ABOUT HANK WESSELMAN, PhD
Research paleoanthropologist Hank Wesselman is one of those rare cutting edge scientists who truly walks between the worlds. He did his undergraduate work, as well as his Masters Degree, in Zoology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then went on to receive his doctoral degree in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. A native New Yorker, he has spent much of his life working among traditional tribal peoples, primarily in Africa and Polynesia. He served in the US Peace Corps in the 60's, living among people of the Yoruba Tribe in Nigeria for two years. For the past 30 years, he has conducted research with an international group of scientists, exploring eastern Africa's Great Rift Valley in search of answers to the mystery of human origins. During this time, he has worked alongside such worthies as Dr. Don Johanson, Lucy's discoverer; Professor Tim White, whose expeditions have been featured in several TIME magazine cover stories (the most recent: 7-23-2001), as well as members of the famous Leakey family. He is also a shaman in training, now in the 27th year of his apprenticeship.
His books: SPIRITWALKER: MESSAGES FROM THE FUTURE(Bantam, 1995), MEDICINEMAKER: MYSTIC ENCOUNTERS ON THE SHAMAN'S PATH (Bantam, 1998), and VISIONSEEKER: SHARED WISDOM FROM THE PLACE OF REFUGE (Hay House, 2001) form an unusual trilogy focused upon a series of altered state experiences that began spontaneously out in the bush of Africa and document his investigations into a hidden reality that most of us have heard about, but few have experienced directly. In his explorations of these inner worlds, Hank may have also provided us with a glimpse into the possible evolutionary future of humanity. Combining the sober objectivity of a trained scientist with a mystic's passionate search for deeper understanding, his most recent book VISIONSEEKER also contains revelations of the generally secret teachings of the Hawaiian kahunas. Larry Dossey MD has described Hank Wesselman as an expert guide who fully realizes that he is playing with scientific and spiritual dynamite.
ABOUT JILL KUYKENDALL, RPT
Jill is a registered physical therapist, as well as a minister of The Church of the Sacred Earth. She has worked within the standard Western medical paradigm for over 25 years, often in an advisory role to bring transpersonal medicine and its practices to the healthcare community, practitioners and patients alike. For five years prior to leaving California in 2007, she facilitated a Women's Shamanic Drumming Circle for personal growth and community development. Jill co-authored *Spirit Medicine: Healing in the Sacred Realm* with her husband, Hank Wesselman (Hay House publisher, 2004) and is on the faculty of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. Jill is currently living and farming in South Kona, Hawaii and in private practice at the Honauanau Healing Center, with a specialty in the transpersonal healing modality generally known as Soul Retrieval.
Among the indigenous peoples of the world, it is generally understood that traumatic life experiences can result in the fragmentation of our inner, vital essence or soul, and the subsequent loss or disassociation of parts of the self often results, a phenomenon generally known as 'soul loss'. Among the traditionals, soul loss is regarded as the primary cause of serious illness and premature death, yet curiously, it is not even mentioned in our Western medical textbooks, and our contemporary physicians are often at a complete loss at recognizing it as well as knowing how to reverse its effects.
Soul loss often occurs in response to severe life traumas such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, a molestation experience during childhood or being ruthlessly teased, a bitter divorce, a shocking betrayal, a sexual assault, a surgery, or a terrible car accident, to name just a few. The post-traumatic stress syndrome that was experienced by military veterans from Viet Nam and Operation Desert Storm is a classic example of soul loss. Yet soul loss can also be the result of a very subtle troubling experience, so personal to an individual at their perceptual level that no one else would know that a "trauma" had occurred. This is often the case with early childhood soul loss in which there has not been an overt trauma, yet the person feels fragmented in their emotional and psychological realities.
Soul loss is a life-coping mechanism in which the dissociated soul parts leave, carrying the burden of the pain, shock, or extreme emotion, or the memory of the trauma which may be simply unbearable to the sufferer at the time it occurs. Symptoms of soul loss frequently manifest as feelings of being fragmented, of not being all there; blocked memory or not being able to remember parts of one's life; a sudden onset of apathy or listlessness, or a lack of joy in life; the inability to feel love for others or receive love from another, often resulting in the sense of being emotionally flat-lined. The loss of these parts of the self manifests frequently as despair, as suicidal tendencies and/or addictions, or most often--depression.
