Customer Reviews

The Reluctant Shaman: A Woman's First Encounters with the Unseen Spirits of the Earth

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

To appreciate this book you MUST know what the author is talking about. Without such knowledge this book shall be a waste of time and money. I was planning to attend a workshop instructed by one of the author's foremost students and I was told to read this book, which I did. When I read it the first time, I seriously thought that it was one of the worst books I have ever come across and I decided not to attend the workshop. Through some odd twist of fate I changed my mind and actually attended the workshop. This has been my first practical experience in this field and I have no problem to state it has been an extremely rich one. Then I re-read the book and I realized that it's NOT a new agey, drug-inspired, empty sequence of words. On the contrary it's a down-to-business, very practical instructional instrument. It's almost like a cook-book. Again, as long as you know what it's talking about.
The book in itself is not written very well. It doesn't flow smoothly at all. The continuous quotations of the author's teachers make it a hard reading: after a while the "me-Tarzan-you-Jane" style gets on the nerves. In my opinion this book doesn't do the justice of this very fine lineage of shamanic pratictioners, instructors and healers. However, if you have been exposed to their instruction and need a text-book to go over their teachings, this is a must have.

I was very lucky. I read The Reluctant Shaman from little yellow pieces of notepaper a bit at a time as I typed it into manuscript form. At my request, Kay paid me for this service [over paid?] by giving me the ceremonies she had been given as described in her books. I was honored to be among her first few 'students' as she began to practice teaching her craft. But the book -- proof reading my work was difficult as I was constantly dragged back into the vicarious reality of the writing.

This experience changed my perspective of the universe as well as my day-to-day application of spiritual principles. And reading both The Reluctant Shaman and Sacred Link [The sequel, self published] again and again has more deeply inspired me on my own individual path.

Kay starts out the story just as it started into her life; at the edge of the cliff over the Pacific Ocean during a wild storm. Hahaha. What could make it more dramatic if it were happening to you?

Bit by bit the journey of what truly happened to her unfolds. The reader is told the struggles Kay has with overcoming her cultural issues about these very foreign ideas, then hears stories as told by Domano or Chea and then hears a description of her experiences in the Sacred Ceremonies. I love Domano's stories. Like all good parables they come to mind when needed giving a helping hand for the more difficult steps in life.

One interviewer said she was unable to understand why Kay was fighting her fears for so long. Remember, these things were happening in the mid 70s and there wasn't much in public knowledge about New Age stuff -- this is so Earthy! And Kay started out a very, VERY, conventional woman with two kids to raise by herself. It would be well to remember, too, that the Hetakas are not an ordinary couple who teach ideas, but are Shaman quite capable of shifting reality to enhance the experience. As I recall, Carlos Castaneda was slow in getting over his terror, too.

What I experienced with the same ceremonies were far different because Cordell was my "guide", not the Hetakas. And if you have good vicarious skills, you won't be just reading a good story. You could, as I did, make a major shift in your comprehension of the World In Balance or Katasee, as it is said. And it's not even my major path but the experiences brought a greater clarity to what is mine to do.

I may have worked with Kay and eventually become a close friend, but that is not the reason I'm writing this. The material stands well on its own, not for its literary value for there are far better writers out there, but for the whole experience, the environment that is created for the reader to become more. For those for whom this work is intended, you will quickly feel the mastery of the message. Be enchanted. It's fun.

I came upon Reluctant Shaman in a used bookstore. I was skeptical at first, having read many books on similar topics and been extremely disapointed. I am a discerning consumer, particularly of material in this subject area, but I kept being drawn to the book, so I took a chance. And what a wonderful discovery it turned out to be!!

Kay Whitaker's writing is straight forward, honest and engaging. It is easy to empathize with her hesitation and confusion when she is approached by the Hetakas. And her struggles with the changes and challenges of her spiritual journey felt so completely real, it was like talking with a friend.

As I got further into the book, the material got more and more dynamic and powerful. I began to feel that I was actually being influenced by the same powers that were working on and through Kay. Her writing became an amazing tool for enlightenment and awakening.

I also was awed by the resonance I felt with my own experiences of focussed, intensive training over the last 15 years.

Reluctant Shaman is a gift for which I'm deeply grateful. I intend to recommend it to all my students!

I have been an avid reader of new age books for nearly twenty years and have devoured a countless number of books over this time. But of all those books never have I been so personally touched or inspired nor has a book ever had such an incredible and profound impact on me in the way A Reluctant Shaman has.
This book brought everything I have read, learnt, thought and believed together. When I first read it, something clicked and a light literally went on, not just inside my mind, but in my heart and spirit.

I cannot tell you how much I love this book. Over the years I have treasured and re-read it many times over. I would recommend this book to everyone. Even if it doesn't touch you the same way it did me, you will be overwhelmed by the sense of love, purpose and the knowledge you will gain from it.

