from Above"
Chapter 3 — The Shaman Who Declared, "Nawar — the Transformation into Animals — Is Indeed Possible"
▌ An Urban Shaman Based in Kathmandu
▌ "I Want to Pass the Wisdom of Shamanism to Western Youth"
▌ Realizing Through Himalayan Guiding That Shamanism Has a Place in the Modern World
▌ Nawar — "My Father Could Do It"
▌ Puja, the Healing Rite
▌ Slicing Away the "Bad Things" with Twin Blades
▌ The "Water Ritual" That Sends the Bad Things to the Ganges
▌ The “Fire Ritual” Performed Wrapped in a Yellow Cloth
▌ Shamanism Is Not a Religion — It Is the Harnessing of Nature’s Power
▌ Nature’s Power Appears as Light
▌ Illnesses Caused by Chakra Imbalance Cannot Be Cured by Western Medicine
▌ Shamanic Power Heals a Six-Year-Old Whose Doctors Had Given Up
▌ Called Into the Jungle at the Age of Four
▌ In Bhutan, His Father Was a Renowned Shaman Who Could Extend a Person’s Life by Five Years
▌ The Spirits He Met in the Jungle
Part 2 The Shamans of Sri Lankal
Chapter 4 — Lalitha, the Shaman Who Fights Alongside the Goddess Kali
▌ A Village of Shamans
▌ Visiting the Village’s Chief Shaman, Ordinary
▌ “No Need for the Client’s Information”
▌ The Manifestation of Goddess Kali and the Confrontation With the Demon Possessing the Client
▌ Questions Can Only Be Asked While the Goddess Is Present
Chapter 5 — A Malevolent Spirit Will Never Be Reborn: A Q&A With Shaman Lalitha
▌ No Memory During the Puja
▌ Questioning the Goddess Kali
▌ Puja, Shaped to Fit Its Purpose
▌ The Source of Strength: Temple Visits and Daily Puja
▌ Why She Became a Shaman
▌ Performing Puja for Muslim Arabs
▌ In the Home, the Wife Holds the Authority — A Housemaid’s View of Muslim Households
▌ Sri Lanka’s Government Grants Official Recognition to Outstanding Shamans
▌ The Vengeful Spirit of a Former Wife Who Took Her Own Life in Flames
▌ A Vengeful Spirit Bound So It Cannot Be Reborn
▌ Author Aiko Satō Warns: “Don’t Take Spirit Visions or Mediums’ Words at Face Value”
▌ What Happens to the Spirit of Someone Who Takes Their Own Life
▌ Mr. N’s Reflections on Sri Lankan Society
▌ From Self-Sufficiency to a Life of Competition: How the Open Economy Reshaped Sri Lanka
▌ Children Are Turning Away From Buddhism
▌ “Without Wish-Fulfillment Rituals, We Couldn’t Survive” — A Monk’s Candid Reflection
Part 3 Shamans of Bali, Indonesia
Chapter6 — The Shaman Summoned by the Colossal Goddess Saraswati
▌ Wounds That Would Not Leave Him Be
▌ A Colossal Visit from the Goddess Saraswati, Towering to the Ceiling
▌ Lord Ganapati Knows What Troubles You
Chapter 7 — The Shaman Who Works With Chakras: I Wayan Suryana
▌ A Healer Who Prescribes Change, Not Passive Cures
▌ Solar Energy Reaches the Chakras
▌ How to Approach Illness Born of Karma
▌ Epilogue — Becoming Your Own Shaman
▌ Prologue
Right now, an American shaman named Durek Verrett is capturing global attention. At 48, he is a favorite among U.S. celebrities, counting famous actresses and business leaders among his clients.
Part of the fascination — and controversy — is his claim, as startling in its content as in his candor: “I am a hybrid of a reptilian and an Andromedan,” he says, adding, “That’s why I can change atoms and make rejuvenation possible.” In his telling, he is a blend of an extraterrestrial and a Nepturian — a human evolved from reptilian life.
In June 2022, he became engaged to Princess Märtha Louise of Norway. The royal family publicly congratulated the couple, releasing a statement that King Harald and Queen Sonja “extend their warmest congratulations and wish them all the best for the future.” In effect, Norway’s monarchy had formally welcomed a shaman into its fold. While the princess later announced she would step back from official duties, the match itself has been met at home with goodwill — a royal love story watched with warm eyes.
The cultural moment is striking. The shaman’s world is one of spirit work — communing with the dead or other-dimensional beings, dressed in ceremonial paint and garb, performing puja healing rituals. Now, one of their own may attend royal functions. The world is shifting.
Another shamanic story comes from Russia, and it is darker. Since April 2022, a series of unexplained deaths has struck the country’s billionaires. Some were found killed alongside their families in luxury homes in Moscow or vacation villas in Spain. Others, in apparent good health, collapsed from heart failure. On September 1, Ravil Maganov, chairman of Lukoil — Russia’s largest oil company — plunged to his death from a sixth-floor hospital window in Moscow.
Reports suggest many of these men had sought shamans for protection, sensing mortal danger. The victims all shared a common trait: they were executives in energy companies, the crown jewel of Russia’s geopolitical leverage. These were people surrounded by layers of physical security. That they died regardless hints at forces beyond the material realm.
In a modern world steeped in materialism and the relentless pursuit of wealth, the shaman — once considered an endangered species — is suddenly, and improbably, back in the spotlight. The times are changing.
The word “shaman” itself is now used broadly, referring to anyone who can connect with other dimensions. But it originated among the Tungusic peoples of Siberia. In its original sense, a shaman is someone able to enter, at will, a state of “altered consciousness” — a shamanic state — in which they can perceive realities hidden from ordinary awareness. There, they gain knowledge, wisdom, and power, and use it to help those in need.
Explaining exactly what that altered state feels like is difficult. The interviews in this book may serve as a better guide.
Shamans, broadly, fall into two types. One is born into a shamanic lineage, carrying — as some say — a “shaman gene” in their blood. The other begins as an ordinary person, until something descends upon them — a spirit or deity — triggering the altered state, which they can then enter when needed.
Of the six shamans in this book, four come from shamanic families. The other two are women who were possessed by the goddess Kali.
The dimensions shamans contact are not all the same. Each describes the other world differently, suggesting there are many such realms, each distinct yet parallel, crisscrossing through the reality we inhabit.
This world is full of the unreasonable, the unmanageable. When every earthly means fails us, we look for help from forces beyond the visible order. That shamans are stepping so visibly into public life now may be a sign: an omen that we are on the brink of an age of upheaval.