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Rating: 
Summary: sharing transcendent experiences
Review: All other considerations aside, Visionseeker--like Spiritwalker and Medicinemaker--is a good story. By the way, if you haven't read any yet--READ THEM IN ORDER! It's interesting to consider what a possible future might look like. I like to hear about Wesselman's shamanic/visionary encounters and lessons with Nainoa. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't read this with a particular agenda and specific questions I needed to have answered. If a pressing question came up, I think I'd just write to Dr. Wesselman and ask. I read on to book three because I enjoyed the other two and find the "characters" to be multi-dimensional, aware and very human. Their consciousness is expanding with each visit. Some of their epiphanies help to clarify my own thinking--things I've been turning over in my own mind. The author has a gift for articulating hard-to-define concepts, particularly regarding the nature of the soul. I have a stake now in knowing what happens to these characters, and how they continue to learn and make sense of their uncommon relationship.Wesselman is not painting of picture of 21st century life, culture and morality when he visits Nainoa. It's a foreign point of view in most respects. Nor do I think the author is omniscient when it comes to life in that time and place. He is learning as he goes and gathering information and understanding. Readers have to be aware of these things. Personally, I read the books with a curiosity about the possibility of a spiritual connection across time. If you believe in the possibility of reincarnation, his narrative is intriguing. What if he and Nainoa share a portion of an enduring soul? I don't think he is asking us to believe what he is saying beyond a shadow of a doubt; we didn't experience what he did, so how can we? But I respect his experience/his beliefs about them--and I think they contain something of value for us. One of the things I liked best about this particular text was that he goes into specifics about his shamanic practices. As he begins to develop some control over his visionary states, he is also able to share the knowledge he's gained more clearly. He discusses the energy/levels of soul and seems to be honing in on what connects him and his ancestor in these visionary states. I haven't had a conscious experience quite like his, but I've had enough powerful visions in dreaming and other moments to give me an open mind about it. With regard to the sexuality that a few have taken issue with...if it's part of the overall experience and story, why should it be filtered out? Some might think it's overdone--I hear similar complaints about Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series--but sexuality and intimate partnerships are part of life. I found them to be tastefully and lovingly captured, though a few could make you blush.... For some who follow a more mystical path, I have heard that you CAN launch some journeying via sexual buildup and release. I can't confirm or deny it myself, though I have spoken to people who claim it happens and I've read about it more than once. You might think it's new age mumbo jumbo--that's your prerogative, but as far as I'm concerned Mr. Wesselman is the author and he gets to choose what goes in and what he feels is important or worthwhile to share. Seems rather courageous to me to lay bare the details of one's life so openly. It's also inspiring to read about couples who love and respect each other with passion and tenderness, though it might not always be comfortable to read coming from our cultural framework. At any rate, author/mythologist Joseph Campbell cautions that when the hero comes back after his transformational journey with gifts for his/her community, a lot of times those gifts turn to ashes in his hands, because the the community is often not ready/able to understand and receive those gifts--yet. Keep the stories coming, Dr. Wesselman! We'll embrace whatever gifts we are ready for.
Rating:
Summary: sharing transcendent experiences
Review: All other considerations aside, Visionseeker--like Spiritwalker and Medicinemaker--is a good story. By the way, if you haven't read any yet--READ THEM IN ORDER! It's interesting to consider what a possible future might look like. I like to hear about Wesselman's shamanic/visionary encounters and lessons with Nainoa. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't read this with a particular agenda and specific questions I needed to have answered. If a pressing question came up, I think I'd just write to Dr. Wesselman and ask. I read on to book three because I enjoyed the other two and find the "characters" to be multi-dimensional, aware and very human. Their consciousness is expanding with each visit. Some of their epiphanies help to clarify my own thinking--things I've been turning over in my own mind. The author has a gift for articulating hard-to-define concepts, particularly regarding the nature of the soul. I have a stake now in knowing what happens to these characters, and how they continue to learn and make sense of their uncommon relationship. Wesselman is not painting of picture of 21st century life, culture and morality when he visits Nainoa. It's a foreign point of view in most respects. Nor do I think the author is omniscient when it comes to life in that time and place. He is learning as he goes and gathering information and understanding. Readers have to be aware of these things. Personally, I read the books with a curiosity about the possibility of a spiritual connection across time. If you believe in the possibility of reincarnation, his narrative is intriguing. What if he and Nainoa share a portion of an enduring soul? I don't think he is asking us to believe what he is saying beyond a shadow of a doubt; we didn't experience what he did, so how can we? But I respect his experience/his beliefs about them--and I think they contain something of value for us. One of the things I liked best about this particular text was that he goes into specifics about his shamanic practices. As he begins to develop some control over his visionary states, he is also able to share the knowledge he's gained more clearly. He discusses the energy/levels of soul and seems to be honing in on what connects him and