This is a book about waking up to who and what we truly are. Most of us spend our lives in an almost zombie-like state just going through the motions that we think is life, yet there is so much more behind us and this life that we are living. This book truly awakens you to that reality. Its about letting go of the masks we live behind and the ordinariness of the everyday life and waking up to a world where everything has purpose and is truly joyous and magical.
If you want a book that not only inspires you but helps you find the magic in life, then this is it.
If you want a book that helps you know who you really are and what you are capable of becoming, then I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

This book recounts the first steps in the making of a modern-day shaman. It appears to be the honest account of a woman trying to make sense of experiences that are not comprehensible to most people living in our present society. As such it is very useful to those wanting to know about shamanism and to those who contemplate traveling this path. I highly recommend it!

The most incredible book about Finding and Living Your Song, Living Your True Beingness!

I happen to not only know Ms. Whitaker but also to have studied with her for almost a decade. The Reluctant Shaman together with her forthcoming book Sacred Link are the only two books I ever wanted to read more than once. In fact her work is so incredible I am still rereading her books.

For two_bears, the previous reviewer of this book, to assume that Domano spiked Ms. Whitaker's coffee with a psychotropic substance is not only presumptuous but also preposterous, arrogant, incompetent and, contrary to what two_bears wants to make us believe, not in the least observant.

Kay Cordell Whitaker, the author of this incredible work had to make a commitment to never ever consume any kind of hallucinogenic, psychotropic or other mind-altering substances such as alcohol for the rest of her life before Domano and Chea would even agree to teach her and if two_bears would actually read what he bashes he could read that right in the book. Mind altering substances never were part of their training and are in no way part of Ms. Whitaker's teachings. So much for his trained eye, or might it be blind?

I checked two_bears list of reviews and bio and he starts most of his many negative reviews with either "I despise writing negative reviews" or "Here I go again" and than in the prejudice manner of many of his colleges, he writes about things he has no idea about. Just because he doesn't understand chapter 3, or the entire book for that matter, doesn't mean it's a bad book.

Two_bears states that he carries a pipe made out of catlinite no less. I happen to carry a pipe made of the same stone, and I happened to have been in and around native ceremonies for many years. What I often hear from these people is, just because we are different and the white culture doesn't understand us, doesn't mean we are bad!

So perhaps Mr. two_bears ought to refresh himself with tribal belief; just because The Reluctant Shaman is different from most of what he is reading and he doesn't have a clue of what the author is writing about, doesn't mean it's a bad book.

I also happen to have gone through the ceremony of meeting Death and Destiny - the one that two_bears' blind eye cannot see for what it truly is and has mistaken it for a drug experience - and it was among the most life altering experiences I have ever encountered and nothing that I have experienced with North American Native ceremony, or any other tradition for that matter, comes even remotely close.

It might puff up Mr. two_bears' ego to have the power to strike down on other peoples who do incredible work in their field, but it only confirms my experience and suspicion with far too many pipe carriers - if that's what he truly is - that many of them carry arrogance and prejudice right along with their pipe and that arrogance and prejudice matches or even outranks that of the white culture any day.

The commitment of Ms. Whitaker to her teachers and her spirit guides is to teach people about Song, a poetic term Domano and Chea Hetaka used to describe one's true Self, one's individual piece of Creator, one's true Beingness; something I highly doubt Mr. two_bears will ever experience because judgment is not part of the Hetakas' way of life, in fact Domano and Chea's people didn't even have a word for judgment in their language.

In his bio Mr. two_bears states that he sees it as his duty to caution those that follow in his footsteps about what he has read. I usually caution everybody about following another person's footsteps; I generally encourage people to walk their own. And I especially cannot caution you enough to even think about following this mans footsteps.

If you are on a path to finding the truth about who you really are, of finding your own Song, and what your purpose is in this life; if you are on a path to truly waking up and are tired of living a life surrounded by judgment; if you would like to take control of your life and shed the habitual social programming which Domano and Chea called our masks, ignore the previous review, get the book and quite possibly enjoy the most wonderful teachings and stories ever shared by a people.

Wanowa Ka Ta See

If you liked Dan Millman's "Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior", then let Kay Whitaker's "The Reluctant Shaman" take you on even deeper sacred journey. My consciousness altered noticably every time I started reading it...and then magical shifts started happening in my life!
Suggestion: read "Reluctant Shaman" for pleasure and knowledge, then use it as a text book. I have practiced many of the exercises (finding my song, the kundalini and chakra experiences, etc.) and I'm delighted with the surprises that have made me grow! I love to e x p a n d my awareness and this book is a treasure into which I repeatedly dig. There is more packed in here than meets the eye! This book's a keeper for anyone who is a mystic/shaman in training! Let your heart sing!