Among the traditional peoples, those medicinemakers who specialize in soul retrieval work are aided and assisted by their spiritual allies, tracking the lost soul parts, finding them, and returning them to the person who has lost them, restoring the individual's soul to its original, undistorted state. And in the process, the person's vital essence returns as well, an experience that they frequently experience as life-changing. This is ultimately accomplished with the willing participation of the client in creating a sincere call for this work, as well as integrating their soul parts back into their overall vital essence.
If you are interested in contacting Jill regarding Soul Retrieval, please contact her at
jk (at) sharedwisdom.com
Descriptions of Presentations & Workshops
by Hank Wesselman
Long before the rise of our state level societies, our indigenous ancestors discovered powerful methods for mastering the capabilities of the human body-mind-spirit complex. Today, there is a resurgence of interest in the ancient, time-tested ways of the shaman for entering mystical states of consciousness for healing and problem solving. Shamanism has emerged as a major thrust of the modern mystical movement.
SPIRITWALKER: CORE SHAMANISM--An introductory weekend experiential workshop in which the classic method of shamanic journeywork is taught. Utilizing the way of the shaman, we connect with the inner levels of reality, awareness and experience to find our spirit helpers and teachers, those inner sources who are intimately connected with our life purpose, and who provide us with power, protection, knowledge and support. The weekend concludes with a healing ritual.
SPIRIT MEDICINE: SHAMANIC HEALING--An introductory one day workshop in which we examine the nature of health, illness and healing from the perspective of the indigenous peoples. This experiential event includes an overview of the three classic causes of illness and the four traditional levels of healing. The afternoon concludes with a healing ritual.
THE MYSTICAL NATURE OF THE SELF--A weekend experiential workshop in which participants explore the three principle aspects of the self, the nature of reality, as well as the nature of the soul cluster from the prespective of the Hawaiian kahuna mystic. We also focus on the aumakua, the immortal, ancestral spiritual aspect of the self and examine its relationship with the physical body and the energy body with relation to healing and personal evolution.
ANCESTRAL SPIRITS--A weekend experiential workshop in which participants utilize the principles of core shamanism to reconnect with their ancestral spirits to further the well-being of the self and the family. We will be reconnecting with the ones who function as protectors and guardians as well as teachers. The gathering will include medicinework specifically oriented toward ancestral healing and will conclude with a healing ritual.
VISIONSEEKER RETEATS
The week-long Visionseeker retreats include a perspective derived from the Hawaiian kahuna tradition in which knowledge of the personal soul cluster, as well as an expanded understanding of the nature of reality, forms the foundation. These are truly life-changing events, revealing why the rediscovery of shamanism has emerged as a major thrust in the current spiritual reawakening sweeping the Western world.
VISIONSEEKER LEVEL ONE: Shamanism and the modern mystical movement --This retreat includes elements of the three weekend workshops, but in greater depth. We will utilize the classic shamanic journey method to establish connections with our spirit helpers and teachers, ancestral spirits, and possibly descendants. We will begin to examine the nature of health, illness, and healing from the perspective of the traditional shaman, and the week will conclude with a powerful healing ritual. This workshop provides a clear introduction for those less familiar with the shaman's path and will enhance the practice of more experienced inner travelers.
VISIONSEEKER LEVEL TWO: Spirit Medicine --In the Western world today, interest in complimentary and alternative therapies is on the rise, and increasing numbers of healthcare practitioners and laypersons alike are discovering the ease with which the healing modalities pioneered by the indigenous peoples can be learned and practiced. At the core of this week's work lies an in depth cross-cultural consideration of the nature of illness, healing, and healthcare, in which participants will gain valuable experience in the practice of spirit medicine. We will expand our connections to our inner sources of wisdom and power, deepen our contacts with our spiritual healing masters, experience the initiatory phenomenon of spiritual dismemberment, work with the process of shamanic extraction, and Jill will provide us with her unique approach to soul retrieval.
