World Shaman: Encountering Ancient Himalayan Spirits in Our Time

Supporting three wives, twelve children, and assorted relatives, Mohan Rai is a thoroughly modern man, convinced he's escaped an outmoded duty to follow his father as shaman to his Bhutanese village. But the gods and spirits, ancient protectors of the tribe, have other ideas. Dishonored and vengeful, they enter his dreams and haunt his days, destroying his business, his health, his sanity, and finally, his freedom. Based on Mohan's letters from prison, this true account by his first Western initiate will transform your worldview. "Ellen's retelling of Mohan Rai's first-hand account of his shamanic apprenticeship in Bhutan is a valuable contribution to the preservation of this ancient knowledge." -- Michael Harner, Ph.D., author, The Way of the Shaman, and Founder, Foundation for Shamanic Studies. "I was fascinated. Like Autobiography of a Yogi, Mohan Rai's story shares much wisdom. Portraying his training from childhood in the ancient, mystical traditions of the shaman, this book brings a hopeful vision I will carry into my everyday life forever...a reminder of the mysteries that sustain our lives and how little we know." -- Hal Zina Bennett, Ph.D., author, Spirit Animals and the Wheel of Life; Earth-Centered Practices for Everyday Living. Ellen Winner is an initiate into the Himalayan Rai and Tamang shamanic traditions, a Foundation for Shamanic Studies Three-year graduate, and a Harner Method certified shamanic counselor. At her day job she is a patent attorney. She lives with her husband, Joe O'Laughlin, in Boulder, Colorado.