Bradford Keeney Ph.D.

Bradford Keeney, Ph.D., has been called “an all-American shaman, the Marco Polo of psychology, and an anthropologist of the spirit” by the editors of Utne Reader. Elders of indigenous traditions throughout the world – including the Kalahari Bushmen, the Caribbean Shakers of St. Vincent, the Guarani Indians of the Amazon, and leaders of the Japanese healing tradition of Seiki Jutsu – have embraced Keeney as an elder and spokesperson for the old ways of ecstatic shaking. Following an academic career as a systems theorist and psychotherapist, he spent over a decade traveling the globe, living with spiritual teachers, shamans, healers, and medicine people who trusted him to share their words with others – modern cultures in need of Elder wisdom.

Tom Cowan

Tom Cowan is a shamanic practitioner specializing in Celtic visionary and healing techniques. He combines universal core shamanism with traditional European spirit lore to create spiritual practices that can heal and enrich one's own life and the lives of others. He is an internationally respected teacher, author, lecturer, and tour leader. He has taught training programs in England, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy; and most recently he was the first American shaman to teach in Slovakia.

Tom is the author of Yearning For The Wind, Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit, Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life, The Pocket Guide to Shamanism, The Book of Séance, The Way of the Saints: Prayers, Practices, and Meditations and Wending Your Way: A New Version of the Old English Rune Poem.

Tom grew up in Missouri, and received a doctorate in history from St. Louis University. He taught history and humanities in Memphis during the 1970s, and moved to New York City in 1980 to pursue a career as a freelance writer.

In 1983 Tom met Michael Harner from whom he learned core shamanism which continues to be Tom's primary spiritual practice. His lifelong interest in mystical traditions led him to develop ways to practice shamanism in the context of Celtic spirituality and other European-based spiritual disciplines. From 1996-1998 Tom taught Celtic Shamanism for the Foundation. Periodically he leads tours to Ireland or Scotland to practice shamanism at sacred sites and work with the spirits of the land.

Tom is a minister in the Circle of the Sacred Earth, a church of animism dedicated to shamanic principles and practices. Today he lives in New York's Hudson River Valley where he offers training workshops, spiritual retreats, and healing sessions for groups and individuals.

Kristi Vaughn

Kristi Vaughn RN ACNP works as a nurse practitioner in a tertiary care Emergency Department and level one trauma center. She has a masters degree in critical care nursing and post masters in acute care advanced practice. She has over 20 years of critical/ emergency care experience. She has been studying shamanism for greater than 10 years with Michael Harner with the Foundation of Shamanic Studies and Sandra Ingerman. Her passion is to bring the healing powers of shamanism to health care professionals. In particular she is interested in alternative pain management using shamanic techniques. She avidly creates handcrafted shamanic art through knitting, weaving, spinning, and beading. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Hal, and two Labrador retrievers Lumi and Huka where they thrive in the outdoors, skiing, windsurfing, hiking, swimming and biking.

Sobonfu Some

"There is a deep longing among people in the West to connect with something bigger -- with community and spirit. People know there is something missing in their lives, and believe that the rituals and ancient ways of the village offer some answers." These are the simple yet deeply poignant words of author and teacher Sobonfu Somé, one of the foremost voices in African spirituality to come to west. Destined from birth to teach the ancient wisdom, ritual and practices of her ancestors to those in the West, Sobonfu, whose name means "keeper of the rituals" travels the world on a healing mission sharing the rich spiritual life and culture of her native land Burkina Faso, which ranks as one of the world's poorest countries yet one of the richest in spiritual life and custom.

Recognized by the village elders as possessing special gifts from birth, Sobonfu's destiny was foretold before her birth, as is the custom of the Dagara Tribe of Burkina Faso and was fostered by early education in ritual and initiation in preparation for her life's work. "My work is really a journey in self discovery and in building community through rituals," says Sobonfu. Dagara rituals involve healing and preparing the mind, body, spirit and soul to receive the spirituality that is all around us. "It is always challenging to bring the spiritual into the material world, but it is one of the only ways we can put people back in touch with the earth and their inner values."

Sobonfu has written two books, “The Spirit of Intimacy" (William Morrow) and "Welcoming Spirit Home" (New World Library), her newest offering which draws on rituals and practices involving community, birth miscarriage and children.