VISIONSEEKER LEVEL 3: Cosmology --This 5 day retreat will be focused primarily upon investigative shamanic fieldwork into the sacred dimensions where all mysteries, great and small, may become known. Our connections with our oversoul, as well as our cosmic committee, will be deepened and broadened, fine-tuning our ability to do divination work among other things. In our explorations of the geography of the Upper Worlds, we will attempt to learn more about the destiny of souls, as well as those localities where the most creative work of souls is accomplished. In the process, each may find enhanced connection with the benevolent forces who are poised to help us through the coming times of change and societal transformation. We will also address the issue of authentic initiation.
The Visionseeker 2 and 3 workshops will be most useful to those who have previously taken Visionseeker 1 as they form a continuum with VS1 focused upon the personal self, VS2 upon the social self (who is ofservice), and VS3 upon the cosmic self. If in doubt, please contact Hank or Jill before registering.
Egypt, Africa
A Spiritual Sojourn in Egypt: the Land of Ptah
Nov 29 - Dec 12, 2009
Please join Jill and me for an event that may be quite extraordinary. For more information, go to SharedWisdom.com
PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS TRIPS TO EGYPT:
MODERN MYSTICAL MOVEMENT
By Hank Wesselman
It is no news to anyone in the Western World that increasing numbers of people are leaving our mainstream religions in droves. What is news is that this is not an atheistic movement. Quite the contrary. A wide-spread spiritual reawakening is taking place--one that is cutting across socioeconomic levels of achievement and status, one that is transcending cultural, political, and ethnic boundaries as well.
This social movement is intensely democratic and appears to be made up of people who hold a set of beliefs and values that differ from those of the general public. This new belief complex is quietly, yet definitively, gaining acceptance among increasing numbers of well-informed and well-connected individuals, many of whom are in professional and social positions from which they can influence the larger society's ideas and trends.
The number of people involved is not known with certainty, but 14 years of social research in the United States by demographer Paul Ray, PhD., has shown that more than 50 million Americans may fall into this category, representing more than 25% of the adult population. This is not a small number, and it appears to be growing. Ray's analysis suggests that we Westerners have arrived at a point in our history in which our prevailing mythologies are not working so well any more. The 50 million among us know, without being told, that it is time to create a 'new story', a new cultural myth, in which we synthesize a whole new set of ways of seeing ourselves and our society, as well as our place in the greater scheme of things.
Ray's survey has revealed that the citizens involved are socially-concerned, environmentally-aware, and spiritually-focused creative people, who are carriers of more positive ideas and values than in any previous period of history. The ever-increasing numbers of these 'cultural-creatives' know with absolute certainty that if we continue to do business as usual, Western Civilization may well collapse, taking the rest of the world with it. This awareness is producing a growing sense of urgency, an existential angst, accompanied by an insistence on social, political, and economic reform that will benefit everyone, not just the powerful and the privileged.
Anthropologists might call this a new kind of cultural revitalization movement and observe that such a shift in the dominant cultural pattern of a society happens only once or twice in a thousand years. This one is occurring during a period of ever-accelerating social change, enabled by a high technology and a world-wide communication system unlike any ever seen before. This suggests that the shift has already spread far beyond the boundaries of the Western World, and may, in fact, be happening on a planetary scale.
Are you a member of this movement? My book VISIONSEEKER presents a profile of this growing community of worthies, as well as a partial list of their core beliefs and values: Here it is with a footnote or two...
CORE BELIEFS
1.The belief that everything and everyone is part of a pattern and thus interconnected.
--His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has put it this way: 'Nowadays, whatever happens in one part of the world will eventually effect people and places far away. Therefore, it is essential to treat each major problem (and social movement), right from their inception, as a global concern. It is no longer possible to emphasize, without destructive repercussions, the national, racial, ideological, (or spiritual) barriers which differentiate us. Within the context of our new interdependence, self-interest clearly lies in considering the interests of others.' (from The Way Ahead, eds. Eddie and Debbie Shapiro, Element Books, 1992)
2. The belief in the existence of an alternate reality, often referred to as the 'other world', the 'spirit world', the 'dreamtime', or simply, 'the sacred' by the traditional peoples. Modern mystics often refer to it as 'nonordinary reality'.
--This is a core concept shared by many quantum physicists and zen buddhists as well. In our workshops, we do 'fieldwork' in these inner worlds, investigating the nature of the 'nonordinary dimensions of reality'.
3.The belief in the ability of some individuals to achieve transcendent states of consciousness in which it becomes possible to enter into this alternate reality for problem-solving and the healing of self and others. This belief is usually accompanied by a strong desire to personally experience the alternate reality.
