Walking through Darkness

“Walking Through Darkness is a wise and sensitive roadmap to navigating dark nights of the soul. Sandra and Llyn are excellent guides who help us step into our true power and polish our souls, even when life seems too difficult to endure. This heartfelt book offers a wealth of inspiration—its many personal stories, practices, and journeys are steeped in the healing power of nature and love.”
—Marci Shimoff, #1 NY Times bestselling author, Happy for No Reason and Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul
 
“Walking through the Darkness is the essential handbook for all potential alchemists who wish to transform their base egoic mind into the golden light of their spirit by working through life's challenges and embracing shamanic initiation. Life is a journey and a shamanic life is a path of many twists and turns. In the western world we are called to walk this road with little or no signposts, as the shaman elders of our communities no longer exist.
What can two teachers do when the dark clouds of initiation appear? How do they meet the challenges that their soul's path brings to each of them so that they can grow? Sandra and Llyn, teach us by example. They offer all of us, shamanic and spiritual practitioners alike, the tools and practices we need to meet the initiations that will take us through the darkness into the radiance of our spirit. In the process they encourage us to shed the old skin of the egoic conditioned world and the inter-generational trauma of many lifetimes.
This is a book grounded in reality, where the miracle has to be reclaimed through persistent spiritual work, observation, connection with nature and deep acceptance, rather than simply invoked.”
—Fotoula Adrimi, partner of The ISIS School of Holistic Health, teacher of shamanism and the Path of Isis, and the author of The Golden Book of Wisdom
 
“The insurmountable can be a passage to transcendence. The experience of a disease, a deep loss, or other profound stripping away of our usual ‘landmarks’ can be so painful and terrifying as to shatter all the illusions our ego has used to bulwark itself. In Walking through Darkness, Sandra Ingerman and Llyn Roberts have reminded us (as nurturing elders do) that it is in those terrifying times that we need to surrender to our own spirit who, accompanied by the magic of Nature, will guide our baby steps through the perilous passage. When we emerge transformed, we may have silvery scars, or other souvenirs from our time in the abyss, but will know that our rebirth required not only our own courage but awakening more fully to the wondrous illumination that underlies all.”
—Evelyn C. Rysdyk, author of Spirit Walking: A Course in Shamanic Power, The Norse Shaman, and Shamanic Creativity
 
 
“We have all known a time of darkness at midday, when we felt divorced from all the worlds, even bereft of the desire to live. From such a spiritual emergency, a new life can be birthed and can flourish. We don't have to do it alone, though we are required to become authors of meaning for our own lives. We can turn again to the Speaking Land, to the animal spirits, to our inner and higher guides, to a small community of seekers we can help to build. In their new book two wonderful shamanic teachers help us recognize the treasures of darkness. They encourage us to dance with the Trickster—that coyote energy that ensures our paths never run straight—and to grow our intuition and discernment. They call us to awaken to how crisis can be an opportunity for transformation. Go here for roadside assistance on your soul's journey.”
—Robert Moss, bestselling author of Conscious Dreaming, The Secret History of Dreaming, and Dreaming the Soul Back Home
 
“Sandra Ingerman and Llyn Roberts' book, Walking Through Darkness, is a must-read for anyone navigating a dark night of the soul. In this book, the authors use their personal stories, initiations, shamanic teachings, and nature-based tools to guide readers through times of deep suffering and loss. Sandra's personal experiences with shamanic initiation bring an authenticity to the work, with her sharing insight and wisdom about how to find inner spiritual strength when facing trials alone. The book is full of practical advice and inspiring stories, with examples from a wide range of animals, plants, and other beings in nature serving as teachers and healers. Overall, this book is a powerful reminder that periods of pain and loss can be initiations in disguise, leading to growth, transformation, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Highly recommend!”
—Renee Baribeau, Nautilus Award-winning author of Winds of Spirit: Ancient Wisdom Tools for Navigating Relationships, Health, and the Divine
 
 
“An exquisitely intimate and inspiring book, Walking through Darkness is a guide for developing relationships with our fellow beings of nature, and a tribute to the power of those relationships to help us weather dark times. Sandra Ingerman and Llyn Roberts empower us to lead ourselves through our most difficult periods. After reading their exceptional wisdom and experiencing their journeys and ceremonies, it’s easier to feel hope for our future as part of the family of nature.”
—Mara Bishop, MA, author of Shamanism for Every Day: 365 Journeys, and Shining Bright Without Burning Out: Spiritual Tools for Creating Healthy Energetic Boundaries in an Overconnected World, and creator of the Enatured™ method
 
