The Book of Ceremony: Shamanic Wisdom for Invoking the Sacred in Everyday Life

by Sandra Ingerman MA

We perform ceremonies to mark important events and celebrate holidays―yet our modern approach to ceremony only scratches the surface of its true potential. With The Book of Ceremony, shamanic teacher Sandra Ingerman presents a rich and practical resource for creating ceremonies filled with joy, purpose, and magic. "We are hungry to connect with more than what we experience with our ordinary senses in the material world," writes Sandra. "By performing ceremonies, you will find yourself stepping into a beautiful and creative power you might never have imagined." Weaving shamanic teachings together with stories, examples, and guiding insights, The Book of Ceremony • The elements of a powerful ceremony―including setting strong intentions, choosing your space, preparing ceremonial items, and dealing gracefully with the unexpected • Stepping into the sacred―key practices for leaving behind your everyday concerns and creating a space where magic can happen • Guidance for working alone, in community, and across distances with virtual ceremonies • Invoking spiritual allies―the power of working with the elements, the natural world, ancestor spirits, and the creative energy of the divine • Sacred transitions―including ceremonies for weddings, births, rites of passage to adulthood, funerals, honorable closure, and new beginnings • Ceremonies for energetic balance―healing and blessing, resolving sacred contracts, getting rid of limiting beliefs, creating Prayer Trees, and more • Life as a ceremony―how to infuse your entire life with ceremonial practice, from planting a garden to revitalizing your home or office to helping heal our planetThe Book of Ceremony is more than a "how-to" guide―it will inspire you to create original ceremonies tailored to your own needs and the needs of your community. When you invoke the sacred power of ceremony, you tap into one of the oldest and most effective tools for transforming both yourself and the world. As Sandra writes, "If you perform one powerful and successful ceremony for yourself, the principle of oneness ensures that all of life heals and evolves."

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Paganism, Self Help

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2018

Reviews

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Experiential Spirituality rather than just mere intellectual spirituality that is what this book is all about. How to integrate the language of dreams into our spiritual daily practices so that we can have communion with the deeper parts of our own soul and psyche. I greatly appreciate all of the author’s Insights and ideas she shares but also how through her own stories she is gently giving others permission to dare and experiment with their own spiritual curiosities. Great read, will reference again.

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra Ingerman, author of a dozen books on spiritual practices, is well-known for her inclusive, respectful books on spiritual growth. In this one, she focuses on ceremonies honoring rites of passage. What makes a ritual powerful is understanding--of nature, of our intentions, our selves, and the people we ask to share powerful times in our lives. Rituals include small and large celebrations, from birth and death to new home blessings, arriving in a new place and leaving and old home, coming of age, and simple thanks. There are lessons in how to write a prayer as well as how to speak it in a group, how to set intentions, and how to create rituals for special, sacred events.

Ingerman focuses on our connection with nature and practices that honor the portions of the earth that we involve in our rituals--lakes, forests, stones, streams. Encompassing them in ritual is sharing the earth, and her ritual instructions involve asking and thanking the surroundings for witnessing our ceremonies.

The book is clearly written. It's a wonderful guide for animists and those who want to move closer to nature as part of our lives.

[Lucia Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quote:

“You must commit to your own work to create a landscape of peace within yourself and express peace in your daily actions and choices.”

[Cailin O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book because it is small and packed with stories of how ceremonies can be prepared in any place and for many reasons. It is able to be applied to your life right away and also suggests that there are no rules or protocols, that our spirit helpers and intuition can lead us in creating ceremonies. This way of creating is even more beneficial and liberating than if we were to recite someone else’s protocols and script.

I used audible with this book and it is not Sandra Ingerman's voice, so that was a strange feeling because the reader had a different rhythm of speaking and emphasis so that some of the text did not flow as it should toward the meaning. It was minor, but I preferred reading it to myself instead.

[Ann T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Sounds True Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I was intrigued to read this book to learn more about Shamanic traditions and practices.
This is a wonderful book to teach the reader how to bring different ceremonies into their life.

I was so grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn more about ceremonies and the importance of creating opportunities in life for honouring special moments amd places.
Thank you for this ARC.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a solid foundation of shamanic ceremony possibilities from this book. I am seeing a gap in modern life where we miss creating meaning and honoring the transitions in life. I love having this as a guide to create a bit more of that.

I listened to this audiobook which was perfect for the short guided exercises. However, having a print version as a reference for the many suggested ceremonies would be helpful.

[Toofan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's too superficial repeating the same things but saying nothing about traditional ceremonies performed by Native Americans, Australian Aborigine ,etc.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read only for research, though I have to smile at myself for reading it since I'm so very far away from such belief--and smile at myself that I've only now discovered a shaman among my characters, who happens to be the protagonist himself.

I do salute Sandra Ingerman though for her sincerity, her belief, which made the book at least skimmable. She had some nice phrases that appealed to me in researching my play, especially the idea that if your ceremony involves oceans, forests, mountains, etc., you need to be near those. But if you cannot be near them, you can go there in your imagination, and "find a location in unseen realms". That's lovely. Her explanation of drumming and regalia were interesting--not a put-on show, but a means to enter the shamanistic mental state. Finally, she touched on something apt to my work, saying that we have to let a part of ourselves be willing to die--through loss--if we are going to be emerge from the ceremony renewed and reborn. Thus, it costs the shaman a "death" to help others. Quite apt.

[Jaime M · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard for me to write about this I think because I’m worried about the stigma of this kind of spirituality that seems like it’s taken from a variety of different cultures but at the same time I’m also appreciate of some of the talk about energy. How does one know these things for certain though? That the rituals that they make up actually work. Perhaps it’s more about making it feel better for one’s spirit and potentially within their real
life. I‘ll stick to my own Indigenous ceremonies.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra describes in detail the importance of ceremony, healing and community connection. Within the text Sandra provides step-by-step instructions on different kinds of ceremonies, for many events, as well as adequately stating that ceremonies are fluid and changeable, open to creative elements. This book is one of my favorites and is well worth the read!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot of really great advice in this book to help you create your own sacred ceremonies. From super simple visualization/meditation to elaborate ceremonies that include circles, fire, effigies, drumming and chanting (and everything in between).

I really enjoyed listening to this one and I'm hoping to eventually purchase a physical copy to reference.

[Dana Mitra]

a list of the types of ceremonies.

I was hoping for more specific ideas but the main gist is that you create the container, and be intentional about it.

Plus three is a discussion of ceremony in a range of shamanic cultures and some basic elements that might be included--fire, water, earth, wind. Transmutation Rattling. etc.

a useful beginner book

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sandra Ingerman is a contemporary shaman and in this book gives many ideas on how to incorporate ceremony into your daily life. A lovely companion to any library on contemporary shamanism. Practical, filled with colourful examples and ideas for ceremonies. Well crafted.

[Eve Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible version on a flight. Short and jam packed with information, I'll probably listen again. If you are interested in Shamanic work, some of the suggested activities and journeys would be of interest.

[Shannon S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written (though very repetitive, as the themes are very tightly bound together). Reflects my own personal practice very well and is very insightful in the ways of love and light. Would recommend to those searching for spiritual understandings of all kinds.

[Susie Hindle Kher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this book and the many ideas for ceremony that I can use to honor and bless everything in my life.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful description of how the sacred can be incorporated simply and creatively into the every day. Makes me want to study shamanism traditions more.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it repetitive but still about exactly what you expect. Written nicely and consciously, flows easily.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read

Sandra guides you through ceremony work with grace and knowledge. If you are a shamanic practitioner or just someone starting, this is a great book.

[Sandra Cruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

For readers looking for information on shamanic ceremonies:
My Review

[Garry Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I'm reading it a second time. I should have taken notes.

[Mary-ann Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ways to heal and honor relationships with self, others and the earth. Very nice!

[Angel Andújar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. It helped me to understand rituals.

[Jennifer Sacasa-wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I do not follow a Shamanic path, I have long been a fan of Sandra Ingerman’s work and fold much of her teachings into the practice and teachings I offer to my coven mates and students. I particularly enjoyed this book as a reader friendly and generic template for incorporating ceremony into any practice.

The Book of Ceremony by Sandra Ingerman reminds us that our focus is often distracted as we attempt to recreate or analyze ancient teachings and wisdom and that the most important piece in ceremony is our intention and desire to affect change. The approach to ceremony that Sandra uses guides the reader towards healthy expressions of emotions that could otherwise become more negative energy feeding situations in which we feel helpless.

The book is divided into four parts beginning with the basics of what is considered a “ceremony”; moving to specific types of ceremony; work to create balance within ourselves and the energy that moves through us and concluding with practical application of ceremony and creating your own definition of what these actions enable within your practice.

One of the key points brought to light early in the book is the difference between the terms of “Ritual” and “Ceremony”. The author uses her perspective of ritual being more repetitive in nature, whereas a ceremony is designed for specific outcome and at a specific time. I don’t fully agree with this definition as I believe that the two overlap in a myriad of ways, however, I believe this to be a good starting point for those exploring the use of “sacred action” filled with intention and hoping to create something new from what is acted upon.

The sections throughout the book, cover all of the information anyone would need to begin crafting ceremony and weaving it into their specific practice. Altars, tools, music, preparation of yourself, seeking Spirit guides, ancestors and more are presented in a useable way and offer both background and reasoning behind the selection offered.

I especially liked reading the section, “Turning Points and Rites of Passage”. It is richly illustrated with actual ceremonies that have been created and executed that were powerful examples of what can be accomplished in sharing the gifts of ceremony as a working tool.

All in all, this is an excellent book to begin the process of aligning yourself more deeply with your inner wisdom and intention-filled practice in honoring the sacred in the work you undertake. To quote Sandra…

“In shamanic teachings, every spiritual and sacred act we perform is a ceremony. When we recognize the sacredness of each moment, miracles happen.”

http://paganpages.org/content/2018/11...

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago I attended a memorial service for a young woman who had not survived her depression. The gathering was a very small group of family and friends who met in her father's yard. Her father gave a rambling, angry, tormented monologue, shouting through it until he burst into sobs and couldn't go on. I felt keenly the lack of ritual, understanding for the first time how helpful a ceremony can be for acknowledging significant life events. Ritual acknowledges emotional expression and provides a container for it--one that might overflow, but that allows a portal to comfort. This is the value of The Book of Ceremony. It provides accessible ceremonies for a variety of human concerns, though I think its primary audience will be those who understand the benefits of shamanic practice.

[Zac Sigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. I have some ideas for how I want to release, give thanks, etc.

[Ciska Gricius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring

[Lovely Loveday]

The Book of Ceremony is a life-transforming read that reminds you that rituals and ceremonies are drawbridges along the path we take in life. Where the ordinary can evolve into the sacred. An interesting guide with easy to follow directions that will help you confidently prepare, plan, and execute rituals and ceremonies for all circumstances. A read that is sure to intrigue those who have just begun their spiritual path. The Book of Ceremony is a book that will stay with you long after reading and one that you will revisit often.