--Today, there is increasing interest among Westerners in learning how to systematically alter consciousness so that we too can personally connect with this other world, and many in the modern mystical movement have learned and practice the ancient, time-tested technology of transcendence, pioneered by the shamans of the traditional peoples.
4. The belief in the existence of spirit helpers and spirit teachers who reside in the alternate reality.
--These spirits are seen as critical in dealing with the alternate reality because they provide the spiritual seeker with power, protection, and support, as well as knowledge and guidance.
5. The belief that everything, both living and inanimate, is imbued with its own personal supernatural essence or soul. This includes the certainty that everything everywhere is aware and thus 'minded' to some degree.
--This belief is universal among traditional peoples and is known as animism.
6. The belief in the existence of an impersonal supernatural power or vital force that is highly dispersed throughout the Universe, but which can be highly concentrated in certain places, objects, and living beings as life-force.
--This belief is called animatism, and almost everyone everywhere has a sense of this enlivening energy, as well as how it can be accumulated, focused, and used. This is the mana of the Polynesians and Melanesians, the chi of the Chinese, the ki of the Japanese and Koreans, the prana of yoga, the baraka of the Muslims, the num of the Kalahari bushmen, the manitou of the Algonkian Indians, and the force of Obi Wan Kenobi.
7. The belief in a personal energy body around and within which the physical body is formed. This energetic aspect can be perceived by those with psychic awareness as an aura, and modern mystics know that it can be enhanced through centers located within it--the chakras and meridians in Eastern thought.
--The medical intuitive Carolyn Myss has called the growing awareness of this energetic aspect of the self to be one of the signatures of the 'consciousness age'. Western scientists, tempered by their habitual caution, still know little about it. The energy body is very sensitive to thoughts and emotions, and the understanding of this delicate relationship is critical for healing.
CORE VALUES
8. Modern mystics hold a strong concern for social justice and the quality of life at all levels of society, both nationally and internationally.
9. Social tolerance, individualism, and spiritual freedom are highly valued ideals.
10. Strong support is felt for women's issues as well as the safety and well-being of children and the elderly. The rebuilding of families, neighborhoods, and communities are seen as major areas of concern, and human relationships are perceived to be of more importance than material gain.
--The interrelated values listed above form a strong complex, one that reveals that a new sense of the sacred has come into the world--one that combines personal growth psychology and the spiritual plus being of service, all mixed into one orientation.
11. Spiritual, mental-emotional, and physical balance and harmony are seen as critical to the well-being of the individual, the family, the society, the business firm, the nation-state, and the planetary community as a whole. Accordingly, it is understood that humans must live their lives in ways that contribute to this balance, rather than following lifestyles or pursuing goals that create its opposite.
--Modern mystics are reconsidering the wisdom of the traditional peoples which is fundamentally based on a sense of propriety, on an active respect for the land and for the natural powers that permeate it. The land, and everything associated with it, are holy. This leads to a strong ecological perspective.
12. Modern mystics are environmentally savvy. The survival of the environment and by association, the human species, is number one on their list. They carry a deep respect for Nature and are seriously concerned with stopping corporate polluters, reversing greenhouse warming, and discovering the limits to short-term growth so that the world community can achieve the long-term ecological sustainability upon which the future of humanity depends.
--Today, with the environment under siege from a hundred fronts, the indigenous peoples' views on living in balance and harmony with nature and with its spiritual aspect (the mind behind Nature), are beginning to look a whole lot less like superstition and a whole lot more like wisdom.
13. Accordingly, the value of simple, natural living is seen as a high ideal.
--Homage to the indigenous peoples, and to the bohemians, the beats, the hippies, and all like-minded worthies before them, as well as those who will follow us for seven generations to come. Homage also to the medicinemakers of all societies of all times. In their capable hands rests the physical, as well as the metaphysical equilibrium of our collective peoples.
14. Modern mystics tend to hold strong feelings of disaffection for Western allopathic medicine. These concerns are being greatly enhanced by the increasingly negative effects on the quality of healthcare being introduced by the business-oriented and profit-motivated Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs).
