Native Wisdom for White Minds: Daily Reflections Inspired by the Native Peoples of the World

by Anne Wilson Schaef

Book Overview

You don't have to be white to have a white mind. What is a white mind? As Anne Wilson Schaef learned during her travels throughout the world among Native Peoples, anyone raised in modern Western society or by Western culture can have a white mind. White minds are trapped in a closed system of thinking that sees life in black and white, either/or terms; they are hierarchical and mechanistic; they see nature as a force to be tamed and people as objects to be controlled with no regard for the future. This worldview is not shared by most Native Peoples, and in this provocative book, Anne Wilson Schaef shares the richness poured out to her by Native Americans, Aborigines, Africans, Maoris, and others. In the words of Native Peoples themselves, we come to understand Native ideas about our earth, spirituality, family, work, loneliness, and change. For in every area of our lives we have the capacity to transcend our white minds--we simply need to listen with open hearts and open minds to other voices, other perceptions, other cultures. Anne Wilson Schaef often heard Elders from a wide variety of Native Peoples say, "Our legends tell us that a time will come when our wisdom and way of living will be necessary to save the planet, and that time is now." Anyone ready to move from feeling separate to a profound sense of connectedness, from the personal to the global, will find the path in this mind-expanding, deeply spiritual book.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345394054
• ISBN13: 9780345394057
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: One World
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

This book is great!

I really like this book. I am a European-American and learned a lot about what Native people think. It is not a traditional calming meditation book. It is very challenging at times and I highly recommend it.

A lot of wisdom

A "MUST", If you don't read it, you will miss something in your life. There is a lot to learn