Rating: 
Summary: Not about Siberian Shamanism
Review: An interesting venture into Russian mysticism perhaps, not nothing to do with shamanism as practiced by Siberian peoples in past or present. Belovodia is a Russian concept, as is most of what Ms Kharitidi has to say. She seems to have spent virtually no time in the Altai, and people there say that shamanic initiation simply doesn't happen the way she says. She does no service to Siberian peoples by hanging her ideas onto them. The people of the Altai indeed have rich spiritual traditions worth getting to know.
Rating: 
Summary: yes! yes! yes!
Review: Beautifully written, thought-provoking, and a must-read for the spiritual seeker.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the focal point of life?
Review: Healer, Shaman, Hunter, Warrior, Magus, Messenger
or Executor...which are you?
This book reveals one woman's journey towards the
ancient religions of Siberia, believed by some to
be the cradle of all religion. The mountains of
Belovodia have many names and may be the sacred peaks of Buddhism, Zoroastrism and many others. In these mountains Olga Kharitidi found her spiritual identity and was taught about her inner being.
The author does not try to persuade you that you must believe all she says. It reports one woman's
journey of the heart and allows you to decide for
youself. More importantly, it tells how she has been able to blend her spiritual life with her practical life as a psychiatrist in a Siberian hospital. The blending and balance of spiritual and physical is a lesson that deserves our attention.
Rating:
Summary: Where is the focal point of life?
Review: Healer, Shaman, Hunter, Warrior, Magus, Messengeror Executor...which are you? This book reveals one woman's journey towards the ancient religions of Siberia, believed by some to be the cradle of all religion. The mountains of Belovodia have many names and may be the sacred peaks of Buddhism, Zoroastrism and many others. In these mountains Olga Kharitidi found her spiritual identity and was taught about her inner being. The author does not try to persuade you that you must believe all she says. It reports one woman's journey of the heart and allows you to decide for youself. More importantly, it tells how she has been able to blend her spiritual life with her practical life as a psychiatrist in a Siberian hospital. The blending and balance of spiritual and physical is a lesson that deserves our attention.
Rating: 
Summary: Skeptical, yet fascinated
Review: Here we go again, in the manner of Casteneda, Lynn Andrews, Mutant Message.... The eternal skeptic in me (and the mental health professional, too) wonders whether Dr. Olga Kharitidi simply became so worn down by her awful job -- dealing with sick, sick mental patients in a Russian hospital, an hour's bus ride away from her tiny house -- that her sub- or un-conscious created a lovely dream-legend capable of taking her away from all that. Now, she's an internationally acclaimed mystic. Good job, sub- or un-conscious! Yet, the mystic in me is titillated, and the stories and spirit-messages have a ring of possible - truth? Than again, so did The Hobbit. I'd like to find out what ethnologists, paleoanthropologists, etc. have to say about this possible Siberian source of ancient spiritual culture. Was the Garden of Eden in -- Siberia??! Or maybe, as Dr. Kharitidi hints near the end of the book -- the Pleiades? Let's stay tuned in for future um, broadcasts.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely one of my "top 10" favorites in spiritual books
Review: I am a serious searcher of truth. I could not put Ms. Kharitidi's book down. Now, I will be looking everywhere for books on Siberian Mysticism. What makes this so believable is the fact that she wrote this inside a very repressed Country. Her story came from her heart!!Belovodia has similarities to the fabled lands of Lemuria and Atlantis. I hope she writes a sequel. I would love to hear more about the Twin Spirit and about the Mummies connections to Belovodia etc. She has a message that is worth so much.
Rating:
Summary: My own limited opinion
Review: I am by no means a shaman, and I don't want to get caught in a debate over the authenticity of this book, but I can make a few comments that might be helpful. I had the opportunity to hear the author interviewed on the radio. I taped the interview and listened to it several times, both before and after I read the book. One thing that is not in doubt is that this woman is highly intelligent, articulate, and unaffected. She is an MD and also a psychiatrist, and whether you think much of those fields or not, a manipulative fool she is not. She was much more intelligent than the woman who was interviewing her. She was also completely spontaneous and candid about her experiences. Please note also that she remarks in the beginning of her book that she condensed her experience for the sake of better story flow. Also note that Umai did (does?) speak Russian. I found this book way way more believable than Castenada (and of more value!) but the final word on what is 'real' and 'not real' in the human experience will have to come from someone else.
Rating:
Summary: entering the circle
Review: I found the book very intresting .I don't belive evrething that is siad but it is a diffrent piont of view.
Rating:
Summary: Comments by a Siberian Shaman
Review: I give my opinion as a shaman trained in Buryat Mongolian shamanic traditions. While Ms. Kharitidi's book is the first popular book in the English language that handles the topic of Siberian shamanism, it is nevertheless not a true reflection of Siberian shamanic beliefs. The Altai share almost identical shamanic beliefs and customs with the Buryats and I found very little in this book that was familiar. I did find a lot of ideas drawn from contemporary Russian mysticism, which has nothing in common with Siberian shamanism. If one reads carefully one realizes that the author's contact with the shamaness Umai (I question this name because it is the name of the Siberian womb goddess and not a name given to human babies) is very limited--less that 24 hours--and they were unable to communicate because they had no language in common. The writer's supposed apprenticeship to the shaman is based on a series of dreams, not that I as a shaman discount the value of dreams, but this nevertheless seems to be a rather shaky basis on which to base her teachings. If you want to read a book that presents authentic Siberian shamanic beliefs and practices try Riding Windhorses by Sarangerel. You will learn very little about real Siberian shamanism if you read Dr. Kharitidi's book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read... Sometimes hard to get through
Review: I have been a little generous with four stars for this book. I would probably give it 3.5 stars, but that isn't an option. The reason being is that I think the material of the book is great! I really was intrigued by the ideas presented in the book and by Olga's spiritual transformation. But at times, I believed the setting; the desolate Siberian land, seemed to bore me a bit. I would give oneself a week to read it. It's a short book, but sometimes I needed to put it down and revisit it to fully take in the message of the book. I was especially intrigued with the idea of a Spirit Twin and Belovodia. Olga's dreams and journeys are a bit questionable, but what isn't when it is someone else's experience??? The plot of the book is as follows... Olga is a psychiatrist at a government run hospital. She happens onto a journey into the Altai mountains where she encounters a shaman and discovers some of her own shamanic powers. From there on she goes through many spiritual journies and discoveries.... finding out that she has a tremendous power of healing herself. The book is good... I would recommend it to anyone interested in reading about spirituality and the truth of life.
| 
