VISIONSEEKER: Shared Wisdom from the Place of Refuge
Hank Wesselman, Henry Barnard Wesselman, VISIONSEEKER: Shared Wisdom from the Place of RefugeThird in a series that began with Spiritwalker
and continued with Medicinemaker ,
this chronicle of Wesselman's experiences as a modern-day shaman with an anthropology Ph.D. will appeal to followers of such New Age leaders as Michael Harner and Sandra Ingerman (who both blurbed the book). Fans of Carlos Casteneda and Dan Millman will also enjoy the novelistic feel of this story, which the author insists contains no fiction whatsoever. Wesselman describes visits with his fellow shaman and possible descendant or future (reincarnated) self, Nainoa, who lives somewhere on the West Coast of North America 5,000 years from now, after the complete demise of the Western world. Through shamanic journeying, the author enters Nainoa's mind, describing nature walks, visions and lessons from Hawaiian kahunas or mystics in detail. Claiming to have "looked into the face of God," to have been joined by Jesus in a shamanic healing practice, and to have been "chosen" to teach spiritual truths, the author sometimes appears more self-important than shamanic. Meanwhile, his habit of entering the spirit world through sexual ecstasy seems an easy target for ridicule. Wesselman's final warnings of environmental catastrophe and his hope for a better outcome through "an evolution of spirit" will be familiar to any reader of New Age literature. Still, Wesselman's delivery is a cut above the rest of the genre—vastly superior to, for example, The Celestine Prophecy . Agents, Candice Fuhrman and Linda Michaels. (Apr.) Forecast: The popularity of New Age narratives bodes well for this book; a 10-city-radio satellite tour and ads in
Yoga Journal and NAPRA will help catch the attention of die-hard fans of the genre, though others will be immediately turned off by the title.
closeDetailsReviewed on: 03/26/2001
Genre: Nonfiction
Third in a series that began with
Reviewed on: 03/26/2001
Genre: Nonfiction
