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Summary: of water and the spirit: ritual,magic,and initiation in the
Review: I read a lot of book covering active spirituality application(Gopi Krishna, Byron Katie, Dan Millman, Ramana Maharshi), M.Malidoma Somé is propably the only one author that i read and read again is books. Honesty, love, expressive writing life transformation and very easy to understand is spiritual ascension, his book are load of pure emotion. You could read it with soft voice to childreen as a tale story and with mature attitude reading will provoque a quiet and freezing eyes on a adult audience. About a subject very hard to be objective and analytic, M.Somé make it an easy way to feel in your flesh and to your conscious and inconscious a path to realize yourself. GREAT BOOK!!!!
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Summary: An engrossing tale.
Review: I was challenged to shed my narrow view of spirituality, and reality for that matter. I feel much more open to other forms of communion with the Creator. Mr. Some has wisdom worth sharing.
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Summary: enchanting
Review: In the recent years there has been a surge of interest in indigenous tribal life and practices, as Western peoples start to feel the stirrings of their own indigenous tribal souls and go looking for answers to those who still possess the connection with the Land and the Spirit. While a lot has been published about Native American (both North and South), Tibetan, Altaic, Celtic etc. tribal life, rather little is known about Africa. Malidoma Some's book therefore provides a welcome and highly inspiring contribution. With this book Malidoma ('Be Friends With the Enemy') creates a bridge into a world where a person's life is linked inextricably to the breathing of his village and where his destiny interlocks with that of his ancestors, his children and the rhythms of nature. It is a world imbued with meaning; the Dagara share it with tree and animal spirits, with supernatural entities (the kontomble, the "star people") and with ancestors who provide guidance and support. Malidoma also addresses topics of universal importance to all of us. What is a complete human being? Why does one need to be "initiated" into living in order to be "real"? How do we awaken and use all the resources stored in the "inner museum of our being"; what is the role of mystery and awe in the unfolding of our destinies and how does one learn to become available to them? The book is written along the lines of ancient storytelling, and in a flowing delicate prose which radiates human warmth and respect for life. MS does a great job in depicting the Dagara as a spiritually aware people still attuned to their roots and their land. I understand that now, after his father's death, Malidoma has returned to Africa (temporarily abandoning his privileged and lucrative position within the Western "shamanic circuit") to assume his duties as a leader of his clan and as a mediator between the worlds that his people still remember and give homage to. He is a savy man who demonstrated to us all that befriending the enemy brings gifts to all involved in the process as it combines and integrates different yet complementary pools of knowledge. Myself I listen with deep appreciation and respect as the Dagara sing: I want to be what I know I am,
And take the road we always
Forget to take.
Because I heard the smell
Of the things forgotten
And my belly was touched.
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Summary: Of Water and the Spirit
Review: Kidnapped from his home by white Christian brothers who brutalise him as part of his 'training' to become a priest, Malidoma describes his amazing journey back to his home village in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The only way he can be truly accepted as one of his people - the Dagara - is to undergo a dangerous and possibly deadly initiation. The second half of the book illustrates the poetic, mythical and very real ordeal Malidoma undergoes in order to truly return home. This powerful, moving book illustrates how African traditions are under threat and how we must learn to live harmoniously with people who are different from us - even the 'stranger and enemy'.
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Summary: Astounding Parallels With the Afro-American Journey
Review: Malidoma's life alone was a mini-representation of our entire experience as Afro-americans. He was kidnapped as a child from his Dagaran village and raised in a Christian missionary school. His own father was somewhat responsible for his kidnapping, because against the will of the elders, his father became friends with a Christian pastor and allowed him into the village (sound familiar?). One day, the pastor came and grabbed Malidoma without a word and took him to the missionary school (he was stolen, but he had access to the village...who's to blame? Sounds like the current debate :). Malidoma was subjected to all types of abuse as he was force to think as a European. There were European AND African teachers taking part in the brain-washing (sound familiar?). He was put into quarters with African boys from all over...many didn't even speak his native tongue (sound familiar?). As he and his new friends became older...they started to become more aware of their situation and the oppression. They remembered the pain and suffereing of the past and became rebellious. Although they had a small union, most of the other boys were too afraid to fight and some were even convinced that the Euro-education they received although through force, was a blessing that placed them above their "inferior" past (!). One day Malidoma struck out against a preist during class and ran away from the mission. He managed to walk nearly 300 miles back to his village that he wasn't even sure existed anymore. I was a long and HARD journey (!) and he finally arrived...only to realize just how "white" he had become (!). He was no longer a Dagaran...BUT fortunately his elders decided to give him a chance. He was allowed to risk his life in Dagaran initiation (VERY interesting part of the book) and he survived, reborn as a Dagaran. He still retained the European part engrained in him...he couldn't help this, but his wise elders saw usefulness in this. They ordered him to live outside of the village in the white world and to serve as a bridge of knowledge between the two worlds. Malidoma currently holds a Ph.D. and lives here in America. He holds many seminars and his life mission is to "fight" the battle between the Old and New world by teaching New-worlders the importance of ancestors and rituals. Malidoma literally means "To befriend the enemy". This book is a must-read. Although I have written a summary here...it does not even scratch the surface. I just touched upon the most memorable parallels..there are many more.