A wise friend mentioned his work with Kay, so I sought out her book on my own. As I read the book, I felt the Hetaka's stories she recounts were starting a healing process that I could feel but not fully understand. This book planted seeds that were more fully realized when I worked with her CDs, participated in workshops, and spent time in private sessions with Kay. I have read a lot of books on shamanism, but these teachings felt right for me. It all started with connecting with my own joy and sense who I really am. I thought it was a pretty good place to start, so I wanted to learn more and I haven't been disappointed.

I have experienced a number of the ceremonies that Kay describes in the book for myself and I believe personal experience is the best way to truly validate any spiritual teachings to see if they work for you. Not only have I have been able to apply what I've learned, but it has fundamentally changed how I live my life on a daily basis. I find her teachings both extraordinary and extremely practical. I have recommended this book and Kay's CDs to family and friends and now to you.

This book really touched me. I love to underline key passages in books that move me and my husband laughed at how much I was underlining here. Its all about connections with nature, the earth and how she is changing, gaining balance in one's life, living completeky and awake. There are so many wonderful messages told the through the story itself as well as through stories that are told within the story by the main characters. I took my time in reading his book because there is indeed so much here. There are parts that reminded me of Exupery's "The Little Prince" which is my all-time favorite book. Wonderful book.

The most incredible book about Finding and Living Your Song, Living Your True Beingness!

I happen to not only know Ms. Whitaker but also to have studied with her for almost a decade. The Reluctant Shaman together with her forthcoming book Sacred Link are the only two books I ever wanted to read more than once. In fact her work is so incredible I am still rereading her books.

For two_bears, the previous reviewer of this book, to assume that Domano spiked Ms. Whitaker's coffee with a psychotropic substance is not only presumptuous but also preposterous, arrogant, incompetent and, contrary to what two_bears wants to make us believe, not in the least observant.

Kay Cordell Whitaker, the author of this incredible work had to make a commitment to never ever consume any kind of hallucinogenic, psychotropic or other mind-altering substances such as alcohol for the rest of her life before Domano and Chea would even agree to teach her and if two_bears would actually read what he bashes he could read that right in the book. Mind altering substances never were part of their training and are in no way part of Ms. Whitaker's teachings. So much for his trained eye, or might it be blind?

I checked two_bears list of reviews and bio and he starts most of his many negative reviews with either "I despise writing negative reviews" or "Here I go again" and than in the prejudice manner of many of his colleges, he writes about things he has no idea about. Just because he doesn't understand chapter 3, or the entire book for that matter, doesn't mean it's a bad book.

Two_bears states that he carries a pipe made out of catlinite no less. I happen to carry a pipe made of the same stone, and I happened to have been in and around native ceremonies for many years. What I often hear from these people is, just because we are different and the white culture doesn't understand us, doesn't mean we are bad!

So perhaps Mr. two_bears ought to refresh himself with tribal belief; just because The Reluctant Shaman is different from most of what he is reading and he doesn't have a clue of what the author is writing about, doesn't mean it's a bad book.

I also happen to have gone through the ceremony of meeting Death and Destiny - the one that two_bears' blind eye cannot see for what it truly is and has mistaken it for a drug experience - and it was among the most life altering experiences I have ever encountered and nothing that I have experienced with North American Native ceremony, or any other tradition for that matter, comes even remotely close.

It might puff up Mr. two_bears' ego to have the power to strike down on other peoples who do incredible work in their field, but it only confirms my experience and suspicion with far too many pipe carriers - if that's what he truly is - that many of them carry arrogance and prejudice right along with their pipe and that arrogance and prejudice matches or even outranks that of the white culture any day.

The commitment of Ms. Whitaker to her teachers and her spirit guides is to teach people about Song, a poetic term Domano and Chea Hetaka used to describe one's true Self, one's individual piece of Creator, one's true Beingness; something I highly doubt Mr. two_bears will ever experience because judgment is not part of the Hetakas' way of life, in fact Domano and Chea's people didn't even have a word for judgment in their language.

In his bio Mr. two_bears states that he sees it as his duty to caution those that follow in his footsteps about what he has read. I usually caution everybody about following another person's footsteps; I generally encourage people to walk their own. And I especially cannot caution you enough to even think about following this mans footsteps.

If you are on a path to finding the truth about who you really are, of finding your own Song, and what your purpose is in this life; if you are on a path to truly waking up and are tired of living a life surrounded by judgment; if you would like to take control of your life and shed the habitual social programming which Domano and Chea called our masks, ignore the previous review, get the book and quite possibly enjoy the most wonderful teachings and stories ever shared by a people.

Wanowa Ka Ta See