Hank Wesselman

Biography:

Anthropologist Hank Wesselman, PHD., is one of those rare, cutting edge scientists who truly walks between the worlds. He received his Master's degree in zoology at the University of Colorado and his Doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of California. Hank first became interested in indigenous spiritual traditions back in the 1960s. Since then, his work as an anthropologist has allowed him to spend much of his life living among traditional peoples in remote areas, seldom, if ever, visited by outsiders.

Since the early 1970s, he has conducted field research exploring the ancient, eroded landscapes of East Africa's Great Rift Valley in search of answers to the mystery of human origins. He is currently doing research in the Middle Awash Valley in northern Ethiopia. It was out in the tribal lands in southern Ethiopia, that Hank first began to experience spontaneous altered states of consciousness similar to those of traditional shamans.

Past Shows:

	Soul Retrievals
	Tuesday July 27, 2004

Anthropologist Hank Wesselman and his wife, shaman Jill Kuykendall (sharedwisdom.com) discussed spirit medicine in relation to soul loss & soul retrieval. People can lose parts of their soul due to traumas such as abuse or the loss of a loved one, explained Kuykendall. There are three aspects to the soul— spirit, body and mental which roughly correspond with Freud's superego, ego and subconscious (id), Wesselman further detailed.The missing element of the soul might be found in the "lower world," a protective place that animal and plant spirits inhabit, said Kuykendall. She also named a "middle world," that is akin to the dream state with both positive and negative attributes and an "upper world," a place of divine knowledge that is home to angels and ancestral spirits.In her work as a shaman, Kuykendall said she enters into the spirit realm by listening to drum beats and then conducts retrievals or repairs for persons who have the sense that they are missing part of themselv ... More
Host: George Noory

	Shamanic Ways
	Tuesday November 4, 2003

Author, shaman, and paleoanthropologist Hank Wesselman (sharedwisdom) returned to C2C as the main guest on Tuesday night. Speaking of a profound moment on one of his research expeditions in Africa, he said it was "heady stuff to hold the bones of the earliest ancestors in your hands and then look up at night and see a satellite going across the sky." Wesselman shared tales of his shamanic apprenticeship and practice that began in Africa, describing how the first time he left his tent via astral travel, he had swooped up and down in the sky over their campsite. The next morning, one of the tribesmen said to him, "Hey, Dr. Hank, what were you doing flying over my tent last night?"Shamans access a web or matrix, that in ancient Hawaii was called "Aka," explained Wesselman who compared this space to the "dark matter" of the universe, a kind of "invisible scaffolding" in which all is connected. Through this field, he said he has been able to time travel, where he has built a rappor ... More
Host: George Noory

	Shamanism & Altered States
	Thursday February 20, 2003

Dr. Hank Wesselman spoke of his anthropological studies into human origins as well as his "inner space" experiences derived through shamanic practice. ... More
Host: George Noory

	Dr. Hank Wesselman
	Thursday June 13, 2002

Anthropologist, Hank Wesselman, PhD., has worked for much of the past 30years with an international team of scientists, exploring Eastern Africa'sGreat Rift Valley in search of answers to the mystery of human origins. Hehas also taught for the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, for the University ofCalifornia at San Diego, for California State University at Sacramento, andfor American River College and Sierra College in the greater Sacramento areawhere his most popular class is focused on the role of religion and magic inthe lives of traditional people. He is also a shaman in training, now in the20th year of his apprenticeship. ... More
Host: Art Bell

	Dr. Hank Wesselman
	Tuesday January 15, 2002

Research paleoanthropologist Hank Wesselman, PhD is one of those rarecutting edge scientists who truly walk between the worlds. He did hisundergraduate work, as well as his Masters Degree, in Zoology at theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder, then went on to receive his doctoraldegree in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkley. For thepast 30 years, he has worked with an international group of scientists,exploring East Africa's Great Rift Valley in search of answers to themystery of human origins. He is also a shaman in training, now in the 20thyear of his apprenticeship. ... More
Host: Art Bell