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Summary: This story will have you captivated.
Review: Of Water and the Spirit is the type of book that someone looks for if he/she wants to change his/her life forever. Some uses vivid imagery and truthful commentary to make a complex story seem simple. The introduction is a great story within itself! Some's world of magic and mysticism is one that will make it seem as if the reader can recreate the rituals for personal spiritual transformation. This book is also great for rites of passage organizations here in the U.S. Read this book (and recommend to others) so that the world can see why Malidoma got his name!
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Summary: A gift generous gift for the spirit.
Review: The book is a wonderful reminder for anyone who remembers, believes, and works to receive all of God's promises for humankind.
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Summary: Sublime
Review: There are many of us in-between Africans for whom the mindless runaway train of Western living has failed. After shunning our pasts, our land, our blackness and our ancestors, no matter how hard we may have tried to lose ourselves in foreign ideaologies, there's still an emptiness inside. Thank God that Malidoma appeared. When I read this book a few years ago, whatever complexes lingered in me about my African-ness flew out the window. I have grown tired of en vogue directionless movements that exist almost only for the purpose of allowing individuals to feel good - in the guise of spiritual growth - without the necessary psychological catharsis. Thank God I'm an African woman, albeit an angry one. My anger and consternation increases everyday when I see the continuous exploitation and decimation of my people and our continent. But more than that, I am angered by the fact that so many Africans seem oblivious to the status quo and aren't interested in finding out what role we have played in the destruction of our race and home. A people will always be what they have always been. We Africans need to realise once and for all that spiritual awareness will never come from losing ourselves in another's ways. Find out who you are and where you come from. Go back to your source. Because surely, what have we gained from the West that is so much more meaningful than the knowledge of who we really are? May Malidoma keep helping us.
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Summary: Riveting autobiographic tale; beautiful and ghastly visions
Review: Things Malidoma experienced as a young boy around the time of his grandfather's death and subsequent funeral make Carlos Casteñeda's and Lynn Andrews' 'accounts' seem rather sanitized, maybe even contrived (especially evident in the case of Andrews). Plus the man is far more of a poet, a seer and a deep philosophical thinker than these others. You'll not find a better writer on matters mystical and religious probably anywhere, at least not in the 'confessional/autobiographical' literature. Then again, herein are so many quotable passages that you could meditate on to form the beginnings of a new personal philosophy, it's really quite stunning. And it all seems like it equally extends from your own body and heart. This is in contradistinction, say, to a well-written but rather dry and compartmentalized account such as J. S. Danquah's 'The Akan Doctrine of God'*, which is more meant for those who enjoy the scholarly treatise, but might never wish to imagine themselves venturing into village life. Malidoma was kidnapped by the local priest a couple of days after his father was installed as clan leader, soon after his grandfather's death. He was only 4 years old. He does not pull any punches in detailing the horrible physical and emotional abuse he suffered at the hands of these churchly personages, who made him and other young kidnapees and orphans total slaves to their colonialist/catechumenical education system. After over 16 years of this, the young man escaped and managed to walk back to his village over a hundred miles away. The remainder of the book is a very detailed and intense re-telling of selected experiences he was party to during his subsequent clan initiation. This constitutes the last 100 pages or so of the book. I can't begin to express how astonishing are the experiences, the images, emotions etc. represented on these pages. Suffice to say that the man is an absolute wizard at using the English language. Carlos Casteñeda and especially Lynn Andrews seem like comic book literacy after you've dipped even a little bit into Malidoma. I met Mr. Somé briefly at a Sun Bear Medicine Wheel Gathering a number of years ago; his personality is every bit as engaging as is his writing. His was a kind of quiet charisma, extending from which is an amazing, almost madcap sense of humor. You feel that his energy is entirely sincere, and that there's far more there than meets the eye. You can feel it, and yes, 'almost' begin to see into it, and with it. If Nick Black Elk had written his own book rather than having his texts filtered through John C. Neidhardt, it likely would have approached the book-length intensity we find here. Then again I read 'Black Elk Speaks' over 30 years ago; Neidhardt's account might seem much greater at this point of my own life journey. * the Akan peoples, actually a different cultural group, lived a hundred or so miles southeast, in Ghana.
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Summary: Soul Retrieval Par Excellence!
Review: This book brought me to places of wonder that I vaguely remember as a child. Even though my upbringing was western and dramatically different, there were times where I found myself strongly identifying with his experiences. I look to his story as a model of how to function in the world with integrity. A beautifully written story of bringing one's soul fully into incarnation. I was deeply touched and moved.
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