The Body of Myth: Mythology, Shamanic Trance, and the Sacred Geography of the Body Paperback – Illustrated, 2 Jan. 2000

The reason this book is both epic and a failure is that, in his own words, "A grand synthesis of science, consciousness and myth - by means of yoga - is the goal of this book", which is a frankly absurd task, even for an author as obviously well read and erudite as Mr Sansonese.The basic premise of the book is that there is one single physiological understanding at the root of all myths, that if we look in our bodies we can find exact replicas of mythological creatures there (for example the sea monster in Perseus is the "Vagus" nerve which apparently connects the brain to the heart) and myths are simply an outdated manual for learning to control these biological entities (and, for example, stopping the heart).He brings good news, however, in that apparently Raja Yoga is the updated and fully elucidated body of knowledge which leads us mastery of our bodies and a union with our mythological selves, and that every other method of trance induction (hallucinogenics, hypnosis etc) is at best a feint shadow of this magnificent method.The book covers a wide array of well researched material and is well crafted and intriguing, but veers sharply into the absurd at some moments (on pg 51 he presents a statue from 3000 BC which apparently supports his hypothesis, however he mentions no other statues and does not attempt to contextualise this relic, this is proof on the level of David Icke, at best bunk).My main problem with the book, and the reason for giving it only two stars, is that I personally feel that when engaging with Mythology we should be like children wandering into a forest, we should be open minded, know there are deep places we will never understand and that we will have to live without a overarching scheme to organise our experiences. Mr Sansonese presents a complete scheme which covers the whole of human existence with a tight, plastic, cover. To me this feels fake and unsatisfying.I would, if you feel similarly to me, recommend the work of Campbell and Keleman Myth and the Body on this subject. Both have mastered their fields and their work is a reverent and heartfelt attempt to plumb some deep depths and build a bridge from the deep earth to the sky.

As "Literary Omnivore" mentioned, this book is not for everyone. But should every book be? In the "Body of Myth", I for the first time truly understand the definition of "Esoteric."This is no small feat. This book is full of special words. Its synaesthetic intellectual qualities alone make it worth the cost of buying.In the book, J. Nigro Sansonese proposes an innovative, elegant--though sometimes hyperextended--hypothesis on the intimate connections between human anatomy, shamanic trance (meditation), and the stories passed down through old myth of antiquity, pre-history, and modern religion. I for one am in awe of Mr. Sansonese's vast scholarship.The writing is academic and rigorous. What I appreciate most about this book is the author's honesty--he repeatedly states that the ideas form a "hypothesis", an interpretation. This humility gives me permission as a reader to dive deep into these amazing ideas and indulge in the fantasy of theorizing at the periphery of modern spiritual experience. This is a deep cut.

I enjoyed the breakdown for the sections. Specifically, the Indo-European cultures relations to the ancient concept of trance.

Sansonese explores the idea that the ancient myths were not mere stories, but rather coded teachings on shamanic trance. This is not a how-to book on shamanic trance; readers seeking such a book should look elsewhere.The good: The book itself is of beautiful quality--one of the nicest paperbacks I've held in my hands in a long time. The paper in particular is amazing, heavy and smooth. The author has a nice style of writing, scholarly and yet clear and brisk. His arguments are logical and progress well throughout the book.The bad: Not all of the author's brilliant observations are as brilliant as he seems to think they are. For example, he begins by telling us that--gasp!--the Zen koans weren't just wacky little metaphysical riddles but were, like the myths, coded teachings. He informs us that "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" refers to the ears and, by extension, to the internal sounds one hears during meditation. Well, fine, but it seems to have escaped him that the heart has several valves that "clap" open and shut like little solitary hands and which create the internal sounds--the heartbeat, the rush of the blood through the veins--that one hears. There were many such questionable bits in the book. I also found the book far too long, unnecessarily so.The ugly: I was especially annoyed by something that is described by Dr. Andrew Weil as "medical hexing," namely the tendency of patients who are told by some authority figure such as a doctor that there is no hope for recovery to curl up and die--sort of the reverse of the placebo response. The author comes from a background of decades of raja yoga and he insists that shamanic trance, and the breakthrough into enlightenment, are not only horribly physically painful but also require a lifetime of instruction from a qualified teacher. That is his POV, not the only POV, and rather than letting yourself be hexed into believing that the pursuit of enlightenment has to be that awful I suggest buying some books on Dzogchen Buddhism. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not knocking yoga in any way. What I'm saying is that if you want to suffer and spend decades studying a discipline, do it because you want to and not because someone made you think it had to be so.The good review: I recommend this book highly for scholars. The author is rigorous and scientific, and he takes shamanic trance out of the realm of mumbo-jumbo and places it firmly in science.The bad review: General readers should probably start elsewhere.The beautiful: The cover art is fascinating. At first glance we see a man in a trance. On further study we see that the folds of the man's robes are in fact flocks of birds clinging to sheer cliffs above the sea. The artist, Jim Harter, deserved more recognition than just his name in tiny print at the bottom of the back cover.

Thanx so much, Awesome deal great seller!!!