--Often, individuals who are terminally ill are kept alive by a Western medical system that is trying to do the right thing, but in the process, the physical suffering of the dying is needlessly prolonged, and the escalating costs of medical treatment can destroy a family's resources. This is simply not right.
15. While all are very much aware of Western Medicine's often miraculous achievements, most of us have strong interests in alternative and preventative healthcare modalities (holistic, shamanic, transpersonal, herbalist, acupuncture, ayurvedic, and meditative, to name only a few). These therapies are seen as 'adjuncts to' rather than as 'replacements for' Western Medicine.
--They are gaining in popularity because they work.
16. No one today can deny that the world's social, political, economic, and religious problems are reaching critical mass. Modern mystics believe that the ultimate solutions to all our problems will be achieved through the current spiritual reawakening as it progresses from the personal to the global. They know that it has the potential to propel humanity into the next phase of its evolution as a more aware life form with more expanded abilities (see Visionseeker chapter 13).
--Modern mystics share a strong sense of hope and faith that as people move into and rediscover their connection with the spiritual worlds, a change will occur within us--one that will spread far beyond ourselves and will make the world a better, safer place to live--one that will enable peace to break out and become the dominant reality paradigm (see Visionseeker chapter 17).
17. Finally, virtually all who hold these beliefs and values are seekers of the direct, transformative experience of transcendence, and it is really this that defines us as mystics (see Visionseeker, chapter 1).
--The exploration of the nature of reality, as well as the mystery of who we are and what we are doing here, is the substrate of the quest. At its inception, this quest is intensely personal. Yet as it progresses, it leads us inevitably toward a universal and ultimately altruistic perspective, one that takes us straight into the irreversible vortex of spiritual expansion. This progression, once begun, changes us profoundly and forever because it conveys to each of us the experience of authentic initiation.
In summation, modern mystics are engaged in intensive, personal quests for spirituality, meaning, and transcendence. Although most tend not to be affiliated with organized religions, most profess beliefs in some form of supernatural god-like being or consciousness, and Jesus of Nazareth is regarded as a spirit teacher of great power, whether or not the spiritual seeker is psychologically Christian.
The members of this growing social movement are searching for ways to organize their lives in a personally more satisfying manner. Paul Ray's study suggests that we should take hope, for we are traveling in the company of an enormous number of allies who are everywhere, in every community, and at every level of society, revealing that this steadily-escalating social phenomenon has all the appearances of a spiritual revolution.
Let the media, the politicians, the multinational corporations, and the social analysts take heed. The sheer number of people involved suggests that the modern mystical movement, of which the so-called New Age is a part, is not a fad. Rather, a true Transformational Community is emerging, one whose beliefs, values and trends are already in the process of shifting the cultural norms of Western Society.
The majority believe that the individuals involved in this movement are the 'seed people' who may determine the shape of the world's spiritual orientation and practice for much of the next 2000 years. If true, the history of the planet will be profoundly and inescapably changed by the spiritual resurgence going on in the Western world. The results will be felt at every level of society, in every country, and will, by association, determine much of the politics and individual lifeways of the 21st Century.
Copyright Hank Wesselman, 2002.
BOOKS and CDS
The Spiritwalker Teachings:
Journeys for the Modern Mystic
by Hank Wesselman, Ph.D. and Jill Kuykendall, RPT
Many people over the years encouraged us to capture what we teach through recordings. We have, with pleasure, created a new 6 CD box set, The Spiritwalker Teachings. The box set includes... many stories and teachings, with eight experiential journeys, and a new recording of Hank's shamanic drumming and rattling. These teachings provide a firm foundation on which to begin and enhance your visionary practice.
SPIRIT MEDICINE
Healing in the Sacred Realms
by Hank Wesselman, Ph.D. and Jill Kuykendall, RPT
The rediscovery that each one of us can achieve the direct, transformative connection with the sacred realms lies right at the heart of the spiritual reawakening sweeping the Western world- a phenomenon explored by anthropologist Hank Wesselman, Ph.D., in his widely read book The Journey to the Sacred Garden. In Spirit Medicine, Dr. Wesselman is joined by his wife, transpersonal medical practitioner Jill Kuykendall, RPT., to present us with a cross-cultural consideration of illness, healing, and health care from the ancient wisdom of the traditional peoples. Spirit Medicine opens a window into a universal worldview that will help you:
