The Body of Myth: Mythology, Shamanic Trance, and the Sacred Geography of the Body

by J. Nigro Sansonese

Long ago the ancestors of the Greeks, Romans, and Hindus were one people living on the Eurasian steppes. At the core of their religion was the "shamanic trance," a natural state but one in which consciousness achieves a profound level of inner awareness. Over the course of millennia, the Indo-Europeans divided and migrated into Europe and the Indian subcontinent. The knowledge of shamanic trance retreated from everyday awareness and was carried on in the form of myths and distilled into spiritual practices--most notably in the Indian tradition of yoga. J. Nigro Sansonese compares the myths of Greece as well as those of the Judeo-Christian tradition with the yogic practices of India and concludes that myths are esoteric descriptions of what occurs within the human body, especially the human nervous system, during trance. In this light, the myths provide a detailed map of the shamanic state of consciousness that is our natural heritage.

This book carries on from the works of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell to show how the portrayal of consciousness embodied in myth can be extended to a reappraisal of the laws of physics; before they are descriptions of the world, these laws--like myths--are descriptions of the human nervous system.

Genres: Mythology, Anthropology, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Chris Healey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at a second hand book shop, prior to which I’d not heard of the title nor it’s author. The subtitle & synopsis were sufficient to capture my imagination, since mythology, meditation, shamanism & the body are core interests of mine.

My enthusiasm for the topic carried me through a fascinating but sometimes frustrating & intermittently baffling read that ultimately took me a couple of months to finish. The sheer scope & depth of the material covered - from human physiology to physics & philosophy - all within the broad context of mythology & yoga is presented in great detail. Amongst the detail however I found several compelling sections which lucidly clarified & deepened my understanding of the authors clever synthesis of ancient & modern ideas of consciousness, meditation & trance.

A worthwhile read for anyone who wants to deepen & broaden their understanding of meditation & trance, especially if those interests are accompanied with an enthusiasm for European or Indoeuropean mythology in the broadest possible sense. I was surprised to find the section covering Christianity full of insights & ideas I hadn’t even faintly considered before. A lot to digest, but ultimately rewarding. Reading this has already had an impact on my appreciation of my practice of meditation & trance, despite not being instructional in any kind of specific practice.

[Mahmoud Awad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notable claims:
Greco-Roman deities and mythological cycles describe respiration and interoception. The labors of Hercules are really twilight-language to describe progressive jhana absorption. Hercules is a yogi. The Iliad is a terma. Druids and Celtic head-hunters were rishis, aware of a cosmic map in the bones and inlets of human skulls.
...Big if true. Sansonese, as he makes no effort to hide, is himself a tantrist arguing in support of an underlying tantric current beneath exoteric religious tradition, especially the hellene mystery schools which fed the monastic tradition of Orthodox Christianity. He defines the role of Greco-Roman deities as comparable, or equivalent, to the tantric symbolism of Hindu deities in the accomplishment of yogic exercises.

While there are several, perhaps even valid parallels between Greek "navel-gazing", Orthodox hesychasm, Hindu tantra, the pagan rites of the British isles, and the I Ching, among other things, the scholarly rigor required to lucidly unify them is not presented here.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is currently blowing my mind...I love it!

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Body of Myth: Mythology, Shamanic Trance, and the Sacred Geography of the Body examines the notion that much of the body of mythology, religion, and oral tradition has been created as a mnemonic about breath as a means to transcend human reality. This version of breath is akin to Buddhist awareness meditation and to trance of various earth and shamanic belief systems. The author explores a variety of Greek and Roman mythological elements as well as Christian Biblical accounts to illustrate the common underlying symbolism held within these stories and found within the basic tenets of these belief systems.

I found this book absolutely fascinating, very well researched, and full of though provoking information. I do not believe, however, that everyone will find this book as interesting as the work is set in standard textbook format. Moreover, in order to understand much of the book, the reader should be well acquainted with basic theories of the anthropology of religion and mythology as well as basic Buddhist philosophy. The reader should also have some basic knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology and literature as well as some knowledge of Christian Biblical accounts.