his ancestor in these visionary states. I haven't had a conscious experience quite like his, but I've had enough powerful visions in dreaming and other moments to give me an open mind about it. With regard to the sexuality that a few have taken issue with...if it's part of the overall experience and story, why should it be filtered out? Some might think it's overdone--I hear similar complaints about Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series--but sexuality and intimate partnerships are part of life. I found them to be tastefully and lovingly captured, though a few could make you blush.... For some who follow a more mystical path, I have heard that you CAN launch some journeying via sexual buildup and release. I can't confirm or deny it myself, though I have spoken to people who claim it happens and I've read about it more than once. You might think it's new age mumbo jumbo--that's your prerogative, but as far as I'm concerned Mr. Wesselman is the author and he gets to choose what goes in and what he feels is important or worthwhile to share. Seems rather courageous to me to lay bare the details of one's life so openly. It's also inspiring to read about couples who love and respect each other with passion and tenderness, though it might not always be comfortable to read coming from our cultural framework. At any rate, author/mythologist Joseph Campbell cautions that when the hero comes back after his transformational journey with gifts for his/her community, a lot of times those gifts turn to ashes in his hands, because the the community is often not ready/able to understand and receive those gifts--yet. Keep the stories coming, Dr. Wesselman! We'll embrace whatever gifts we are ready for.
Rating:
Summary: Visionseeker goes beyond Castaneda
Review: Castaneda fans, don't miss Dr. Wesselman's books. "Visionseeker" is absolutely mandatory reading for anyone seriously interested in shamanism. While Carlos Castaneda went through years of training to become a shaman of the Toltec tradition, his description of the events, as spell-binding and out-of-this-world as they have been for me for three decades, have left many loose ends. This is attributable to linguistic limitations of describing the teachings of the left and the right sides, i.e. the explanations and exercises during the "normal" waking state, and the teachings during "heightened awareness", allowing direct access to "knowledge" in linguistically uncharted territory. Dr. Wesselman's trance journeys resemble heightened states of awareness, probably within the narrow band of intense consciousness experienced while falling asleep, just before going under, when images become vividly 3-dimensional and absolutely engaging. This is the shamanic state of "Dreaming Awake" which is traditionally held in suspension through monotonous drumming, chanting, dancing, or psychedelic drugs. Dr. Wesselmann's entry into this kahuna-shamanic state of awareness is accompanied by surges of energy, a doubling of brain wave activity (see footnotes of chapter 14) which is most likely the effect felt when linking up with an "entity" or spirit helper. Castaneda also was told repeatedly by his mentor Don Juan that "speed" was necessary when encountering or attracting the allies, or when coping with the Abstract. While Castaneda either had little innate ability, low personal energy, or due to his reluctance to accept his experiences which never left him, he always needed a push on his so-called "assemblage point" to mobilize it. Dr. Wesselmann has the natural ability to shift awareness, triggered in his case by the emotional outburst of sexual energy, to assemble new realities and to act within them, including complete recapitulation of the events. Although Castaneda's description and use of the "inorganic beings", those entities that are indispensable in shamanic work, is very similar to Dr. Wesselmann's dealings with the "leopard man", the dorajuadiok, and Pele, Castaneda's encounters always seemed dreadfully disturbing to his core. This may be due to Castaneda approaching the subject as a reluctant, fearful, and possibly inadequate apprentice, while Dr. Wesselmann seems naturally skilled and familiar with these entities right from the start. Despite Castaneda's inadequacies or because of them, however, he introduced to millions of readers the mysterious side of us human beings and the world we live in, preparing us for what Dr. Wesselman has to offer. His description of a master program, hidden deep within our DNA and which needs activation by an outside agent, is most intriguing and novel in his conclusions. Apparently, a shamanic dismemberment and reassembly ritual is key to installing and activating this master program, a notion which can be found among indigenous shamans throughout the world. There is some discussion of how this happens and who is doing it, and Dr. Wesselmann authenticates himself as an initiated shaman by his description of such a ritual while he is preparing to journey to The Source, together with his future relative as a backup. In Castaneda's case, Don Juan probably loaded and activated this program during heightened awareness (replacing Castaneda's energy with his own), forcing Carlos to painstakingly recapitulating these events by moving his assemblage point minutely to those precise locations during the time of the teachings, a task that was taking him a lifetime. However, this kept the reluctant apprentice on his path of discovery and towards his task as a nagual. Those evolved entities (also called allies, elementals, spiritual masters) seem to have a higher purpose beyond human comprehension and who are the caretakers and gatekeepers of large-scale domains, complex planetary and celestial systems. This reminds one of the ancient Greek pantheon, or the myths and legends from all over the ancient world, when these entities seem to have been much more involved in human affairs. Dr. Wesselman hints at the possibility that these interactions are responsible for human evolution. Now, these entities seem to pick one or the other human, activate the master program and channel through that individual. Once the master program has been switched on, journeying into the unknown tends to be easy, not requiring many specific steps beyond a steadfast desire to succeed. In this way, facets of the unknown, even the unknowable (The Source from which everything emanates), become accessible or can be observed. In Castaneda's terms, the shaman may acquire the ability to soar past The Eagle (The Source) to total freedom (beyond Karma?). Those who make it successfully past The Eagle may be new gods in the making (Nietzsche could have said that). In any event, shamans are scouts into the unknown, the seeing among the blind, and it is interesting that the once top-secret activities of shamans are reemerging during a time of worldwide climatic, economic and geopolitical changes. Dr. Wesselmann's great contribution to making shamanism palpable to the interested reader is the ease with which he maneuvers between normal waking and shamanic awareness, combined with a good story, baffling discoveries and insights, using contemporary mythologic and archetypal concepts. I expect much more to come on the following topics: purpose of mankind on this planet and where we came from, the Ao Aumakua state, some useful exercises to activate the master program, or to get in touch with an entity, the causes and events leading to the severe shrinkage of the human population in the near future, on the nature of the different entities and their spheres of existence, on healing and the connectivity of living and inanimate things and how events, decisions, and actions affect each other, on why the average person is unaware of all this, on the Web, more journeys to the Source, on the nature of Light and Sound, on chaos and negative/negating aspects, past civilizations, etc. Evolve, keep on dreaming! MW
Rating:
Summary: Third Time is the Charm
Review: I began reading about Shamanism, when the Castenada books hit the bookstore, and I quit reading half way through his series, because he lost me in the twist and turns of his learning process. When I began reading Hank's SpiritWalker, it was with serious reservatons; however, I quickly moved on to MedicineMaker with enthusiasm. I liked Hank's intellectual grasp of the indigenous point of view, combined with his *field-note* anthropological mentality, which was a good mix with my own blend of white-urban core shamanistic practice. Soon, VisionSeeker was published. I bought a copy and started reading. I began to underline whole paragraphs to reread. For me, in VisionSeeker, Hank succeeded in pulling together the esoteric teachings, that rest on the shamanistic foundation he developed in his two preceding volumes. Granted, I am of mystical persuasion, so Hank's use of symbolism and metaphor was not lost on me. Hawaiian mysticism is easy to understand within Hank's storytelling context. I encourage you to buy a copy of this book for your library, since there are few volumes that will teach you more. Thanks Hank, for living your life so authentically. I have benefitted from your written experience. And, if you have a chance to spend some time with Hank personally, DO IT.
Rating: 
Summary: Spiritual Castration
Review: Just as another anthropologist with a Ph.D. perpetrated a hoax by raping the soul of a culture, while appealing to the drug culture, Wesselman offers a series of Castaneda re-treads, appealing to the masturbatory fantasies of spiritual eunuchs. Summoning every tired new age cliché from the Art Bell lexicon, Wesselman is to mysticism what Jackie Collins is to quantum physics.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Third Book in his Series, full of wisdom & love
Review: Once again Dr. Hank Wesselman has shown he has the depth of understanding, compassion and courage to take on serious and difficult topics with clarity, while providing us with a spell binding and beautifully integrated stream of narrative which captures our attention and holds us through each detail. Clearly, he has learned not only the extremely valuable lessons of the Hawaiian spiritual understanding but the craft of their storytellers as well. His brilliant use of the interchange of ideas between himself and his esteemed descendant, Nainoa, as they seek understanding of the nature of reality, the self, the spirit realm, and the nature of the universe provides a rich tapestry of concept and wisdom within the graceful flow of the narrative. What I love about his writing in these three books, SpiritWalker, MedicineMaker and now VisionSeeker, is this interplay of ideas and concepts woven so perfectly into the experiential narrative of these adventures in consciousness. There were times when I was so excited by the ideas as I was reading that I literally had to put the book down and think for periods of time before continuing. Wesselman never makes the mistake of assuming or consuming Nainoa's perspective with his own, and in fact, in the true evidence of a good scholar and seeker, uses the insights of Nainoa to enhance his own understanding and provide insight to his emerging new "world view". His openness and willingness to consider and explore new perspectives and concepts as they relate to his major questions and curiosity give his work a powerful and informed wholeness not found in very many other places. His integration of his analytical or scientific self into the process, without the normally accompanying baggage of the limitations of a purely rational approach gives his work a strength and coherence that is exciting, refreshing and thrilling to participate in. And, make no mistake about it, these books are definitely participatory. As he weaves the new cloth of his own integration and understanding, pulling in the diverse and multifaceted resources of his considerable research in areas ranging from psychology, modern myth, anthropology, physics and the physical sciences, his resulting tapestry is alive with a synthesis of ideas and constructs which are both sensible and breathtaking at the same time. As a life long student of the nature of reality, consciousness and physical form, and, later, the deeper inner relationships of thought, form and creation, I find his work to be perhaps the most engaging and exciting reading I have had the pleasure to encounter in many years. This is in no small part due to the level of respect, reverence and compassion which he brings to his subject matter, evidenced by his courage and willingness to honor not only his own, but other's experiences. Thank you Dr. Wesselman for once again providing the journey of purpose and the gateway to infinite new potentials of exploration!
Rating:
Summary: The Vision
Review: Required reading for the hungry soul, consious mind, or curious being.Visionseeker is chalked full of mystic experiences, healing practices and advice of extraordinary importance. Hank's insight of our wordly concerns [political, economical, religious, and environmental]offers options and hope for the future of humanity.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointed
Review: Title: Very disappointed ... I hoped the books would shed light, from Dr. Hank's perspective as well as from his descendant Nainoa's perspective(supposedly 5000 years in the future), on how human society got to where it is in Nainoa's time. Specifically, I wanted to know:
(1) How is Dr. Hank sure it's the year 7000 AD (or so)? Does Nainoa have some kind of written history? If so, why wasn't it shared with the reader?
(2) What happened to Earth (and when) that turned California into an equatorial tropical jungle, complete with tropical animals? Obviously some kind of pole shift/planetary displacement.
(3) What is happening in the rest of the world at 7000 AD? The California coastline is now an Hawaiian chiefdom (apparently deserted before they arrived in canoes) and the Nevada area is now sparsely populated by hunter-gatherer type tribes (the Ennu) of unknown descent, possibly Eskimo and/or French-Canadian. What about the rest of the world? And what happened to wipe out most of the population (assuming the rest of the Earth is as sparsely populated as these areas)? Dr. Hank rants and raves about global warming and overpopulation leading to civilization's downfall ... but then he turns around and says that humans are reaching a critical mass of spiritual enlightenment (just look at all the shaman training centers, like his, after all), hinting that everything will be all right if we all just become enlightened like him. So, what happened then? It can't be both ways, can it? Or maybe there was something else that took the earth down (when?) ... a nuclear war, an asteroid hit, a near-miss by Planet X/Niburu? I was also hoping that Dr. Hank, being the anthropologist he is and working where he is (African Rift Valley, the apparent "birthplace of intelligent humans"), with or without Nainoa, might shed some light on prehistoric human life. No such luck. All we get are brief glimpses into the far past ... a hairy arm at one point and some pre-human-type primates sleeping in a tree at another. Then there were the parts of the books that just plain annoyed me: Nainoa had married a woman in the Ennu tribe, then he travels back to his Hawaiian-culture land and marries another woman (and even thinks about someday marrying a third) ... I guess there isn't any commitments, faithfulness, or jealousy in the future. Polygamy and promiscuous sex is the natural deal ... after all, we are in "repopulate-the-earth-mode." Dr. Hank, in all three books, includes many, many (many) sexual encounters, between him and wife Jill, as well as between Nainoa and his wives, in extensive, too-intimate, minute descriptive detail. What's the point? Titillate the reader some? Sell books? This isn't a steamy romance novel, is it? So what if you have a hot, randy sex life ... so what if the glories of your orgasms often lead to trance experiences ... it felt like exhibitionism and bragging. It disturbed me and I didn't think it was necessary to the subject matter of the books. In summary, if Dr. Hank indeed has the powers he has, I wish he would tackle some of the important questions I have (above) for the benefit of all mankind, instead of just using his shamanic visions to eavesdrop on a man in the future, to create his own private paradise (secret garden), and to fly into the Source and poke the eye of God, living to tell about it. It felt like an advertisement: Look at all the cool stuff I can do and you can do it too ... just sign up for my next "Be a Shaman" class.
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