I really felt empowered by Bradford’s words and his passion in what he does. I feel a deep respect and would love to hear more of what he has to say, as the shamanic journey is part of my inner being. Lisa Raven

Comment by Lisa Raven — May 27, 2011 @ 10:51 pm

This was absolutely wonderful for me to hear. I have been practising both meditation and dance together now for about a year and half. Recently I have become a bit disillusioned with feeling that I’ll ever know enough or that I’m practising properly etc, etc. He has just wonderfully put voice and feeling to the mystery for me which is alive full of humour, daftness, innovation and warmth. I have in some ways been too attached to feeling that I need to ‘know’ more in order to meditate better and live better. I think he is right about the polarisation of spiritual practice and I do feel meditation can come across as very refined and dry. Thanks for shaking me up Bradford (and Tami), I have just had a celebratory 5 minutes of rollicking daftness and now I’m going to meditate! xxx

Comment by Danielle — May 28, 2011 @ 5:58 am

So much for “sitting still “. I was once told “You would
be insulted if anyone called you normal.”
Now what, God ?
Will visit the MoJo sanctuary when I visit New Orleans,
home of jazz. So happy you received the Egg.
Con amore, Charlene Imperatrice

Comment by Charlene Imperatrice — May 28, 2011 @ 10:51 am

I’ve practiced shamanic journeying for several years. The first 3 or 4 years, my body lay stiff and still during my journeys. But the last 7 years, my body shakes uncontrollably as soon as the drum starts beating all they way until it stops. At first it bothered me and I tried to resist it, but my body was wiser than me! I’m so glad to have read this transcript to know there is a long and wide tradition of spiritual shakers! Thank you!!!

Comment by melissa — May 29, 2011 @ 11:47 am

Truly awesome!!! Just feel like making the journey all the way to New Orleans to meet the Mojo Doctor and seize the opportunity to be “struck by lightning”… That just may be the reason I happen to be here right now, feels pretty juicy. Will soon find out! Thank you very much, Tami, for your invaluable interviews; they sure make a hell of a difference! Love, Sidonie

Comment by Sidonie — May 30, 2011 @ 6:55 am

Enjoyed very much your chat – and your love of shaking it ALL up – our ideas about ourselves and others, about our world, about who we think we should be – the message I got beyond all the words was all that matters is our heart connection to one another – thank you for the reminder

Comment by Deirdre O Connor — June 5, 2011 @ 5:23 am

I find Keeney very refreshing, and his emphasis on ecstatic shaking has been incredibly liberating and empowering for me personally due to some experiences I have had. The inclusion of arousal and ecstatic creative expression in spirituality and psychotherapy is sorely needed.

I do wonder though why Bradford Keeney doesn’t talk about Evangelical conservative Christians when he talks about Shaking Medicine. Obviously shaking medicine doesn’t necessarily lead to creativity of or freedom from doctrine and dogma if Evangelicals regularly participate in it. In fact, sometimes it seems that the ecstatic can be a vehicle for group mind control by a charismatic leader, as many cults have shown.

I also wonder why Keeney doesn’t talk about the dark sides of shaking—getting stuck in mania or psychosis for instance, or indulging in sexuality and the passions, and manipulating others with the unleashed energy. Opening up the creative unconscious can be a violent, even deadly process. Many shamans pre- and post-modern have gone completely non-functional psychologically, or have become manipulative or abusive individuals.

Indeed, Keeney seems to over-emphasize the creative and overly reject structure in his work. If we are going to integrate the wild into modernity, we will need some standards, practices, and safety measures unless Keeney’s aim is to destroy all of society and culture and the billions of people that are supported by such structures.

To this end, other shaking methods seem more integrated with a modern human society, like Dr. David Bercelli’s TRE, or other alternative psychotherapeutic shaking techniques. While I do think from time to time adding in pure spontaneity that explores entirely novel ways of expressing is a useful practice, over-emphasis of spontaneity ignores or even destroys healthy and helpful structures that maintain sanity and society.

Comment by Duff — June 5, 2011 @ 3:06 pm

As a social worker, I think it is time to find a new way to mental health and shake things up! Thank-you!

Comment by Milissa — June 5, 2011 @ 4:57 pm

I have listened to other interviews (and audio programs) by Bradford Keeney and I think/feel that he stresses so much the wild creative because we are in a dangerous phase of terminal rigidification in our western culture, plagued by countless dualisms…also I remember how he reminds us constantly the importance of the dance between rigor and imagination (Gregory Bateson)

Comment by Uli — June 20, 2011 @ 3:58 pm

[...] If you are interested in this, there is an engaging podcast available that I would recommend with an interview with Keeney by Tami Simon of Sounds True. Here is a link to this podcast: http://www.soundstrue.com/podcast/bradfo… [...]

Pingback by Book Review: The Flying Drum by Bradford P. Keeney « Knowing Imagination — June 24, 2011 @ 4:46 pm

I can testify that there were many lightning strikes and electrical ecstatic shaking in the early days of the ministry of Swami Muktananda. He spoke of being blessed with the blue pearl. Anyone see this kind of thing today?
Being broken can soften us up. After we shake let us be humble ambassadors of Divine love. I wish I could shake it up at his church. Very moving talk. Thanks.

Comment by Stanley — September 17, 2011 @ 7:26 pm