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Gift of the Dreamtime - Awakening to the Divinity of Trauma
With a foreward by shaman Christina Pratt, in the second edition of this bestselling fantastical memoir, Kelley Harrell chronicles a modern shamanic journey from pain, to healing and accepting a calling to work as a soul healer of others. Groundbreaking at the time of its first publication in 2004, still no other modern shamanic work shares an experience of soul healing told from within the shamanic narrative, bringing relatable and credible insight to contemporary shamanic healing. Through that rare glimpse into her experiences traversing the spirit world, Harrell’s story becomes the reader’s adventure. Not always easy to read, there are unflinching passages examining hurtful childhood memories, confrontations with overzealous spirit guides, and challenging personal obstacles she must overcome in order to heal.
- GenresSpiritualityPsychology
148 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2004
10 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
S. Kelley Harrell
14 books106 followersKelley (she/they) is an animist, author, deathwalker, and death doula. For the last 25 years, through Soul Intent Arts she's helped others ethically build thriving spiritual paths. Her work is Nature-based, and centers soul tending through the Elder Futhark runes, animism, ancestral tending, and deathwork. Her books are From Elder to Ancestor, Runic Book of Days, Teen Spirit Guide to Modern Shamanism, Real Wyrd, Life Betwixt, and Gift of the Dreamtime, and she hosts the podcast, What in the Wyrd. She also writes The Weekly Rune as a celebration of the Elder Futhark in season.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 15, 2014
I enjoyed this book, and was interested in her shamanic journeys. As a person with similar issues, I was quite interested in how she found forgiveness and healing. Still, I would have appreciated some more information about her mundane, day-to-day life as she was pursuing these journeys. Was there any conflict? Did her experiences make her "real life" easier? Just a few tidbits would have grounded the otherwordly elements and made it much easier to put into a realistic context.
July 20, 2013
Read this book in one night. Easy to read and gripping narrative. Those who have survived abusive situations will find this book easy to relate to. I have not but still enjoyed reading it. The authoress herself has survived an incest encounter with an unnamed family member. She has had to deal with guilt, shame, hate and the fact that her family not only never helped her to heal but embraced the offending family member. I would have felt lots of anger if I were her.
The authoress begins her shamanic journey by traveling into the lower world. By accessing this place thorough a waterfall she finds herself meeting different animals and almost gets trampled by horses. It is in the lower world that she meets Allusius, an owl who acts as her spiritual guide. He is the one who teaches her about depression and how to get past it.
Other journeys take her to the realm of the stars where she meets angels, saints and more human like spirit guides. This is the domain of Simon her celestial spirit guide. He is somewhat the artist who is constantly creating and mostly painting with multi colored charcoal. He teaches her the mind body connection and the impact of hate. In order to heal the body one must heal hate.
The Cailleachs an old crone and hag from Irish legend appears in all three world. It is at once an older version of the authoress herself and a teacher who facilitates healing. The caileachs is an old warrior who does not heal but stands by while you heal yourself. Healing is a do it yourself kit.
In her mediations she learns that she is from a dark skinned tribe call the sun people who were scattered and reborn into many different tribes. She is to be there representative somehow. Books play a major role as she absorbs them into herself and sometimes at the expense at getting a headache.
The journeys help her get past her tragedy. She learns forgiveness, letting go and unconditional loving. While I tend to view what she did not so much as Shamanism, i tend to view it as a visualization process similar to what I have done. The book resonated with me and changed my consciousness. My mediation sequences were much like hers where the dialogue of the spiritual guides was simple and quite similiar.
The authoress begins her shamanic journey by traveling into the lower world. By accessing this place thorough a waterfall she finds herself meeting different animals and almost gets trampled by horses. It is in the lower world that she meets Allusius, an owl who acts as her spiritual guide. He is the one who teaches her about depression and how to get past it.
Other journeys take her to the realm of the stars where she meets angels, saints and more human like spirit guides. This is the domain of Simon her celestial spirit guide. He is somewhat the artist who is constantly creating and mostly painting with multi colored charcoal. He teaches her the mind body connection and the impact of hate. In order to heal the body one must heal hate.
The Cailleachs an old crone and hag from Irish legend appears in all three world. It is at once an older version of the authoress herself and a teacher who facilitates healing. The caileachs is an old warrior who does not heal but stands by while you heal yourself. Healing is a do it yourself kit.
In her mediations she learns that she is from a dark skinned tribe call the sun people who were scattered and reborn into many different tribes. She is to be there representative somehow. Books play a major role as she absorbs them into herself and sometimes at the expense at getting a headache.
The journeys help her get past her tragedy. She learns forgiveness, letting go and unconditional loving. While I tend to view what she did not so much as Shamanism, i tend to view it as a visualization process similar to what I have done. The book resonated with me and changed my consciousness. My mediation sequences were much like hers where the dialogue of the spiritual guides was simple and quite similiar.
March 30, 2012
Kelly bravely shows us both the heartache and challange of being a innocent victim and the mastery of a woman who harnesses the spiritual realm for healing and compassionate power.
August 14, 2012
Excellent read for anyone interested in learning more about their own inner voice, shamanism, or struggling to forgive themselves for having been the victim of sexual abuse.
September 23, 2013
What a beautiful and profound book!!!
Read
June 13, 2013Amazing. Enlightening. Absolutely uplifting..
September 3, 2013
The Excellent book ! Interesting and unusual ideas.
Read
May 7, 2021I read this book over 4-5 separate evenings, reading a section and then spending time thinking about what I'd read over the days that followed, and I came away from the book with what I felt was the author's message, but also with a personal message of my own, which surprised me given that this book is so intensely personal in its depiction of Kelley's own journey toward true and constant Grace.
Accepting and understanding "the divinity of trauma" (a phrase I now better understand after finishing the book) is extremely difficult, going against a lot of societal expectations of a trauma victim and suggesting some very unpopular or uncomfortable ideas about what trauma is spiritually for some. Kelley expresses the learning of this lesson in a way that makes the concept less foreign, and she sheds light (quite painfully at times) on the true nature of trauma.
Accepting and understanding "the divinity of trauma" (a phrase I now better understand after finishing the book) is extremely difficult, going against a lot of societal expectations of a trauma victim and suggesting some very unpopular or uncomfortable ideas about what trauma is spiritually for some. Kelley expresses the learning of this lesson in a way that makes the concept less foreign, and she sheds light (quite painfully at times) on the true nature of trauma.
January 28, 2018
A compelling and galvanising insight into the healing of complex trauma through the shamanic practices of journeying and soul retrieval. I have also begun reading the companion book which describes Harrell’s mundane life during the time of her healing journeys, and finding it both books relatable and validating.
August 23, 2012
This is an enlightening book about a little known topic in western culture.
As a person who does not relate to animal totems and has little knowledge of shamanism, I found this book very informative. Consciousness is big and we know little about it, really. In western culture, we do not recognize the validity of trance experiences, but all people of any spiritual faith know that spiritual experience can take MANY forms. Certainly some people have such experience more easily than others, and there are many different paths, as they say, to God.
Kelley's terrible childhood sexual abuse that drove her to seek healing as an adult is a topic to itself. We humans still live in a culture where pain, suffering, violence, and child abuse is accepted and is still a daily occurrence. To our horror and shame, it is even a large part of the entertainment industry. We as humans have a long way to go before we can call ourselves "civilized."
Kelley's detailed account of her trance experiences into the shamanic world are amazing but to me believable, especially after reading the Readers's Companion, which is a separate publication. She had shamanistic experiences even as a child, and clearly was born with this potential. The fact that she could use it to heal herself is wonderful, and that she is using it to help heal others is also wonderful.
To meet and relate to a spirit owl, to be trampled (but not harmed) by a herd of running horses, to enter a cave of self-discovery, is nothing less than Luke Skywalker did in STAR WARS. Darth Vader and Obe Wan Kenobe called it "the old religion." It is, indeed! We have access to all consciousness, to all the old religions, and if it benefits us to use them, then by all means, let us do so and shout it from the rooftops, as Kelley has done, that this is something we can do! And if it heals us, by all means, let us do it!
