The Flying Drum Hot

There is something seductive about Bradford Keeney’s world, where words and objects are imbued with magical power. You don’t so much read Keeney’s books, as experience them. He straddles the boundary between the therapist and the shaman, and if you just go with the flow of his stories you can merge with the stream of deep ancestral wisdom in them.

Bradford Keeney is arguably the most authentic interpreter of indigenous shamanic practices writing today. He seems to embody the ancestral spirit of what he teaches. “The world," says Keeney, "is filled with mojo and we need to find it in order to transform the problems and suffering that come our way.” We need to break out of our old ways of seeing only surface reality, and sometimes unusual or even the simplest of objects can be our allies, helping us to penetrate the real essence of the cause and find the solution.

Whether it is a flying drum collected in his wildly exotic travels, or a paper cup, Keeney can imbue them with the power of his imagination to shift the energy in his sessions with his clients, enabling him to reach beyond their defenses and preconceptions. Because of the extensive case studies in the book, it could be particularly valuable to counselors, therapists and youth workers. But whether you’re a professional or a layman, his suggestions on how to invoke magic in everyday life situations are great fun to contemplate and he “sets our creative imagination on fire” with his enthusiasm. In fact, Keeney’s word play entices you into the realm of silliness where you leave your defenses and your troubles behind to find your own mojo. If that’s not magic, what is?