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Written for therapists, scholars, clergy, students, and those with an interest in non-traditional healing practices, this book tells the story of Bradford Keeney, the first non-African to be inducted as a shaman in the Kung Bushman and Zulu cultures.
From a review:
Here is a radical and out-of-the-box resource for people in the helping and healing fields. It is filled with amazing stories, meaningful rituals, and insights into the varied ways that shamanistic practices can enrich our lives and the lives of those who come to us for guidance and assistance. Jeffrey A. Kottler, Chair of the Counseling Department at California State University, Fullerton, and Jon Carlson, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Counseling at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois present an engaging portrait of Bradford Keeney, Vice President of Cultural Affairs of the Ringing Rocks Foundation and Cultural Anthropologist at the Mental Research Institute. Keeney, a theorist and practitioner of systemic family therapy, left the academic world to become a leading spokesperson for indigenous healers. [...]
Keeney is the first non-African to be inducted as a shaman in both the Kung Bushman and Zulu cultures. He is regarded as a powerful medicine man, a white "Big Doctor" who can shake and dance with the spirit for 12 consecutive hours. Keeney has been a spiritual advisor to many shamans, and his insights in this adventuresome work will appeal to educators, clergy, therapists, and healers of all stripes.
This shaman is convinced that people who are upset should not be told to calm down; rather, they should be encouraged to become more aroused. Keeney documents the natural ways in which indigenous peoples have danced away their troubles, shedding them not through talk but through movement. (See the excerpt for a Hasidic tale about the transformation that can come through dance.) To "shake with the spirits" is a technique that should be in the repertoire of all helpers and healers, along with singing, touching, and transcendent prayer.
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