 
“In shamanic traditions, wisdom is passed down from generation to generation to help us navigate life and the collective and personal struggles we might face. But most of us have lost the connection to a wisdom-lineage. Where can we turn to in times of intense tragedy or loss? Where are the elders who can impart to us not only their wisdom but their deep care and love? Sometimes in life, we go through intense tragedy or loss. We are visited by despair and feel as if we have lost our ability to navigate the storms. For me, the storms came as my father's absence, my mother's loss at age four, and my struggles with suicidal depression and addiction. I have received so much guidance from Sandra's teachings over the years, and with this powerful new book, Sandra and Llyn offer us refuge amidst the storm. They share their tremendous wisdom from their vast knowledge of the shamanic path and the intense initiations life has taken them through. This book brings deep teaching so needed in these times, given from the warm fireplaces of their hearts. If you are met with challenges, or you long for the healing wisdom of elders who have walked the path, this book is for you.”
—Roel Crabbe, international teacher on shamanism

“In times of darkness, having a sacred roadmap can lead us to the other side, and make a difference between lingering in suffering or marshaling the courage to brave a great initiation beloved elders Sandra and Llyn, share the challenges of their own spiritual emergence, and the tests we each must face to discover a new love for life. They show us how even in the darkest moments, we have the power to tap into nature’s wisdom and our own resilience to find the treasures along the journey. In today’s world of turmoil, we need this wisdom more than ever!”
—Marcela Lobos, author of Awakening Your Inner Shaman and The Sacred Andean Codes

“Walking Through Darkness is beautiful book of rich storytelling and powerful spiritual teachings from the elders. Sandra Ingerman and Llyn Roberts deliver immense wisdom through experience, journeys, and practices to introduce not only the archetypes, but the very medicine of the nature beings included. In sharing such profound personal stories of change and challenge these renowned Spiritual teachers illustrate how they have both moved through the shadowy territories we can sometimes find ourselves in. By sharing their experiences Walking Through Darkness brings not only perspective but also the beautiful reminder of how we can all better navigate during those dark nights of the soul. 
This is truly a book for our times. Whether looking for perspective, or currently walking through darkness I highly recommend this book be close at hand. Sandra and Llyn have delivered a collection of healing stories which feel quite like a fireside chat, combined with the practices, Walking Through Darkness brings us a light that shines right through.”
 —Amy Miranda, Author of What We’ve Forgotten, shamanic practitioner, and Creative Director of Lunch Inc.

“In Walking through Darkness, female shamanic elders Sandra Ingerman and Llyn "Cedar" Roberts shine the light of both their fierce strength and vulnerability as they show us how to walk through difficult changes and challenges. Rooted in their own experiences, they compassionately remind us to cultivate courage, meaning, and beauty by inviting in the allies of nature. Sandra and Llyn share their personal tools to develop intuition and open to the support of the spiritual allies that are always with and around us.”
 —HeatherAsh Amara, author Warrior Training Goddess and Awaken Your Inner Fire
 
“The Dark Night of the Soul is a poetic experience as it is an ominous one. Not a soul on the planet will make it from cradle to grave while inhabiting an earthly body, without experiencing it at least once if not several times. Navigating it is not an intuitive thing. Enter Llyn Cedar Roberts and Sandra Ingerman who have, through many combined years of metaphysical, emotional, spiritual, and physical learning, drawn for us all a roadmap. A gentle, loving, and guiding roadmap to knowing the Dark Night of the Soul and healing because of it. And no healing can occur without our connection to the natural world. This book is a gift.” 
 —Survivorman Les Stroud
 
“Sandra Ingerman and Llyn Cedar Roberts book, Walking Through Darkness is a profound gift. These two brilliant teachers masterfully weave personal stories with timely earth-based wisdom in a vulnerable and powerful way, creating a book that can serve as a hand to hold during the tough moments of life. Keep this book close to help you gracefully navigate life’s challenging moments. We will all walk through darkness, but now, thankfully, we can do it with the guiding light of this book.” 
 —Julia Plevin Oliansky, author of The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing: Finding Calm, Creativity, and Connection in the Natural World