Hank Wesselman
Dr. Wesselman is also a shamanic practitioner and teacher, now in the 29th year of his apprenticeship. The books in his autobiographical trilogy Spiritwalker, Medicinemaker, and Visionseeker have been published in 13 languages and reveal the nature of his initiation into the shamans world of mystery and magic, documenting his investigations into a hidden reality that most of us have heard about, but few have experienced directly.
A new sense of the sacred has appeared in the Western world, one that incorporates spiritual realization, personal growth psychology, and being of service all in one orientation. This spiritual reawakening is generating a real change in attitudes as we move into and rediscover our own spirituality, and it is generally believed that this resurgence of interest in the spiritual, proceeding from the personal to the global, has the power to shift the directions of world history.
The basic criteria I used in making up the list is by answering the question, "Who are the most influential people in shamanism in the world today?" By influential I mean, they reach many people and share their knowledge in a way that people are able to absorb the information and use it in their lives. The list was pretty straight forward to put together and I'm hoping to add to it over time.
In the Western world today, more and more non-tribal Westerners are seeking out a teacher of shamanism and in response, increasing numbers of shamanic teachers are now appearing on the screen. But how do we ensure that we will be drawn to an authentically initiated individual who will serve us well? In the beginning of our connection with this ancient wisdom tradition, some of us decide to seek out teachers in the indigenous world, often through participating in travel groups or tours into remote regions of the world.
