Harner

Michael Harner is an anthropologist and expert in shamanic cultures. He academically investigates the concepts of shamanism, and personally immerses himself in shamanic cultures in North America, South America, and Mexico. Through living with the Jivaro Conibo and other tribes, Harner gains first-hand knowledge of practices that are similar among shamans, and nuances that separate shamanic practices. As a scholar practitioner, Harner faithfully reports his academic and practical research findings while making the information accessible to Western audiences.

The ways in which anthropologists explain cultures to other cultures is, for Harner, similar to how shamans interpret non-ordinary reality to those who have not experienced it. Both have educational value and can dispel prejudices. He equates shamanic work with an athlete's altered state of consciousness that contributes to high achievement. He also shows the similarities between shamanism and science.

Harner's work stresses the use of shamanism for healing rather...