This is a well-written, beautiful little book written in peaceful yet eloquent language. Having had little success with meditation, I have been very excited about the consciousness states I have been able to achieve using the experiental CD included with the book. I also find that in addition to being relaxing and instructive (and incredibly entertaining), the shamanic state is indeed a real point of power. I have had almost instant "life feedback" or "results" - to use an informercial term - after visiting and learning in my own garden space. Read this book, and use the CD. It may prove to be invaluable for you as it has for me.

The premise is advancement of course, however the emphasis here is a direct look into the work one needs to perform in order to advance. I found the direction given to be highly sensible and realistic, no matter what your faith foundations are. The entire scope of this book actually fits what most consider acceptable genres, nothing leaps out as being extreme. In all my past readings I have found very few books to be applicable and truly functional, this has worked for me, I believe this is mostly true as I accept the down to Earth reality implied. I suggest another great book to help guide and advance in the spiritual realm, SB 1 or God by Karl Mark Maddox

Dr. Wesselman's work is getting some better, but is still in need of work.

This book takes up with Nainoa (again, and again, and again....). About a year has passed, and it is time for Nainoa to return to his people, so Nainoa, William (father of Nainoa'a companion Kenojelak (SP), and Williams Son Zaki (if memory serves) and their dogs leave the Ennu camp to return to his people in a precinct ruled by a local chief Kaneohe to report his discoveries while away.

An evil chief had stolen an item of Choef Kaneohe's clothing and was using it in sorcery to make Chief Kaneohe sick; nearly to death.

Nainoa returns literaly in the nick of time. William (a powerful Shaman, and Nainoa set about conducting a healing ceremony for Chief Kaneohe.

Because of success in healing the chief, and the information that horses could be found beyond the mountains. Nainoa is promoted from his commoner class to the Chiefly class, and becomes a healing Kahuna.

Nainoa takes a woman (of chiefly class) as wife, and unconsciously kills the evil sorcerer.

I have MANY of the same problems with this book that I spelled out when I reviewed "Spiritwalker" by the same author. Only that by now; Dr. Wesselman has discovered that a Shaman can initiate a Shamanic journey at will.

Unfortunately; Dr, wesselman buys into the notion of Global warming, and the greenhouse effect hook, line and sinker.

The Earth IS slightly warmer, but nowhere as bad as the NWS stations would imply. The U.S. has become much more urban than it was , and with the effect of billions of tons of asphalt, and concrete acting as a heat sink used for buildings, parking lots, interstate highways, etc; they are encroaching on the NWS weather stations, is causing the weather stations to provide faulty data.

If weather stations in China, Siberia, etc that was showing a similar temperature increase; I would take it much more seriously.

I encourage questions or comments about my reviews; Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

This is the second in the amazing series of books written by Hank Wesselman. Having met the man, and taken a class from him, I can only believe that what he has writen is true. The beauty of these books is that he is a wonderful writer. Wether you take the story as truth, or just an intertaining read, you will not be disapointed. Truely fasinating, and a book that cannot be put down until you reach the very end.

Go ahead, read this book! If you feel yourself "gravitating" toward this book; if inexplicably you find yourself wishing you "had time" to read 'that sort of "fanciful" (or whatever your own qualifying word is for it) book,' just go ahead and do it! Read the book, and you won't be sorry.

This is a book of beauty and honesty. You may wonder how Wesselman recreates the vivid detail of setting, action and dialogue of his mystical experiences. --But if something like this has ever happened to you, or if you really Want it to (your spirit yearns for such experience), you will understand that the reality of other dimensions reaches out to us in as much as we reach out to it-- and that all perception is ultimately a product of our own heart.

The chapter I liked best, that I thought was very beautiful, was Chapter 7, where Wesselman takes a walk along a streambed and visits a pool and rocks called "The Narrows" at the Tassahara Zen retreat. If you have spent a day in the sun, near the water, and drawn closer to all joyful, atomistic and interconnected aspects of the Universe-- you'll feel as if You were there, too. ...After all, You were!

Spiritwalker caught me by pleasant surprise. I purchased it because the back cover sounded like it would involve shamanism and life mysteries. Wesselman provides an entertaining account of the uncharted personal awakening of his spirit to levels of reality and cross-dimensional connections that even he did not believe at first. The story comes across as autobiographical and it provides a map by which others could understand their personal insights and bizarre connections in life. If taken as truth, the story is amazing and mind-opening.

I rank the book 4/5 stars because it is, at points, long-winded and boring. Wesselman seems to be making meaning of the story as he writes it, which takes the reader through the process (good), but sometimes makes you wish he'd packaged it better (bad). Over-all, glad I read it, would recommend to anyone interested in ancestor-spirit connections and hawaiian shamanism. I couldn't wait for the sequel to be published.

All I can give is praise and deep thanks. Had it been written as a science fiction novel (as the author once considered doing), it would have been one of the best I ever read. But having the author's own thoughts and insights and feelings about it interspersed was breathtaking. It verified everything I have known "intuitively" about the meaning of life. And I am so happy about the picture given of this wonderful Earth's future. I look forward to reincarnation at that time; it sounds like heaven to me (the cheerful, peace-loving, nomadic hunter-gather tribes anyway ... not so sure about the Hawaiian chiefdoms). I look forward with great anticipation to reading the next two books in this trilogy.

At first I was really bored by Wesselman's description of his experiences. I've read a lot of New Age books and I was thinking this is just another guy telling about his 'weird experience'. However once he met Nainoa and started describing life in the future, I got interested. I was very surprised by his discussion of metals. We really take a lot for granted these days and this book will make you think about what life would be like without the conveniences we have today.

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.

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.

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.