God bless you in your work, Kelley.
As a person who does not relate to animal totems and has little knowledge of shamanism, I found this book very informative. Consciousness is big and we know little about it, really. In western culture, we do not recognize the validity of trance experiences, but all people of any spiritual faith know that spiritual experience can take MANY forms. Certainly some people have such experience more easily than others, and there are many different paths, as they say, to God.
Kelley's terrible childhood sexual abuse that drove her to seek healing as an adult is a topic to itself. We humans still live in a culture where pain, suffering, violence, and child abuse is accepted and is still a daily occurrence. To our horror and shame, it is even a large part of the entertainment industry. We as humans have a long way to go before we can call ourselves "civilized."
Kelley's detailed account of her trance experiences into the shamanic world are amazing but to me believable, especially after reading the Readers's Companion, which is a separate publication. She had shamanistic experiences even as a child, and clearly was born with this potential. The fact that she could use it to heal herself is wonderful, and that she is using it to help heal others is also wonderful.
To meet and relate to a spirit owl, to be trampled (but not harmed) by a herd of running horses, to enter a cave of self-discovery, is nothing less than Luke Skywalker did in STAR WARS. Darth Vader and Obe Wan Kenobe called it "the old religion." It is, indeed! We have access to all consciousness, to all the old religions, and if it benefits us to use them, then by all means, let us do so and shout it from the rooftops, as Kelley has done, that this is something we can do! And if it heals us, by all means, let us do it!
God bless you in your work, Kelley.
September 22, 2012
Gift of the Dreamtime is about one person's search to heal from childhood abuse. The novel's content is very hard to read--and I can only imagine how hard it would be to share something so personal with the world--but it is so well written that it almost reads like a fiction book.
GotD is a great book for anyone to read, espeically people coping with difficult situations--I found myself reading parts of the book when dealing with certain things, and the words have a very calming effect.
Though the book is probably written more for people looking for more insight into either childhood abuse or shamanism (both of which I really don't have much to do with), it speaks to everyone.
I bought the book for my Kindle, but will probably end up purchasing a hard copy in order to be able to lend it out to people who may need a dose of healing in their lives.
GotD is a great book for anyone to read, espeically people coping with difficult situations--I found myself reading parts of the book when dealing with certain things, and the words have a very calming effect.
Though the book is probably written more for people looking for more insight into either childhood abuse or shamanism (both of which I really don't have much to do with), it speaks to everyone.
I bought the book for my Kindle, but will probably end up purchasing a hard copy in order to be able to lend it out to people who may need a dose of healing in their lives.
July 6, 2013
The unique thing about the movie, "The Matrix" is that if one sees the movie with an open mind, while keep a question in place, a question for which one is searching for answers, the movie does provide the answers! I have never come across a similar movie or any product that opens up the mind in such a brilliant way till I read "Gift of the Dreamtime - Awakening to the Divinity of Trauma". I wanted to stop at times and bookmark the page. But how many times could I possibly do that? I will just have to read it again, and maybe sometimes in future, read it a few more times! Besides this incredible ability of the book to give answers, as long as one immerses themselves to the imagery in the book, the words, the thoughts etc., the book is indeed so magical! I would love to actually see this book being made into a movie!
August 31, 2012
“The walk of a Shaman isn’t always a smooth one.” Such truth was shared with me by a Shaman I was fortunate to meet a couple of years ago. New to Shamanism but not to spiritual work, I was fairly familiar with the concept of traveling through the darkness of our being before emerging, finally into the light of our inner truth, but never did I explore a path in which one is such an active participant. Reading Gift of a Dreamtime brought back memories and feelings of my meeting with the Shaman, but it also expanded my understanding of how following this path can lead to true healing, no matter how old the pain one carries might be. This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone interested in Earth-related spirituality, and also to those in search of a new approach to healing.
December 18, 2024
Ever since reading Aphrodite’s Daughters 30 years ago, which told about women’s sexual stories, I noticed the pattern that trauma could awaken psychic potential. Gift of the Dreamtime shows a woman’s path through trauma. This is a needed book in the world.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews