Remembering Michael
Continuing Michael Harner’s work in the Foundation
A Statement from FSS President Susan Mokelke
& The Life and Work of Michael Harner by Andreas J. Hirsch, Ph.D.
© Shamanism Annual, December 2018, Issue 31
April 23, 2018
Remembering Michael Harner: A memorial celebration of the life and work of Michael Harner, 1929 – 2018. A recording of the live stream of the event held on April 14, 2018 in northern California is now available to view free online.
February 3, 2018
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Michael Harner, Founder of the FSS and originator of Core Shamanism, transitioned early in the morning of February 3.
He was supported in the days prior to his passage by his loving wife Sandra Harner and his devoted family. He passed peacefully out of this world and on to the next.
Michael’s legacy lives on in this world through all of you — his tens of thousands of students and practitioners of shamanism. His work will continue into the future through the educational efforts of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies.
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In memoriam, “The Way of a Shaman” — from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies Europe.
Yours in spirit,
Susan Mokelke
President
Beloved Michael, you helped me unlock a doorway into my spirit which opened so many other doors and pathways.
My deep sympathy to Sandra and your family. We were so blessed to have you with us on your Earthwalk for such a good run! Deepest gratitude and bless your Journey back to the Stars. Love Nadiya Nottingham
Thank you for your commitment to indigenous people and the lifelong dedication to your vision. It is a blessing to be a part of this path with you.
I never met Michael but I am very greatful for his gifts to the world. Many Blessings for his onward journey and love to his family and friends at this time.
Michael Harner changed my life. In 1996 I traveled to CA from PA to attend my first Foundation of Shamanic Studies course in Basic Core Shamanism. I wanted to hear from the “master” Michael Harner. I LOVED what I learned during this weekend workshop. When Michael mentioned he worked at The New School of Social Research, I called my Uncle Allen Austill who was Dean at this school and asked his opinion… he had just hired Michael and of course said he was great. I subsequently delved deeply into shamanism and for the past 20 years have always appreciated Michael’s clear mastery of shamanistic practices. I highlight shamanism in my book, Change Maker, How My Brother’s Death Woke Up My Life, which has won 3 national book awards. Am delighted that shamanism and Michael Harner’s work has received this acknowledgement. Thank you Michael for being a great teacher and scholar. Your skills are very appreciated.
Je n’ai jamais rencontré Michael Harner physiquement, mais j’ai senti son esprit à travers les enseignements que j’ai reçus par Laurent Huguelit en France.
Michael Harner m’a aidée par la forme et l’esprit de son enseignement à me donner la possibilité et surtout la permission de me reconnecter avec des ressentis de l’enfance sur la force du chamanisme, des connaissances des Peuples Premiers, et le bien que leurs pratiques peuvent faire pour aider les êtres humains. Gratitude à Michael Harner, son épouse et ses équipes.
I never met physically but I felt his spirit through the teachings I received by Laurent Huguelit in France.
Michael Harner helped me by the form and spirit of his teaching to give me the opportunity and especially the permission to reconnect with childhood feelings about the power of shamanism, the knowledge of the “First Peoples”, and the good that their practices can do to help humans beings.
Gratitude to him and his wife and his teams.
I’m grateful for everything he did for the shamanic work. I did not dare to dream how my life has changed for the better with this work. And, strictly speaking, the seminars have made it possible for me to consciously dream and bring it to life. Thank you for this gift! And I think we’ll meet again ….
I never met Michael, what an honor it would have been! I know him thru his books and the teachings I received…I had been on a spiritual journey for over 20 years when I started taking the week-end workshops devised by Michael…Shamanism gave me tools I could use for any and all aspects of my life which is truly remarkable, tools I have started using to help others as well. Thank you Michael, you have left quite a legacy and it will live on…Rest in peace…
Dearest Michael, Thank you for your gifts and for your grace of presence – I bid you Hail and Farewell – The journey begins, Blessings, Luna xxx
Michael, my english is not very good, but I want to wish you a beautiful and magic travel in others worlds. I hope I’ll meet you in other life. With love. Carole.
Your teachings lives in our hearts. Thank you !!
Dear Sandra and others in the valley, we met.
Let me tell our deep participation in Your sorrow. We remember Michael as a great scholar of Shamanhood. We never forget the ethical way Michael treated shamanic items from Siberian samans he had -whom I had met in my field work since 1989. We agreed upon sending them back to samans.
With happy memories. Marja and Juha Pentikäinen, Helsinki, Finland
Aloha Michael, although I was not fortunate enough to meet you personally, I have gained a lot of knowledge about you and your work through Hank Wesselman, Sandra Ingerman and your books, thank you 4U. RIP
Thank you for translating and making available some of humanity’s wisdom in a digestible format for the modern western mind.
I am greatly saddened by Dr. Michael Harner’s transition into the next dimensions. Dr. Harner gave an Introductory Workshop to Shamanism in Chicago which I was privileged to attend and meet him. Although I did not pursue shamanism in a professional way it was a turning point in my life. Dr. Harner has given so much to so many people all around the world. His legacy lives on…may each of us be challenged to carry it on in some personal way. How did Michael Harner realize to connect to all of the different communities of people? It must be that it was his natural gift-his generosity of spirit and humorous nature that led him to create and bring forth all the beauty and connection to spirit all across the Earth. May you Rest In Peace now … and May this be another Beginning. With Great Respect and Deep Gratitude.
What a lovely and kind man Michael was. The world has lost a national treasure.
I can only wish Sandra my love and some understanding of such a devastating loss.
With love
Daphne Crocker White
I am so grateful for the work that Michael has done for all of us to be able to experience direct revelation from Spirit. His pioneering in the practices and ongoing connection with Spirit in shamanism is invaluable. I had the great privilege of meeting and working with him in the 4th East Coast 3 year class, in the first two meetings before he had his stroke. Those two meetings were priceless. I acknowledge and honor his memory and his life’s work.
Mr.Harner`s immense legacy lives on for all of us.
I am very grateful that he made shamanism available and accessible to us who live in the modern westernized world.
Let us rejoice he is now with the spirits who celebrate his coming home and his good work.
Thank you again and again for your immense contribution to humanity`s betterment.
Yes, Michael Harner opened me up to shamanism in a class I took with him in New York City in the early 1980s, and this changed my life! I have been on that rocky road every since then!
Now, he is watching us from another other world, and smiling, smiling…
Nita Renfrew
NY City
1982 at my first workshop with Michael and he right off tosses the circle into Shaman’s Death. Sure, why not go for it. He is chuckling in the back right when i am eaten by bugs on a mountain cave floor. What. My crows bring a road kill deer to replace my body. Too late for anyone to turn back, we are with Michael for the long haul. “Ask your power animal” was his frequent reply, another chuckle. So at Shamandome Camp at Burningman we run a Michael Harner set of core workshops, these are free, and to thousands who come to find their power animal, for direct access to source. “don’t ask me!” MH laughs, ask your power animal.
My only connection with Michael was through his drumming recordings but that was a HUGE impact. Through those recordings,I began journeys and still follow that path to this day. Blessings to him and to all who follow this path.
We loved Michael’s sense of play. His laughter was the best medicIne!
I am grateful to be able to offer this depth of service to those in need. It is a true tribe of dedicated souls who say, yes to this kind of work. We are many and Michael trusted, if he built it, we would come. And we did! I am gratefull to contribute to the security that this work gets to continue in the world. And to all of us who answered The Call, we honor him!
Michael lives on through his legacy! Not many can make that claim!
I am grateful beyond words to be a hollow bone and to have these life experiences with Miracles! We are all blessed!
Professor Michael Harner was my friend. He was a great visionary and teacher who helped set my feet back onto the ancient shamanist path almost 40 years ago and our many encounters across the years enhanced and changed the direction of my life. On the altar within my heart, a candle will burn for the spirit of Michael Harner forever.
—Hank Wesselman PhD., anthropologist and author of nine books on shamanism including The Spiritwalker Trilogy, Awakening to the Spirit World: The Shamanic Path of Direct Revelation, The Bowl of Light: Ancestral Wisdom of a Hawaiian Shaman, and The Re-Enchantment: A Shamanic Path to a Life of Wonder.
Thank you Michael for teaching us the beauty and’ Way of the Shaman.’ You honored and shared, the sacred teachings of the ancestors and blessed humanity with these profound and life changing gifts. You did so, selflessly, and with the deepest humility, love and devotion to the teachings. Like, a good father to his children you imparted ancient wisdom and teachings, that’ seemed miraculous’ as everyday ritual for mastery and healing with each magical journey.
In tribute: What an incredible human being, teacher and spirit to have walked this earth. The world is, and will forever be a better place, because of you and your work. The earth is in need of healing and you have allowed humanity to continue this through, ‘The Way of the Shaman.’ With our deepest gratitude we thank you.
I, well up with tears of happiness, as I try to find the words to honor you, ‘Our esteemed teacher.’ But, words seem inadequate. Nonetheless, truth be told, you were a remarkable, inspirational and great spirit. The moment I read, ‘The Way of the Shaman’,I began a lifelong journey of transformation that continues to this day. You profoundly impacted the path I chose to travel in this lifetime, and I am deeply thankful to you for this incredible gift.
We are forever, through your love and grace changed. Awakened to our true selves and the shamanic path of healing and transformation. The fruits of your labor, love, and light will live on forever. Your legacy will be told and retold with the beating of each drum.
Journey well on your way home. Soar high like the eagle and great spirits that call to you. You remain forever embedded in our hearts…Namaste.
Gratitude for your life, Michael, and for being a bridge for so many – not only between ordinary and non-ordinary reality, but also between indigenous and Western ways of knowing. And for your wry, irreverent and wicked sense of humor that helped keep everything in balance. You, too, were and are a Treasure.
Michael, I honor you as my teacher and mentor. As the Celts are fond of saying, “Death is just something that happens in the middle of a long life…”
I’m moved to share this poem by David Whyte:
ONE DAY
One day I will say
The gift I once had
Has been taken.
The place I have made for myself
Belongs to another,
And the words I have sung
are being sung by the ones
I would want.
Then I will be ready
For that voice
And the still silence in which it arrives.
And if my faith is good
Then we’ll meet again on the road
and we’ll be thirsty,
and we’ll stop
and laugh
And drink together again
From the deep well of things as they are
God speed, Michael. See you on the other side.
Michael Harner, may your soul be at peace. He shared with us not only his teachings but a ‘knowing’. His dedication in his line of work touched so many on a soul level.He is with the Great Spirit whose breadth passes through us all. Though he is not with us in his physical form, he will always continue to be our guide in spirit.
thank you Michael for all you did for the ideas of indigenous people of the world
Learning shamanic journeying has been one of the most important things in my life…decisions, health, visions, book titles, relationships, how to’s and all sorts of creative ideas. Not to mention communications with those who have passed…great relief and invigoration. Thank you Michael Harner for your life’s work and for sharing it.
Thank you Michael for all that you and your students have taught me, for bringing practice and clarity to something that I had only sensed through a dark and unfocused lens. Also for working to preserve this knowledge where it was dying, and for restoring it to places where it had been lost.
We will miss Michael’s presence but know he will always be with us. So very grateful for his work and those that are continuing to carrying the torch in this world in your absence. Forever indebted to you for my showing me the way and teaching me how to better myself.
Thank you, Michael!
I share the grief of all of us to have lost this wonderful benefactor, grateful for his teachings and how they changed my life and transformed the consciousness of many, making the world a better, more compassionate container for our lives on earth. Michael was a truly great man.
In the entire history of the study of shamanism, Michael Harner contributed more to a clear understanding of this human ability than any other previous scholar. He was the first professional anthropologist to make an effort to clearly delineate the core principles of shamanism. Even more importantly, he left academic teaching and research to establish a foundation that was directly involved in teaching these core principles to all those so interested. In a culture where most people do not believe in the reality of shamanism, this was a bold and risky undertaking that became extremely successful in teaching ordinary people how to responsibly practice shamanism. Consequently, he was the main 20th century scholar, along with his wife, to challenge our disbelief in shamanism, which was long overdue, and to demonstrate its reality. In my eyes, he was a true hero to have successfully undertaken such a difficult task.
I was privileged to attend a 2 week intensive with Michael as one of the teachers, as well as being able to meet Sandra. It was a profound experience that made such an impact on my life, as has the practice of shamanic journeying and healing. What a wonderful soul. Condolences to the family.
Thank you, Micheal for making Shamanism available for more people to experience. Although, I did not know you personally, I would not be the person I am now and been able to recover from my trauma without you. You are a blessing to me (and many others) forever!
While I am smiling at the thought of Michael now purely in the spirit realms, I feel sad. I owe Michael and the Foundation for Shamanic Studies my life work and my spiritual path in shamanic healing and teaching. I met him almost 25 years ago in the Third East Cost Three Year Program atThe Pathwork Center in Phoenicia, NY. If it weren’t for him and all he taught me, I wouldn’t have the life I now have. I met my ex-husband through a FSS workshop and we together founded Spirit Hollow (www.spirithollow.org), where I have lived and loved and taught and healed for 18 years. Without Michael’s work, I wouldn’t have met my ex-husband, had my amazing two children (now teens), and Spirit Hollow likely wouldn’t exist. Spirit Hollow directly grows from Michael. I am more than grateful for all that he shared with all of us and all the teachings he gave us. I will continue to share the teachings of core shamanism for the rest of my physical time here on the earth in Vermont. Thank you so deeply, Michael. Burst into The All That Is!
Michael’s work and insights have firmly established Shamanism as a healing modality in the eyes of the western world. Thank you Michael and blessed be.
So grateful for all the work he did in this life! I’m sure his spirit is singing right now!
Twenty five years ago, I entered Michael’s Basic Workshop with great skepticism. Within an hour, my live was forever changed and greatly expanded. Without a doubt, his wisdom and skill created better worlds on every level. Thank you, dear man.
Gratitude to you Michael. We never met. But you once appeared in my dreams. Thank you for opening the way.
First and foremost condolences to Michael’s family and friends. I never knew Michael Harner but as many others I did get a lot of inspiration from his books and his work. He inspired me on my path and continues to do so. His spirit and work lives on. Thank you Michael for all that you have given to shamanism and to countless people all over the world!
Michael was the Bringer of Light that enabled me to awaken to the essence of Shamanism, taking me through the initial stages of, ‘You’ve GOT to be kidding!’, then step-by-step through various workshops, including Esalen and a powerful three-year West Coast Intensive. With Michael’s having given me support as I wrote my dissertation on Shamanism, I wound up going to Vienna, as did Michael and representatives of the Foundation, speaking of Shamanic work whilst meeting with Shamans from Tuva (at the First World Council of Psychotherapy). During that process Saryglar, one of the Tuvan Shamans, invited me to study in Tuva with him. The Universe then conspired in its incredible way such that I wound up working at the Dungur and the Centre for Traditional Folk Medicine in Kyzyl for five months. During that time it was easy to observe that Michael was acknowledged to be and respected as a Shaman by the extraordinary Shamans in Tuva. May you now be lovingly supported and be free, Michael, to go home….. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done to awaken so many of us to Shamanism.
Michael Harner crossed a wide bridge for all of us when he studied with ancient tribes to retrieve long lost wisdoms…then brought them back as valued gifts to modern humankind in his writings. I feel so blessed to have attended one of the last classes he taught. His spirit is as large as he taught us the spirit world is. Such a wonderful, kind and generous soul. He shared with us the whistling song he was taught by the spirits to beckon them. I am sure they heard it just before he was invited to join them. Thank you, and blessings, Michael Harner.
My condolences to his family and friends. With every great person there is a great void. May you find comfort in the outpouring of gratitude and love for Michael Harner.
Michael’s message: ‘We are not alone’ continues to bring daily comfort to my life and lives of those I touch. Eternal gratitude to his courageous work.
My first introduction to shamanism came from Michael Harner’s book “The Way of the Shaman” and his continued efforts at educating those interested in shamanism have been such a blessing to so many people. My thoughts, prayers, and condolences are with his family. He will very much be missed.
Michael led a Shamanic journey during a weekend conference in Virginia Beach in 1992. I was privileged to be in his presence on that day and to journey under his guidance. I met a Native American Elder on my journey; this elder walks with me to this day. Michael’s generosity with his time for conversation after the journey, like the elder, has never left me.
I celebrate Michael’s life and his gift to the human family.
-Jay
Michael Harner changed my life. I was so lucky to study with him and talk with him. His books have meant so much to me, I have read them many times. His spirit, his research and his work will continue to illuminate the mysteries of life.
Thank you so much Dear Michael to have been my teacher. I started my shamanic journey with you during a two week workshop you led with Sandra Ingerman about 26 years ago at Esalen. It was such a discovery. I so much enjoyed your deep sense of humour,your humility, your presence. You were such a great teacher and had a tremendous impact on my life.Then I became a shamanic practitioner. You were such an inspirational figure for me.
Very Dear Michael, I’m pretty sure you walk in beauty in a sacred way, walking areas that you already knew before passing to the other side.
With love and respect.
Great respect and gratitude to a great spirit and teacher! Thank you so much for what you did on this dimension!
I’m very happy He lived a long and beautiful life
I’m sad he passed away but I’m sure he did the best way and that now his spirit is living another great life
I’m very grateful to Michael Harner for what he gave us and I always esteemed him.
I wish a great future to Core Shamanism and to the Foundation
With Love
Luca from Italy