Author Topic: Mary Dean Atwood  (Read 8379 times)

Offline studio929

  • Posts: 2
Mary Dean Atwood
« on: June 05, 2007, 08:15:55 pm »
I saw at an online retailer's site the book, Spiritual Healing: How to make your life work, by Mary Dean Atwood.  Here's the synopsis:

Early on, the author became aware that her experiences with nature could only be explained within the Native American spiritual framework. Based on what she has discovered, her book was written to help those undertaking the quest for increased knowledge, self-healing and discovery. In so doing, she writes of Native Diet, Herbs, Cosmology, Animal and Spirit Helpers, Rituals and various medicine forms

Just based on the synopsis, it sounds Nuage.  Anyone out there know about her?  At least she doesn't have the typical Nuage Indian name typical of authors selling books.

Offline debbieredbear

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 1458
  • I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Re: Mary Dean Atwood
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2007, 12:39:08 am »
Oh, gee, where to start. Well, number one, this woman is from England and I doubt she has ever been to this countery. I actually have seen this book more than once. One woman was teaching an "authentic Native American Moon Ceremony" from this book. This "ceremony" was a guided meditation "...now imagine the full moon anbove you. Now imagine that a golden drop of elixer is dripping from the moon onto your head..." (and my thought was "OMG!! The MOON is Peeing on me!!!")  This book is just cj\hoick full of nuage crap. Oh, and she does say that the "ceremony" was channeled by another English woman. But it's beeen sold at Barneds and Noble stores for more than 10 years. :(

Offline educatedindian

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4741
Re: Mary Dean Atwood
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2007, 02:29:01 pm »
I think it's pretty funny that she tries to prove she's "down" with Native people by saying "Ho!" I guess she misunderstood "Aho", not realizing she sounds like she's at a rap concert.

From a publisher's synopsis:

 "A self-help guide to the Native American spiritual growth process.... Readers are given directions on how to discover their own places of power, auras, power animals, healing powers, and other elements of personal spirituality"

Those are all the usual Nuage mistakes:

"The" Native American, thinking all NDNs have the same culture.

"Their own" spirituality, etc,as though the individual can be separated from their cultural context. Sometimes it seems like Nuagers only know four words, me, myself, I, and mine.

Belief in auras is not Native. It's cheesy paranormal stuff.

Power animals are Nuage, not Native, a misunderstanding of spirit guides that comes closer to being like a kid's belief in an invisible friend.

Self help is, well, from the self help movement, not Native traditions.

From a review on Amazon. I'm amazed they allowed it:

"Ridiculous, September 19, 2002
Reviewer: A reader
Popular with New Age Pagans and Wiccans. She teaches you to find your power animal and advocates crystal healing and speaking to guardian angels. She claims to be able to teach readers to analyze auras from touch. Readers are taught how to make their own Medicine Bundles and are told how to determine to whom they can show the bundles. Most of the book is pure Nuage, but Christianity is included as well. The author states that if you come across road kill, it was meant for you to find."

Is she seriously telling people to play with roadkill? Turn it into clothing, what? I'm not sure.

I get this picture in my head of someone trying to hold their nose while cleaning off the maggots and waving a crystal, all at the same time.

Offline debbieredbear

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 1458
  • I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Re: Mary Dean Atwood
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2007, 05:19:58 pm »
Quote
Is she seriously telling people to play with roadkill? Turn it into clothing, what? I'm not sure.

I get this picture in my head of someone trying to hold their nose while cleaning off the maggots and waving a crystal, all at the same time.

Not clothes, Al! REGALIA! LOL! Unless, of course, you find a porcupine.;)  Done that a few times and grossed out the California Highway Patrol. :) ;D

weheli

  • Guest
Re: Mary Dean Atwood
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2007, 05:31:44 pm »
LOL Debbie, been there too. ;D!!!!!!
                                                   Weheli

frederica

  • Guest
Re: Mary Dean Atwood
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2007, 05:38:00 pm »
Yep, they pass a law here you can pick up any roadkill now except Redtail hawks and owls (both protected), not sure who would pick up an owl anyway. Have to call Wildlife people for those. frederica

Offline debbieredbear

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 1458
  • I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Re: Mary Dean Atwood
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2007, 05:43:06 pm »
The law here allows people to pick up roadkill too. Except Raptors. But, most ndns I know would pick up a raptor if it suited their purpose and no one was around to tell. Had a wehite friend pick up a hawk in Wyoming for his Lakota girlfriend. But the Fish and Wildlife people were all over him for it. That won't happen again.